Rougerie hails Clermont pack

Clermont's backs scored five tries against Montpellier but skipper Aurélien Rougerie singled out his pack for special praise.

All five of Clermont's tries in their victory over Montpellier on Saturday were scored by backs but skipper Aurélien Rougerie singled out his pack for special praise.

Les Jaunards were at their electrifying best with a brilliant try by former All Black Sitiveni Sivivatu the highlight of the 36-14 Heineken Cup quarter-final win over their French rivals at Parc des Sports Marcel Michelin.

Rougerie however hailed the hard work of his forwards, who provided the platform for the backs to shine.

“That fact that we scored good tries in open play is very positive for us, but that is all thanks to the efforts of the forwards,” he said.

“That's where it starts. We enjoyed ourselves and it's always a pleasure to play that kind of games but that's what we train hard for.

“And while it's great to play alongside quality players such as Sitiveni, we also know that this is only the beginning -although we are satisfied with our performance and the solutions we found out there.

“We took some risks, however measured, because we try to keep some level of organisation, which is not always easy.

“It paid off today, but there is still a long road ahead of us.

“All the teams are prepared for this level of competition. When we come on the field, we never expect our opposition to make it easy for us.

“We knew this would be a tough game, but the work we put in paid off after 25 minutes. We never doubted ourselves, put our head down and let the storm pass.

“We showed resilience and adaptability.”