After extending the contract of captain Baptiste Jauneau for two seasons, the Auvergne club confirmed on Thursday 18 September that back-rower and vice-captain Killian Tixeront has committed until 2028, with an option for a further year (2029). Aged 23 and already capped three times by France, Tixeront is a pure product of the Clermont academy with a key role in the sporting project put in place by the club.

The decision follows on from a clearly stated strategy: Clermont want to build on their own academy products. After the recent extensions of Baptiste Jauneau, then, but also that of Léon Darricarrère, ASM again underline their attachment to their young talent.

“A son of the club”

For Christophe Urios, ASM’s head coach for the past three years, Tixeront does not merely post good numbers, he embodies a certain leadership: “A genuine son of Clermont, he’s a real leader who has proved himself with the age-grade sides, with the national teams, and who is now establishing himself with the squad. He’s got that something! ” On the pitch, Tixeront has already played more than 80 professional matches in an ASM shirt, despite his young age. ” Obviously he was one of our priorities and we’re delighted to see him buy into the club’s project, of which he will be one of the major players “, Urios insists, in comments reported on the club’s website. 

Killian is even a fairly ” unique ” player in the eyes of the Clermont coach: ” He really is the profile of the modern back-rower. He has the physical capacities of a back, whether in endurance or in speed, which allows him to take on multiple jobs and to follow in the line of the great link forwards this club has known with the likes of Bonnaire and Lapandry. Like them, he’s elegant on a pitch, terrifically mobile to provide the link with the backs and in the lineout: it’s a masterclass! “

In keeping with ASM’s values

For the board, this signature confirms some bold choices: Clermont want to build their future on a local backbone, made up of players developed at the club, committed to the collective and representative of ASM’s values. “He is an example of the success of player development in this region. He is perfectly aligned with the project“, president Jean-Claude Pats confirmed internally, again on the ASM website.

With this extension, Clermont are strengthening not only their immediate ambitions but also the stability of their squad. A strong message is therefore being sent to the supporters, to the youngsters in the academy and, above all, to ASM’s great rivals: the club is counting on its own players to return to the forefront of French and European rugby. Even if the most impatient will point out that the results are still to come…