It’s a return to familiar territory for Damian Penaud. Or almost, since on the occasion of the duel between ASM and UBB, the neo-Bordelo-Béglais will discover this Friday a section of the Marcel-Michelin stadium in Clermont which was not open to him until now: the visitor locker rooms.
However, one could believe that the transfer of the winger is already ancient history. Since May 28, 2023, the date of his last outing with the Jaunards jersey on his shoulders, Damian Penaud has gone through a World Cup and half a season with his new team as if nothing had changed, putting on trials with the Blues as well as with the UBB, once he returns to the club after the World Cup. 18 tries in 13 matches since his last stint with ASM; This looks like a well-digested departure.
Penaud and the UBB delight…
It is not a question here of questioning the sincerity of the tears which had flowed down Penaud’s cheeks, when bidding farewell to the Clermont public, but rather of saluting the good decision which was his to change air last summer. “I have no regrets about leaving“, he then had the guts to express; there is little chance that this Friday evening, the new UBB player will find something to say.
Beyond his outrageous individual statistics and his very successful integration into a Bordeaux collective which knows how to highlight its qualities, Damian Penaud has joined a club whose ambitions in the Top 14 and in Europe match. for the moment with his personal goals. “I am a competitor, I want to play at the top of the table“, he explained in front of The TeamDecember 29, 2022. Located in the right car in the ranking in Top 14, well launched in the Champions Cup (2 victories in 2 matches), never really underperforming until now – it has only lost away among the leaders of the rope -, and also the author of several exciting successes in recent weeks, the UBB has proven that it has the weapons to do so.
…Clermont battle
At the same time, the ASM situation is slowly evolving. Under the aegis of the intractable Christophe Urios, the Jaunards have regained momentum after their pitiful 2022-2023 season, and are scrapping in the middle of the ranking. But the content of the Clermont team, as well as the expectations hovering around it and the difficulties it encountered in finding mechanisms, could no longer suit a player as flamboyant as Penaud.
The start of the season only confirmed that as hard as it was to make, the decision to leave his long-time club last summer was the right one. This will certainly not prevent the Frenchman from feeling a little pang in his heart when he enters the Clermont turf.
“I bet you that Antoine Dupont will end up coach of the French XV”