Paris (AFP)

An avalanche of tributes in the heart of summer: French rugby woke up on Thursday under the shock of the death of Eric de Cromières, current president of Clermont that he will have maintained at the highest level and defended within the League, of which he was a key man.

"Emblematic character", "of an extreme kindness", "great leader", "friend" ... The flood of very supported reactions of the leaders, coaches, players or ex-players of French rugby but also national political leaders (the Minister of Sports Roxana Maracineanu) or local (Olivier Bianchi, Laurent Wauquiez, Brice Hortefeux), shows to what extent the former Michelin executive, who died overnight from cancer against which he had been fighting for several months, was a man respected and appreciated.

The most moving testimony is undoubtedly that of his Toulouse counterpart Didier Lacroix, whom he was to meet at the beginning of September for the cover poster for a Top 14 interrupted in March by the health crisis: "You embodied for me the values ​​of our sport and your exemplary nature, the absolute respect that you have never ceased to inspire, will accompany us for a long time to come. "

With a mischievous smile, a lively and mischievous eye, easy to access, Eric de Cromières, appointed in 2013, has established himself as a great club boss by his quality of listening and his common sense. Without ever forgetting the essential: the interests of ASM, which he still represented at the beginning of July before his state of health deteriorated rapidly.

. ASM and Michelin three orphans

In one year, the club created in 1911 by Marcel Michelin lost three presidents, all former executives of the tire manufacturer and who brought and maintained ASM at the highest level: Robert Lefrançois (1994-1996), who died early April, René Fontès (2004-2013), died in March 2019, and now from Cromières.

The latter continued the work of Fontès - who had broken the curse of the lost finals by finally winning a first Brennus Shield (2010) - by keeping the Jaunards at the highest French and continental level thanks to the "house" value. ": stability.

If the dream of a European title, the ultimate goal of the former manager Vern Cotter (2006-2014), came up against the superiority of Toulon (2013, 2015) and Saracens (2017), De Cromières, hand in hand with Franck Azéma, manager since 2014, brought two new trophies to the Michelin stadium: a second Brennus Shield in 2017, with a revenge on the RCT in passing, and the European Challenge in 2019.

. Stability, training, Fiji

When it was pointed out to him that, under his leadership, the Auvergne club continued to lose more finals (4) than to win (2), De Cromières, without losing his usual friendliness, underlined the progress made and the difficulty in maintaining excellence. Results obtained by focusing on the training center - the Clermont Hopes won a 6th national title in 2018 - and on the Fijian sector, through the partnership with the Nadroga academy from which Alivereti Raka and Peceli Yato, two stars of the workforce.

Fine diplomat but firm, De Cromières stepped up to the plate in early 2017 to oppose federal contracts for internationals, wanted by Bernard Laporte, who became president of the French Federation. A key man in the National Rugby League (LNR) and a faithful ally of its president Paul Goze, he then, as in every crisis with the FFR, participated in the effort to find common ground.

"There are so many people who live in deplorable situations in the world that I will not complain. To have cancer today in France, it gets worse", he had relativized at the beginning of July by evoking his cancer in an interview at La Montagne. A courage which the words of Didier Lacroix echo today: "Eric, you were proud, worthy and did not suggest any weakness. You leave us so early, at a time when your strength, your determination and your experience are so important to us. precious. We still had so much to share ".

© 2020 AFP