Pollard enjoys dream Champions Cup start for Leicester
CHAMPIONS CUP REPORT: Leicester Tigers confirmed their place in the Round of 16 as they claimed an impressive 44-29 win at Clermont on Friday.
The visitors secured the bonus point through tries from Matt Scott (2), Harry Simmons, Dan Kelly and James Cronin at the Stade Marcel-Michelin. While South Africa flyhalf Handre Pollard was potent from the tee on his first European start for Leicester, adding 14 points to the team’s tally.
Clermont were no pushovers and showcased their quality with scores from Bautista Delguy, Etienne Fourcade, Paul Jedrasiak and Anthony Belleau.
Clermont made a disastrous start to the game and handed Leicester an early try as flyhalf Anthony Belleau floated a pass into the midfield which centre Scott picked off to race in under the posts from halfway.
Flyhalf Pollard was off target with a penalty shortly after but eventually punished Clermont for another error as he slotted from the tee on 20 minutes.
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However, Clermont sprung into life moments later as centre Irae Simone scooped up brilliantly before beating a defender and offloading to wing Delguy, who darted over in the corner.
Leicester found a response on 29 minutes as wing Simmons produced some electric footwork to weave through the Clermont defence and finish superbly, and there was a further setback for the home side when No.8 Fritz Lee was sin-binned for a high shot on scrumhalf Ben Youngs.
Centre Kelly then twisted to dot down on 33 minutes as Leicester looked set to punish Clermont with an extra man on the field, but the TOP 14 outfit kept themselves in the contest as a move started by wing Alivereti Raka – who was a threat all game – was eventually finished off by replacement hooker Fourcade.
Leicester were 13 points clear at the break, though, as Pollard, who had converted all three scores, dispatched a penalty from near halfway in the final act of the first 40 minutes.
The tries continued to flow early in the second half as Belleau pounced on a loose ball to reduce the deficit seconds after the restart before a brilliant set piece move from Leicester put Scott over under the posts again.
But Clermont refused to roll over and notched a fourth try courtesy of another flowing move, lock Jedrasiak throwing an outrageous dummy to provide the finish.
The scoring slowed over the remainder of the half as Clermont pushed for a fifth score but were met with firm Leicester resistance.
A Belleau penalty on 70 minutes set up a tense finale as Clermont moved to within five points, but replacement fly-half Jimmy Gopperth extended Leicester’s advantage with kick of his own before prop Cronin powered over in the dying seconds to cap their victory.
The two sides’ Pool B campaigns are wrapped up next weekend, with Leicester hosting Ospreys on Friday and Clermont facing Stormers in Cape Town on Saturday.
The scorers:
For Clermont Auvergne:
Tries: Delguy, Fourcade, Belleau, Jedrasiak.
Cons: Belleau 3
Pen: Belleau.
For Leicester Tigers:
Tries: Scott 2, Simmons, Kelly, Cronin.
Cons: Pollard 4, Gopperth
Pens: Pollard 2, Gopperth
Teams:
Clermont: 15 Alex Newsome, 14 Bautista Delguy, 13 Cheik Tiberghien, 12 Irae Simone, 11 Alivereti Raka, 10 Anthony Belleau, 9 Baptiste Jauneau, 8 Fritz Lee (captain), 7 Alexandre Fischer, 6 Judicaël Cancoriet, 5 Miles Amatosero, 4 Paul Jedrasiak, 3 Rabah Slimani, 2 Adrien Pélissié, 1 Daniel Bibi Biziwu.
Replacements: 16 Etienne Fourcade, 17 Giorgi Beria, 18 Davit Kubriashvili, 19 Edward Annandale, 20 Killian Tixeront, 21 Sébastien Bézy, 22 Jules Plisson, 23 George Moala,
Leicester Tigers: 15 Charlie Atkinson, 14 Freddie Steward, 13 Matt Scott, 12 Dan Kelly, 11 Harry Simmons, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Ben Youngs (captain), 8 Sean Jansen, 7 Tommy Reffell, 6 Ollie Chessum, 5 Cameron Henderson, 4 Harry Wells, 3 Joe Heyes, 2 Charlie Clare, 1 James Whitcombe
Replacements: 16 Joe Taufete’e, 17 James Cronin, 18 Will Hurd, 19 Olly Cracknell, 20 Emeka Ilione, 21 Jack van Poortvliet, 22 Jimmy Gopperth, 23 Harry Potter,
Referee: Frank Murphy (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Andrew Cole (Ireland) & Paul Haycock (Ireland)
TMO: Brian MacNeice (Ireland)
Source: @ChampionsCup
