Herring Brace Steers Ulster Past Fast-Finishing Clermont

Ulster made it four wins from four in the Heineken Champions Cup as they held on to defeat Clermont Auvergne 34-31 in front of a sold-out Kingspan Stadium.

Dan McFarland’s men secured second place in Pool A, racking up five tries with Rob Herring going over twice from mauls and Michael Lowry, Duane Vermeulen and Robert Baloucoune also crossing.

James Hume, the Heineken star-of-the-match, wielded a good deal of influence as Ulster led 17-12 at half-time and kicked on with 17 more points between the 45th and 67th minutes.

However, they had to endure a nervy finish as closing tries from Jacobus van Tonder, Alivereti Raka and Judicael Cancoriet – combined with other results – ensured Clermont’s presence in the round 16.

Speaking in the aftermath, head coach McFarland said: “I think we played some fantastic rugby to get out to 30 points to not-very-many, it was a testament to the way the lads played this evening – some brilliant attacking rugby, some brilliant defensive rugby.

“The only thing that marred the first half was errors in exiting our half which allowed them to build their 12 points (from penalties).

“Some of the tries we scored, the combination of maul, hanging onto the ball in the opposition 22 and some fantastic rugby out from our own 22 really staged what characterised the match.

“The fact that in the last 10 minutes we sat on our laurels was almost quite French, and for me as a coach I found that very disappointing, but that’s something I will address with the players, and we’ll look at what it takes not to sit on our laurels.

“You have to remember they brought on Camille Lopez and (Damian) Penaud in the last 20 to 25 minutes of the game, and these are unbelievable players, who can open up a game on their own.

“It needed us not to be at 95%, but to be at 100%. Bottom line is in the last minute we needed one set of defence to see out the game and we got it.”

After absorbing some early pressure from hard-carrying Clermont, Ulster got the penalty after the French side were caught not rolling away and they made their way downfield.

Angus Curtis, on his first European start, Billy Burns and Lowry were able to sneak through the smallest of gaps to make good ground.

Another penalty came Ulster’s way, Burns went to touch and the maul delivered the goods as hooker Herring bundled over in the left corner for a seventh-minute opener.

The tricky conversion attempt from Nathan Doak bounced wide off a post, before Morgan Parra opened Clermont’s account with the first of his four first half penalties.

Parra nosed them in front from a scrum penalty, but poor discipline from Clermont brought Ulster back into a great position with a five-metre lineout.

The hosts were patient and worked the ball back inside and eventually put it into the hands of in-form full-back Lowry who scythed through the defence to score out wide.

Almost immediately after the restart, Parra turned another penalty opportunity into three points. He made no mistake again in the 35th minute for a 12-10 advantage.

Crucially for Ulster, Clermont’s Raka soon found himself in the sin bin for not rolling away in the danger zone. Herring peeled away from a subsequent maul to claim his second try.

Doak’s conversion put five points between the sides at the break, and the talented 20-year-old quickly made it 20-12 on the resumption, with Clermont pinged for having a player in front of the kicker.

The wind was now in Ulster’s sails, and Lowry set in motion their bonus point effort after racing down the left wing only to be brought down just short. From the ruck, Vermeulen showed great strength to muscle over for his first Ulster score.

The lion’s share of possession and territory was Ulster’s as they looked to bag a fifth try. They had a number of opportunities, but it was winger Baloucoune who was sent over by an inviting pass from Burns.

The number 10, kicking following Doak’s departure, added the extras, but Clermont’s attack came to life with two tries in quick succession from van Tonder and Raka, cutting the gap to 10 points.

With five minutes remaining, they struck again with captain Cancoriet getting on the scoresheet. Lopez got the conversion to make it a three-point game.

The packed-out crowd got behind the province as ‘Stand Up For The Ulstermen’ rang out around Kingspan Stadium in the final few minutes, and the men in red held on to go unbeaten in the pool stages.