Top 14 1/4 final playoffs...

[Jaguares]

Castres!!!! I can't believe! Castres against Clermont again. Like the last season. OMG!!!

 

[Amobokoboko]

8 minutes to go and the ball went forward. Common Castres!!!!!!!!

 

[Tony Manx]

Try ASM...............too little too late?!

 

[Jaguares]

Mmmmmm....

 

[Amobokoboko]

Last two minutes. Great end of the game. Common Castres !!!!!!!!!

 

[Tony Manx]

Clermont home record GONE!!!

Well played Castres...........and God help you Scotland next season with Vern Cotter!!!!

Incidentally, Castres is the first team to win there since Biarritz in November 2009......possibly the last decent thing that BO did!!!

 

[Amobokoboko]

Booyaah, spot on Castres !!!!

 

[Big Ewis]

OHHHHHHHHH MYYYY GODDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD! !!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THE VOLCANO IS SHUT !!!! The lava runs no more !!! It's all over !!! Clermont get smashed against the Saracens of all European teams in one 1/4F, and lose their legendary record at home in the other !!!!!!

How they have transformed lately is absolutely spectacular. Unrecognizable. I'm sorry for ASM fans, but Clermont have choked monumentally this year in both 1/4F's.
All of a sudden Scotland fans are a bit worried...

 

[gaston le gaff]

Sorry, just needed to correct that..

So B E correcting my posts,!!!!!!!!!!! tis tis how wrong could you be,!!!!!!!!!! the punishment will follow after some thought,!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Feicarsinn]

Clermont bottling it once playoff rugby comes around? Have they never heard of the expression 'broken record' in the south of France?

 

[dragos03]

Great match!

Same as yesterday, the underdog won by playing a smarter gameplan more suited to its strengths. Clermont is a good team but they have a habit to choke in important games. Today they played like the match was already won, almost like they expected that 76-win streak to continue by default.

Castres and Racing Metro remain the underdogs in the semifinals, but anything can happen. I'd love to see Castres win the ***le against all odds again

 

[gaston le gaff]

Well played Castres they deserved win outplayed Clermont on their own park, Brock James had a nightmare, 13 on the field for Castres and he kicks the ball away 3 times, Vern can now sample the delights of Haggis for the next few years.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and the rest are now all on holiday so Montypellier will take on Castres for the 4th year running but this time a semi and no home advantage for Castres, starting to look good for Montypellier, but first Racing have to beat Toulon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[gaston le gaff]

Clermont bottling it once playoff rugby comes around? Have they never heard of the expression 'broken record' in the south of France?

Little lesson in Geography my friend Clermont is not in the South of France!!! NEVER WAS NEVER WILL BE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Tony Manx]

It is easy to say that Clermont "choked" but it would wrong as anyone who actually watched will testify.......Castres played smart pro rugby and throttled ASM who played well but did not up their game until it was far too late.......yes there seemed to be overconfidence and this was probably justified for the first half when they looked the better team but did not take their chances and, as my old mate Gaston says, they butchered several chances when they were playing against 13. But it is approbation to Castres rather than ridicule of ASM for me...............

 

[Big Ewis]

So B E correcting my posts,!!!!!!!!!!! tis tis how wrong could you be,!!!!!!!!!! the punishment will follow after some thought,!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

take your time. Conjure up something nice.

Clermont bottling it once playoff rugby comes around? Have they never heard of the expression 'broken record' in the south of France?

we don't give two shhits about the English language in the south of France, so uhh...no. But indeed Clermont are chokaholics this year. They deserve their own theme song I reckon. A single, something like "Choke-olate pudding (in your face)".

And yeah gaston, Brock James and his fkng kicking. Good Lord boy, good Lord...that alone lost them the game, but even passes from hand were bad decisions. They'll relish the arrival of Mr. Lopez at this point.

EDIT

It is easy to say that Clermont "choked" but it would wrong as anyone who actually watched will testify.......Castres played smart pro rugby and throttled ASM who played well but did not up their game until it was far too late.......yes there seemed to be overconfidence and this was probably justified for the first half when they looked the better team but did not take their chances and, as my old mate Gaston says, they butchered several chances when they were playing against 13. But it is approbation to Castres rather than ridicule of ASM for me...............

ahhh...I see what you mean, but the fact is Clermont played to about 30% their capability against the Saracens, whether away or not, and were unrecognizable. That was nothing but choking, no excuses. The Saracens aren't intrinsically that great to put 50 past Clermont, on any day, in any context, whatsoever. Not in a hundred other parallel universes.
As for today, major props to the C.O., no doubt. But were they THAT good ? Did they force James' utter shhhhhittiness for the ages ? Did they apply physical pressure on Clermont so they wouldn't even attempt their trademark runs at home we've seen all year long ?
Clermont still choked, and good on them they at least scored that last try so they "try" column isn't empty on the final sheet, but choking was involved for sure if someone merely considers how well they play during the regular season, compared to tonight - in unison with how mediocre their intrinsic level of play was, on its own, regardless of potential pressure from the opponents.
And now both 1/4F performances paired together, and we've got some fine gourmet choke-olate aficionados here: "Chez Clermont", restaurant gastronomie fine.

 

[Tony Manx]

Little lesson in Geography my friend Clermont is not in the South of France!!! NEVER WAS NEVER WILL BE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ah Gaston, if it is south of Paris it is the South of France for many people just like anything north of Watford is in the North................I also take offence when they say Toulouse is in the South West of France when it is South Central France....................Biarritz is in South West France and is 4 hours drive away!!!

 

[gaston le gaff]

Must agree Castres were the better team on the day if Clermont had started as they finished they would have won by 20pts, why were they so confident Castres are French Champions and certainly no mugs, Clermont were either over confident or very naive!!!
The same will not happen next week Fabien Galthie will work it all out and the game will be played at 100mph by Montypellier and i can see only one winner!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Feicarsinn]

Little lesson in Geography my friend Clermont is not in the South of France!!! NEVER WAS NEVER WILL BE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's all south of Dublin.

 

[gaston le gaff]

Ah Gaston, if it is south of Paris it is the South of France for many people just like anything north of Watford is in the North................I also take offence when they say Toulouse is in the South West of France when it is South Central France....................Biarritz is in South West France and is 4 hours drive away!!!

Must correct you!!!!!!!!! only people like us live in the South the priviledged few!!!!!!!!! whether its east west or central, there are volcanos and stuff up there and it snows often, but some very good restos!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Big Ewis]

Ah Gaston, if it is south of Paris it is the South of France for many people just like anything north of Watford is in the North................I also take offence when they say Toulouse is in the South West of France when it is South Central France....................Biarritz is in South West France and is 4 hours drive away!!!

beh, yeah but Toulouse is still 100% Sud-Ouest culturally. It's not so much the actual geographical location but the cultural, historical reality of an area/city. Toulouse are an absolute paradigm of le Sud-Ouest.