Cotter's conundrum saving the best till last

Clermont Auvergne are not a side to meet from September to March, but their late season form and inability to close the deal means coach Vern Cotter will depart the club in the summer to mixed reviews, by Bernard Jackman.

VERN COTTER has led his ASM Clermont to an astounding 74 consecutive home victories in all conditions and consistent appearances in the knock-out stages of either the Top 14 or the Heineken Cup. And yet he isn’t a universally popular figure amongst their supporters.

Certainly in Ireland and the UK, he is a highly-respected and sought after coach, underlined by the fact Scotland were happy to sign him as their new head coach while he still had a year left on his contract and they appointed Scott Johnson on a caretaker role; content to wait for Cotter to finish with ASM in June.