Ulster Storm Clermont’s Fortress To Claim Famous Win

John Cooney kicked 19 points as Ulster claimed their first ever win at Stade Marcel Michelin to get their Heineken Champions Cup campaign off to a fantastic start.

In Pics: Clermont Auvergne 23 Ulster 29

In a game that also saw Duane Vermeulen make his debut for the province, and Sean Reidy make his 150th appearance, Dan McFarland’s side return home for round two with four points in the bag.

Nick Timoney’s 67th-minute try, coupled with a thumping Cooney penalty from inside the visitors’ half, as a tense second half finished in Ulster’s favour.

A trio of Cooney penalties had directed them towards a 19-10 half-time lead, with Stuart McCloskey crossing from close range in the 25th minute.

James Hume, Michael Lowry and Timoney all played leading roles, as the young backs ran from deep and took the game to Clermont, while the tireless Timoney was in the right place at the right time to score.

The Ulstermen did leave the door ajar for a Clermont comeback, Damian Penaud touching down twice and Kerry native JJ Hanrahan kicking 13 points, but the hosts’ discipline let them down at crucial stages.

Speaking in the aftermath, Ulster head coach McFarland said: “It’s obviously a terrific achievement to come and win in Clermont at any stage for any team. They are a great team.

“They are probably not playing their best rugby at the moment, but they still have the same players who are able to do amazing stuff.

“I thought we played really well in the way we controlled the game. The bottom line is we’ve got a lot of lads out there who aren’t maybe considered our starters but have been performing really well. They were magnificent today.

“In the game itself there were a litany of things which were difficult to deal with in terms of Michael Lowry going off and Rob Baloucoune going off.

“I’m so proud of the lads and what they’ve done today. The bottom line is the last time we came here we played really well in the first half and then the game slipped away from us just after half-time.

“Good teams are able to squeeze you in that period if they are a little bit behind, and today they did squeeze us in that third quarter.

“Ultimately we were able to get back into the game with some good team play and some huge individual play as well.”

Ulster put on the pressure from the get-go, and talismanic scrum half Cooney duly obliged with a first-minute penalty to get early points on the board.

Clermont, who are mid-table in the Top 14 at present, coughed up another kickable penalty in the sixth minute, allowing Cooney to make it 6-0 to the visitors.

Wearing their European red jerseys, Ulster looked set to score after a superb move between Hume, Mike Lowry, Cooney and Marcus Rea brought them right to the Clermont line, but the home side did well to hold them up.

It was not long, though, before Ulster earned another penalty and the ever-reliable Cooney tagged on another three points.

Ulster really impressed in attack, finding holes in the Clermont defence. Eventually, they registered their first try through centre McCloskey who took a short line onto a Cooney pass to crash over. The conversion from Cooney made it 16-0.

Just six minutes before half-time, Clermont finally got on the scoreboard after Tani Vili’s cross-field kick saw Penaud dot down in the corner. After a TMO check, the try was awarded and Hanrahan added the conversion.

Clermont found themselves temporarily down to 14 men when referee Wayne Barnes sent Jacobus Van Tonder to the sin bin for a tip tackle on Baloucoune, who unfortunately had to go off as a result.

Cooney landed the ensuing penalty to stretch Ulster’s lead, only for Hanrahan to quickly respond, on the stroke of half-time, when the province were pinged for holding on.

The French outfit grew into the game in the third quarter and had a penalty opportunity on the 50-minute mark but Hanrahan’s effort went wide.

Six minutes later, Clermont struck, with Hanrahan making the break and Penaud going over from a pacy chip-and-chase for his second try of the night. The former Munster back landed the conversion to bring them within two points.

Clermont continued to turn the screw, Hanrahan landing a 62nd minute penalty to move them ahead, but McFarland’s charges hit back just six minutes later with a telling try.

Hume and Lowry gained ground again, the latter attempting to offload to Timoney, but Cheik Tiberghien was guilty of a deliberate knock-on before Timoney collected the ball to crash over to the left of the posts.

After consulting with the TMO, referee Barnes awarded the try and gave a yellow card to Tiberghien. Clermont’s full-back.

The game was all but put to bed five minutes later, with Cooney, the Heineken star-of-the-match, landing a monstrous penalty goal to make it seven place-kicks from seven for the ice-cool Dubliner.

It meant that Hanrahan’s last-minute penalty was only enough for a losing bonus point, leaving Ulster to celebrate their first Champions Cup victory on French soil since defeating Oyonnax in January 2016.