Clermont Auvergne 12-21 Toulouse: Romain Ntamack penalties steer Toulouse into Europe's last four

Romain Ntamack scored all of Toulouse's 21 points

Toulouse are through to the semi-finals of the Heineken Champions Cup after a hard-fought 21-12 win away to Clermont Auvergne.

The four-time winners of the tournament trailed 6-0 in the early stages, but the boot of France out-half Romain Ntamack steered them to victory as he kicked seven penalties throughout the contest.

It was ultimately a deserved victory as they out-lasted their hosts. Following last weekend's swashbuckling, high-scoring win away to Munster, Toulouse showed once more they have what it takes to win in a variety of manners.

Toulouse's victory sent them through to the final four, where they were drawn to face Bordeaux-Begles. La Rochelle will host Leinster in the other tie.

It was a first half high on intensity, but low on incidents.

There was an early setback for the hosts, when out-half Camille Lopez was forced ashore due to a shoulder injury.

Nonetheless, Clermont came closest to a try in the early stages when Kotaro Matsushima poked a low kick into the corner, which Alivereti Raka chased down. However, the winger's soccer kick didn't go according to plan and the chance was gone.

Ntamack missed two penalties in quick succession, neither of which were straightforward, but an out-half of his quality would have been disappointed not to land either of the long-range efforts.

Morgan Parra eventually broke the deadlock in the 25th minute when he split the posts from a penalty wide on the right. He doubled the lead shortly afterwards with a more straightforward effort.

The four-time European Cup winners eventually got off the mark in the 32nd minute, when Ntamack slotted his third attempt of the contest.

The France international kicker then levelled it on the stroke of half-time.

The hosts enjoyed a bright start to the second half, with Parra restoring their lead from the tee. But it was quickly cancelled out by Ntamack.

The pair traded penalties once more to bring it to 12-12, before Ntamack put Toulouse into a six-point lead for the first time with two more three-pointers.

Antoine Dupont's defensive skills were then brought into action, as the scrum-half performed a last-ditch cover tackle on the charging Paul Jedrasiak, after the Clermont substitute received an offload from Kotaro Matsushima who had charged down the left wing.

As the hosts struggled to find a breakthrough, Toulouse began to smell blood. They turned up the heat, and Ntamack's 73rd-minute penalty made it a two-score game for the first time.

The decisive moment came on the 77th-minute mark, when trailing by nine points, Clermont elected to go for the posts from a penalty on the 22.

However, Parra's effort on goal failed to hit the target. And with that, Clermont's fight dwindled.

Toulouse are back in the Champions Cup semi-finals. And on current form, they will fancy their chances to delivering a fifth European crown.