Europe 1 with AFP 7:10 p.m., January 18, 2023

Christophe Urios, appointed Wednesday coach of Clermont after the dismissal of Jono Gibbes, will have to give impetus to a club in crisis, far from its ambitions both in the championship and in the Champions Cup.

The emblematic coach has signed up for two seasons plus an optional one with the club.

In contact for several days, ASM Clermont and Christophe Urios have reached an agreement for two seasons plus one as an option.

The former Bordeaux coach takes over from Jono Gibbes as head of the Clermont squad.

It will be presented to the press Thursday at the beginning of the afternoon.

"After fruitful internal and external exchanges in recent days, we have unanimously reached the conclusion that the arrival of Christophe Urios at ASM is the right choice", assured President Jean-Michel Guillon on Wednesday in a press release.

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Almost eliminated from the Champions Cup

"His vision of the game and of the club in general corresponds in all respects to what we expect," he adds.

Only tenth in the Top 14, the Auvergne club has won only one of its last five matches, in all competitions.

The 44 points conceded on Saturday at home in the Champions Cup against the English of Leicester (44-29) precipitated the fall of New Zealander Gibbes, dismissed from his duties on Monday.

In this competition, Clermont is currently 8th in pool B, and must imperatively win Saturday on the ground of the South Africans of the Stormers to try to snatch the qualification.

Urios will not be on the trip, even if he should collaborate with the technical staff who will accompany the team in South Africa, Davit Zirakashvili (scrum), Benson Stanley (skills), Jared Payne (defense) and Julien Le Devedec ( touches).

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Debut in Lyon

Aged 47, son of a winegrower, and himself operating an estate in the Minervois, Urios was free of any contract after being sacked by Bordeaux-Bègles in November.

Former hooker in Carcassonne and Castres, he was then a trainer in Castres, Bourgoin-Jallieu, Oyonnax, and Castres again.

He comes to Clermont with a two-year contract plus an optional year.

He will make his debut on the bench on the occasion of the trip to Lyon, on Saturday January 28 at the Stade de Gerland (3:00 p.m.) on behalf of the 16th day of the Top 14. The reception of Castres and a trip to Bordeaux two weeks will follow. later.

He will have to take up the challenge of keeping up with a club which has to manage the loss of several executives, and which no longer seems able to assume high ambitions, after having occupied the top of the table for more than a decade, with in particular two titles of champion of France in 2010 and 2017.

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Upcoming departures

After opener Camille Lopez (Bayonne) and scrum-half Morgan Parra (Stade français), who left last summer, others have announced their departure: center or winger Damian Penaud (Bordeaux-Bègles), 2nd or 3rd line Arthur Iturria (Bayonne), 3rd line Judicaël Cancoriet (La Rochelle) and hooker Adrien Pélissié (Brive).

Urios could also find at the end of the season the assistants who officiated with him at Bordeaux-Bègles, Julien Laïrle and Frédéric Charrier.