WHEN ULSTER’S SCHEDULE for the new season was confirmed, Clermont away was one that Will Addison circled in red and made a particular note of.
There’s nothing more that needs said about the imposing cauldron at the Stade Marcel-Michelin. It’s been well documented over the years how hostile the partisan French crowd are. How the confines of the stadium keep the noise in and make it as imposing as possible for visiting teams. It’s a bucket list venue.
Ulster themselves have experienced it twice before, the last time a 38-19 defeat in December 2016, which came after a much closer 19-15 loss back in January 2012. Both times they handled the atmosphere well but still came out on the wrong side of the scoreline.
While seven of Ulster’s squad will be making a return to the Auvergne ground for today’s crucial Heineken Champions Cup tie which they hope will buck the trend, for Addison it’ll be his first time playing there after he was cruelly denied the chance once before.
“Unfortunately sometimes we had a different preparation for the Heineken Cup at Sale and I think we played Clermont at a similar time of year but we were already out of the equation by that stage. I was rested for the Premiership game the week after,” he recalls with a rueful smile.
“Obviously we’re in a different sort of situation this time around. It’s something I’m massively looking forward to.”
To compound matters even more, while Will wasn’t at the Stade Marcel-Michelin, there were a couple of Addisons there in his absence.
“Mum and Dad travelled over for that game last time and they were blown away by the atmosphere,” he adds.
“It’s one of those things that you probably only get a chance to do once or twice in your career, to play at the Stade Marcel-Michelin. It’s something I’m looking forward to.”
It’s not surprising to hear Addison so excited ahead of the trip to France. After all, when he joined Ulster these were the games he wanted to be involved in, the games against the likes of Clermont and, looking back to last season, Racing 92 and Leinster.
It was something he mentioned specifically when discussing the move with Ulster attack coach, and former Sale Sharks team-mate, Dwayne Peel prior to last season, with the Welshman keen to paint a picture of how important the Champions Cup is to the Irish provinces.
“He said the European [Cup] is treated so differently over here. Obviously the Pro14 is our bread and butter, but there’s definitely a different intangible feel about the place in a European week. There is a real electricity about everything we do day to day in a European week,” confirms Addison.
It’s a buzz that I find infectious and absolutely loved from minute one against Leicester at home last year. It’s special. Obviously having won the competition in ’99, it’s something we hold dear in this particular place.
“It’s a special thing, but it’s only special if you get the wins, and we’re looking to get an away win at the weekend.”
It won’t be easy against a side who have only strengthened their line-up in making six changes to that which played Racing 92 last weekend. Such is the depth that the Auvergne outfit possess, they are able to rotate in Nick Abendanon, Morgan Parra, Etienne Falgoux, Rabah Slimani, Paul Jedrasiak and Alexandre Lapandry into their run-on team, bolstering an already star-studded roster.
That is the challenge squarely ahead of Dan McFarland’s side and, perhaps six months ago, you would have said it would be futile to go to the French giants and try to get anything from the game, let alone a rare win at the Stade Marcel-Michelin.
But bear in mind that this Ulster team is not the same one that started the season. This is an Ulster side that have lost just three times all campaign, and have perfected the art of maximising their return from their games as well having taken at least one point from all 14 games.
The air of confidence being exuded from Kingspan Stadium is undeniable. Skills coach Dan Soper talked about it earlier in the week, and while they’ve been quick to play it down as much as possible, there’s no game they’re going into without a desire to emerge victorious.
So, add the carrot of assuring themselves a spot in the last eight of the Champions Cup should they win, and Ulster are in the rare position of going into a game of this magnitude with expectation, not hope.
“The fans here, it would be special to play in front of them in a quarter-final. But you’re going away to one of the toughest places in Europe, so we’ll take this week first rather than thinking about a home quarter-final,” Addison says.
“We have go away with the right attitude, the right mentality to go and win away in Clermont, and then we have Bath, another tough team, to come here. Hopefully, if we do the right things in the next two weeks then that quarter-final might come, but it only comes from a win this week and next.
“Clermont are notorious for playing an open brand of rugby. They attack from deep and that probably harks back to when Joe [Schmidt] was there. We’re looking forward to whatever comes our way. They’ve got some serious talent.
“You look at someone like [Alivereti] Raka who has been unbelievable in the World Cup and since. Damian Penaud is probably the best young player in the country. That’s the challenge.”
If that’s the challenge for Ulster, then Clermont are facing something similar in return given the province’s seemingly improved stocks in recent weeks across the board.
For instance, John Cooney is the form nine in European rugby right now. Stuart McCloskey and Jacob Stockdale are coming off immense games against Munster. Jack McGrath and Marty Moore have rediscovered their peak form as starting props. Jordi Murphy and Marcell Coetzee are back in the fold after a week off through injury.
Of course, you can add Addison to that list too. The elusive full-back has had his fair share of injury problems, but now since he’s been back and fit again he’s been at his mercurial best for Ulster, as 24 defenders beaten in just six appearances would attest to.
It hasn’t escaped Andy Farrell by either. Despite another limited campaign due to injuries and suspensions, Addison was called down to the Christmas stock-take at Abbotstown, reflecting on just how impressive he can be when they can get him onto the pitch.
“You always enjoy those times getting into Irish camp, especially in the few weeks leading up to interpros where you’re friendly at the start of the week, but you’re maybe not so friendly at the end of the week!” says the English-born back.
We didn’t know there wasn’t going to be so much emphasis put on the rugby. Faz is someone we’ve worked with for the last two years and he’s a lot of fun, so there was an element of that. But the intensity is the same, the detail is the same and the expectation to be successful is the same.
But provincial matters come first. A win in the Auvergne would have Ulster into the quarter-finals with a game to spare and with only Bath standing between themselves and a last-eight game back in Belfast for the first time since that ill-fated Saracens tie in 2014.
The last time Addison faced Clermont, the win was somewhat overshadowed when he received a retrospective four-week ban for a high hit on Jedrasiak – who he’ll come up against again today – which saw him miss the back-to-backs with Harlequins. He hopes this week there’ll be no such fears.
“Pretty sure there’s nothing coming off the back of those tackles I was involved in [against Munster],” he grins.
Making up for lost time seems to be on the agenda, then. Clermont have been warned.
Clermont Auvernge
15. Nick Abendanon
14. Damian Penaud
13. Isaia Toeava
12. George Moala
11. Alivereti Raka
10. Camille Lopez
9. Morgan Parra
1. Etienne Falgoux
2. John Ulugia
3. Rabah Slimani
4. Paul Jedrasiak
5. Sebastien Vahaamahina
6. Arthur Iturria
7. Alexandre Lapandry
8 Fritz Lee
Replacements:
Yohan Beheregaray
Loni Uhila
Sipili Falatea
Sitaleki Timani
Alexandre Fischer
Greig Laidlaw
Jake McIntyre
Apisai Naqalevu
Ulster
15. Will Addison
14. Robert Baloucoune
13. Luke Marshall
12. Stuart McCloskey
11. Jacob Stockdale
10. Billy Burns
9. John Cooney
1. Jack McGrath
2. Rob Herring
3. Marty Moore
4. Alan O’Connor
5. Iain Henderson
6. Sean Reidy
7. Jordi Murphy
8. Marcell Coetzee
Replacements
Adam McBurney
Eric O’Sullivan
Tom O’Toole
Kieran Treadwell
Matty Rea
David Shanahan
Bill Johnston
Matt Faddes
