Get Newsletter

Clermont survive Bristol fightback

MATCH REPORT: Replacement lock Thomas Ceyte crashed over for an 86th-minute try as Clermont overcame Bristol 33-26 in their Champions Cup clash.

ADVERTISEMENT

The French side will have to wait to learn their fate in Pool Two as four-time champions Leinster host Bath and Treviso play La Rochelle, winners in 2022 and 2023 later in the day.

The story continues below…

With an incredibly tight finish in France, Clermont Auvergne had to hold off a 14-man Bristol Bears comeback.

The scores were level at 26-26 as the clock went into the red after Alex Newsome’s first-half try and a double from Alivereti Raka, while Bears kept hitting back with four second-half scores through James Dun, Noah Heward, Keiran Marmion.

But with a man extra after Bears saw a man go to the bin, Clermont capitalised and Ceyte powered over at the death to win it.

ADVERTISEMENT

The scorers:

For Clermont:
Tries: Newsome, Raka 2, Penalty Try, Ceyte
Cons: Belleau 2, Urdapilleta

For Bristol:
Tries: Penalty Try, Dun, Heward, Marmion
Cons: Byrne 2

Yellow cards: Harry Byrne (Bristol, 16′(; Etienne Falgoux (Clermont, 48′); Fitz Harding (Bristol, 75)

ADVERTISEMENT

Teams:

Clermont: 15 Alex Newsome, 14 Bautista Delguy, 13 Mathys Belaubre, 12 Irae Simone, 11 Alivereti Raka, 10 Anthony Belleau, 9 Baptiste Jauneau, 8 Fritz Lee (captain), 7 Marcos Kremer, 6 Killian Tixeront, 5 Peceli Yato, 4 Rob Simmons, 3 Michael Ala’alatoa, 2 Folau Fainga’a, 1 Sacha Lotrian.
Replacements: 16 Barnabe Massa, 17 Etienne Falgoux, 18 Cristian Ojovan, 19 Thomas Ceyte, 20 Alexandre Fischer, 21 Sebastien Bezy, 22 Ben Urdapilleta, 23 Lucas Tauzin.

Bristol Bears: 15 Rich Lane, 14 Noah Heward, 13 Joe Jenkins, 12 Benhard Janse van Rensburg, 11 Deago Bailey, 10 Harry Byrne, 9 Harry Randal; 8 Fitz Harding (captain), 7 Santiago Grondona, 6 Steven Luatua, 5 Joe Owen, 4 James Dun, 3 George Kloska, 2 Gabriel Oghre, 1 Ellis Genge.
Replacements: 16 Harry Thacker, 17 Yann Thomas, 18 Max Lahiff, 19 Steele Barker, 20 Viliame Mata, 21 Kieran Marmion), 22 Kalaveti Ravouvou, 23 Benjamin Elizalde.

Referee: Sam Grove-White
Assistant referees: David Sutherland, Finlay Brown
TMO: Andrew McMenemy

AFP & @ChampionsCup

 

Top 100

Rugby’s best of the best, ranked by experts. Check out our list of the Top 100 Men's Rugby Players and let us know what you think! 



Join free

Watch now: Lomu - The Lost Tapes

New Zealand vs Australia: Behind the Scenes with the Black Ferns Sevens Team | HSBC SVNS Embedded | E06

O2 Inside Line: This Rose | Episode 1

Argentina v Australia | HSBC SVNS Perth 2025 | Men's Final Match Highlights

New Zealand v Australia | HSBC SVNS Perth 2025 | Women's Final Match Highlights

The Dupont Ploy: How France went from underdogs to Olympic gods | The Report

Former rugby player is truly an NFL superstar | Walk the Talk | Jordan Mailata

Boks Office | Episode 33 | Dupont's Toulouse Too Good

Write A Comment