Ulster came into round five with confidence that they could topple Clermont Auvergne in their home fortress, however Clermont’s strength shone through as they ran out 20 – 3 winners in the second half after trailing 10 – 9 at the break.
The confidence from Dan McFarland’s men was evident from the start with Stuart McCloskey making the opening break and offloading to Jacob Stockdale down the left wing. The move really should have ended in the first try after just a minute to play as McCloskey had a four-on-one opportunity seven metres from the Clermont line but instead of passing sought contact allowing Franck Azema’s men time to regroup. The first of a few missed Ulster chances yesterday afternoon.
Ulster settled for a penalty which was cancelled out by a Camille Lopez drop goal a couple of minutes later. John Cooney scored his sixth Champions Cup try of the season to restore the lead and it was clearly visible that Ulster had their hosts rattled . . .
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