Ulster’s firepower has rarely been more impressive this season as tries from Luke Marshall (2), Iain Henderson, Paddy Jackson and Charles Piutau secured a thrilling 39-32 triumph over Clermont Auvergne whose final quarter comeback saw them leave Kingspan Stadium with two bonus points.
VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS: ULSTER 39 CLERMONT AUVERGNE 32
Les Kiss’ men now sit second in Champions Cup Pool 5 on nine points at the halfway stage, three behind leaders Clermont who they will face again next Sunday in what is sure to be another colossal clash at Stade Marcel Michelin.
The province welcomed back Paddy Jackson and Rory Best back after their successful November campaign with Ireland, and while some big names were missing – among them Jared Payne, Andrew Trimble and Craig Gilroy – Ulster’s starting line-up still included 11 full internationals.
Two other changes from last weekend’s bonus point victory in Cardiff brought Robbie Diack in at flanker and Louis Ludik on the wing, with the rest of the back-line unchanged – Charles Piutau at full-back, Tommy Bowe on the right wing, Luke Marshall and Stuart McCloskey in the centre and Ruan Pienaar at scrum half.
Up front, Kyle McCall and Wiehahn Herbst propped either side of captain Best, with Peter Browne at lock alongside Diack and the triumvirate of Iain Henderson, Chris Henry and Sean Reidy continued in the loose forward berths.
Top 14 pacesetters Clermont wasted no time in stamping their authority on the match, their Fijian number 8 Peceli Yato brushing off two tackles just short of the line to dive in near the posts within ninety seconds after Ulster had fumbled the visitors’ kick-off.
But a sharp lay-off from Jackson to Marshall after good work from Reidy, followed by the out-half’s conversion, had Ulster on level terms within seven minutes and rendered Clermont’s strong travelling contingent somewhat less vociferous.
A Morgan Parra penalty soon raised the decibel level once more, as did a virtuoso midfield run from Wesley Fofana until Ulster’s big hitters brought him to ground. Then Piutau took over, bursting down the right wing in a move where only hesitation between the dummy and the final pass prevented the try.
Ulster did not relent, however, and with a penalty coming, a sublime cross-field kick from Jackson – and an equally impressive aerial take from Bowe – let Henderson in unchallenged for a fantastic collective score and a 12-10 lead.
Jackson and Parra traded penalties before a misfiring Ulster scrum let full-back Scott Spedding in for the try on the right wing just after the half hour mark.
The hosts responded brightly, Reidy and Bowe combining well down the right flank before Jackson proved his footballing skills are not limited to kicking for touch or goal alone as he dribbled from the 22 through a static Clermont defence for a fine individual try.
Leading 22-18, Ulster kept up the tempo as the second half began, forcing a turnover scrum in the Clermont 22 from which the livewire Piutau gained vital yards before McCloskey’s carry and Pienaar’s flat pass let Marshall in for his second try and Ulster’s bonus point effort.
Number five, however, was the pick of the bunch, as Piutau slalomed through four Clermont defenders off Jackson’s long pass before brushing aside a final challenge with the hand-off to ground by the right corner flag.
A Jackson conversion and long range penalty soon followed to open up a significant 39-18 advantage, but there was still the matter of depriving the visitors of bonus points – try-scoring and losing ones – to address.
Nick Abendanon made the task all the more difficult on 62 minutes with a well-taken score, but press as they might, the French outfit got no further change out of a stout Ulster defence until the 73rd minute when skipper Damien Chouly stretched over to secure one bonus point and Parra’s conversion gave them their second one.
Worse still came for Ulster a minute later when replacement prop Rodney Ah You saw yellow for a wild high tackle, but Kiss’ charges then knuckled down to wisely see the game out with slow ball on halfway.
Giving his post-match reaction, try-scoring man-of-the-match Henderson said: “Having lost in France (to Bordeaux) last time out, every game is a crunch game. We will look forward to going out there (to Clermont) next week.
“Hats off to Clermont – just look at how many points they scored. That’s something we try to stop at Ulster, but they are a great attacking side. We had to have our wits about us all game, especially in the second half. They had attacking threats left, right and centre and they were fantastic.
“A couple of missed tackles in the second half cost us a couple of tries, but we dug in and hung on to the last minute. They kept on coming at us. We knew they would because they aren’t one of the best club sides in the world for no reason. We had to knuckle down to ensure they didn’t score more tries than us.”
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