ASM Clermont Auvergne 29

Ulster Rugby 13

Adam McKendry reports from the Stade Marcel Michelin

ULSTER’S WAIT FOR their place in the quarter-finals of the Heineken Champions Cup will extend into the final round after a second-half comeback saw them beaten 29-13 by Clermont Auvergne at the Stade Marcel Michelin.

Tries from Alivereti Raka and George Moala, and a combined 19 points from the boots of Morgan Parra, Camille Lopez and Greig Laidlaw, gave the scoreline a much more one-sided look than it maybe was, while Ulster will rue a period in the middle of the second-half where they failed to cross the whitewash at a crucial time.

Dan McFarland’s men — who took nothing from a game for the first time this season — had led when John Cooney continued his sensational form by scoring yet again to put the province ahead early on, but their decision not to kick their goals in the first half came back to haunt them when the French side turned on the style in the latter 40.

The victory is enough for Clermont to secure their place in the last-eight, while Ulster will now need a victory against Bath in their final game at Kingspan Stadium next Saturday to ensure they will join them in the knockouts for the second consecutive year.

Ulster’s start was blistering, with Stuart McCloskey continuing the form he had shown against Munster by making a thunderous carry into the 22 in the opening minute that set up Cooney’s first points of the game through a penalty, but the visitors were pulled back immediately as Lopez executed a drop-goal to perfection to make it 3-3.

That was just a prelude to another sensational Ulster try, however, and, as has been the case in recent weeks, it was a beautiful, flowing move that put them ahead that featured forwards and backs linking and was finished by none other than their in-form scrum-half.

Cooney powers over despite Raka's best efforts. Dan Sheridan / INPHO Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO

Jacob Stockdale provided the initial thrust with his carry, which allowed Jack McGrath to send Sean Reidy through the gap with the inside ball, with the flanker able to get the offload away to Marty Moore on his outside shoulder and he in turn sent Cooney over the line under pressure from Alivereti Raka.

Parra reduced the gap to four with his first penalty of the half, however he quickly turned villain when his deliberate knock-on at the five-metre line as Ulster pressed yielded a yellow card for the Clermont talisman and had Ulster eyes sparkling.

But McFarland’s side couldn’t make their man advantage count, errors in the red zone costing them repeatedly, and indeed Clermont looked the more likely to score when Damian Penaud started a sensational counter-attack from his own 22, only for Robert Baloucoune to produce a desperate try-saving tackle on his own five-metre line on Moala.

It would be a one-point game at the break, however, as Parra knocked over his second place-kick of the day, but he should have had the French side ahead three minutes into the second half when Alexandre Fischer’s excellent jackal on Cooney earned them a penalty, only for the scrum-half to push his kick wide.

That mistake wasn’t to matter though, as the Auvergne side forged ahead for the first time nine minutes into the second half. Ulster had done well to halt Moala just short of the line when the centre looked to be over, but they were powerless to stop Raka picking from the base and stretching over for the score.

Despite falling behind, Ulster had chances to bring themselves back into it again as they breached the Clermont 22 on a couple of occasions, but on each they couldn’t find the killer blow that would allow them to retake the lead, instead settling for a second Cooney penalty of the afternoon.

Stockdale on the charge. Dan Sheridan / INPHO Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO

But that wasn’t going to be enough. Parra stretched the lead back out to six with a kick of his own shortly after, and then his replacement Laidlaw made the result safe with the Auvergne’s third penalty that made it a two-score game with just ten minutes left to play.

Snatching a losing bonus point was still in play for Ulster, but that hope ended too when Clermont grabbed their second try of the game to kill things off. Loni Uhila rode tackle and gave the offload to Moala, who surged through the tackle of David Shanahan and over the line to add the gloss to the scoreline and rubber-stamp their spot in the quarter-finals.

As for Ulster, their wait goes on.

Scorers for Clermont

Tries: Raka, Moala
Cons: Parra (1/1), Laidlaw (1/1)
Pens: Parra (2/3), Laidlaw (1/1)
DG: Lopez

Scores for Ulster

Try: Cooney
Con: Cooney (1/1)
Pens: Cooney (2/2)

ASM CLERMONT AUVERGNE: (15-9) Nick Abendanon (Apisai Naqalevu 64); Damian Penaud, Isaia Toeava (Jake McIntyre 78), George Moala, Alivereti Raka; Camille Lopez, Morgan Parra (Greig Laidlaw 68); (1-8) Etienne Falgoux (Loni Uhila 70), John Ulugia (Yohan Beheregaray 64), Rabah Slimani (Sipili Falatea 64); Paul Jedrasiak, Sebastien Vahaamahina; Arthur Iturria (Alexandre Fischer 22), Alexandre Lapandry, Fritz Lee (Sitaleki Timani 40).

Yellow card: Morgan Parra (22′)

ULSTER RUGBY: (15-9) Will Addison (Matt Faddes 51); Robert Baloucoune, Luke Marshall, Stuart McCloskey, Jacob Stockdale; Billy Burns, John Cooney; (1-8) Jack McGrath (Eric O’Sullivan 61), Rob Herring, Marty Moore (Tom O’Toole 49); Alan O’Connor, Iain Henderson; Sean Reidy, Jordi Murphy, Marcell Coetzee.

Sub not used: Adam McBurney.

Man of the Match: Alexandre Fischer (Clermont)

Referee: Matthew Carley (England).

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