Scarlets stun Clermont
MATCH REPORT: A 77th-minute Sam Costelow conversion proved the difference as Scarlets reached the Challenge Cup semifinals for the first time with a dramatic 32-30 win over ASM Clermont Auvergne at the Parc y Scarlets on Friday.
The flyhalf struck the extras from the left touchline following Ryan Conbeer’s late try. Leigh Halfpenny, Costelow himself and Johnny Williams also crossed the whitewash in a thrilling contest under the lights.
Clermont played their part, battling for 55 minutes with 14 men after Irae Simone was given his marching orders following a high tackle on Halfpenny. Simone, Alvereti Raka (2) and Giorgi Beria notched for the defeated visitors.
Anthony Belleau earned the first opportunity of the contest as he connected with a penalty from the tee with three minutes played. Halfpenny responded three minutes later with a penalty of his own to level for Scarlets.
A sensational finish from fullback Halfpenny then brought the first try of the contest on seven minutes. The hosts swiftly moved the ball through the hands to the right flank where wing Steff Evans floated a kick over the Clermont defence and across the whitewash, Halfpenny dotting down with his fingertips.
A second followed seven minutes later – a fumble by Clermont scrumhalf Baptise Jauneau gifted the ball to Scarlets who, through a combination of Williams, Evans and Costelow, grubber kicked the ball down the field before the latter picked up to score.
Midway through the half, Damian Penaud, who’d been quiet early on, kicked the ball down the right wing as the ball bounced awkwardly inside the Scarlets 22 before Simone had the awareness to gather and cross the whitewash.
Simone would go from hero to villain, however, as he was given his marching orders four minutes later. A shoulder to the head of Halfpenny had no mitigation in the eyes of the officials, earning the Clermont centre an early bath.
The man disadvantage seemed to spur on the visitors, who were also buoyed when Scarlets lock Vaea Fifita was sent to the sin bin for bringing down a maul illegally.
Jauneau was alert at the back of a scrum to find Belleau, who floated a beautiful cross-field kick into the path of wing Raka who scored in the corner. Belleau added the extras, then soon after added a penalty to put Clermont 18-15 ahead.
That lead lasted just two minutes as Alex Newsome gifted Williams the go-ahead try. The full-back’s errant pass was intercepted the Scarlets centre, who accelerated away from two defender to add the Welsh region’s third of the night moments before the interval
The visitors started the second half strongly and were encouraged when Scarlets scrum-half Gareth Davies was sent to the sin bin for tripping. Soon after, Raka notched his second try of the contest as Clermont swiftly moved the ball from left to right following a kick to the corner.
The visitors began to dominate the contest, running through the phases to slow the game down and take time off the clock. Their rolling maul then paid dividends as Beria powered over to open up an eight-point lead.
Costelow reduced arrears with a penalty as contest approached a nail-biting conclusion, Conbeer then powering over in the corner as Scarlets cranked up the pressure on the depleted French outfit.
That left a tricky kick for Costelow to add the crucial extras, but he dissected the uprights coolly with just three minutes left on the clock.
The scorers:
For Scarlets:
Tries: Halfpenny, Costelow, Williams, Conbeer
Cons: Halfpenny, Costlelow 2
Pens: Halfpenny, Costlelow
For Clermont:
Tries: Simone, Raka 2, Beria
Cons: Belleau, Plisson
Pens: Belleau 2
Yellow cards: Vaea Fifita (Scarlets, 27), Gareth Davies (Scarlets, 43)
Red card: Irae Simone (Clermont Auvergne, 24)
Teams:
Scarlets: 15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 Steff Evans, 13 Joe Roberts, 12 Johnny Williams, 11 Ryan Conbeer, 10 Sam Costelow, 9 Gareth Davies, 8 Sione Kalamafoni, 7 Joshua Macleod (captain), 6 Aaron Shingler, 5 Sam Lousi, 4 Vaea Fifita, 3 Javan Sebastian, 2 Ken Owens, 1 Kemsley Mathias
Replacements: 16 Shaun Evans, 17 Wyn Jones, 18 Sam Wainwright, 19 Morgan Jones, 20 Carwyn Tuipulotu, 21 Kieran Hardy, 22 Dan Jones, 23 Ioan Nicholas
Clermont Auvergne: 15 Alex Newsome, 14 Damian Penaud, 13 Irae Simone, 12 George Moala, 11 Alivereti Raka, 10 Anthony Belleau, 9 Baptiste Jauneau, 8 Fritz Lee (captain), 7 Lucas Dessaigne, 6 Killian Tixeront, 5 Paul Jedrasiak, 4 Thibaud Lanen, 3 Cristian Ojovan, 2 Etienne Fourcade, 1 Etienne Falgoux
Replacements: 16 Jean-Maxence Jules-Rosette, 17 Giorgi Beria, 18 Rabah Slimani, 19 Edward Annandale, 20 Jacobus Van Tonder, 21 Sébastien Bézy, 22 Jules Plisson, 23 Bautista Delguy
Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)
Assistant referees: Adam Leal (England), Sara Cox (England)
TMO: Andrew Jackson (England)