Challenge Cup: Clermont beat Northampton in thriller
Sunday 13 January 2019 19:15, UK
Clermont claimed a quarter-final place by beating Northampton 48-40 in a European Challenge Cup thriller.
The Top 14 side scored seven tries in total, and were set for a comfortable win as they turned around 27-12 ahead at the break.
Teimana Harrison scored a hat-trick as Saints registered six tries to fight back to within a point at 41-40 before Remy Grosso's late score denied them a losing bonus point.
Worcester extended their advantage at the top of Pool Two with a 20-18 win at Ospreys. That sees the Warriors move five points clear with just a game remaining in the pool stages of the competition.
Tries from Keelan Giles and Olly Cracknell and a penalty and conversion from Luke Price saw Ospreys lead 15-7 at the break, with Jonny Arr's try, converted by Scott Van Breda, the reply from the Warriors.
Ollie Lawrence and Dean Hammond scored second-half tries for Worcester to put them ahead but Sam Davies' penalty saw Ospreys retake the lead until a last-minute drop-goal from Ryan Mills won it.
Connacht drew level with Sale at the top of Pool Three after edging a 20-18 win in Galway. Kyle Godwin and James Mitchell scored first-half tries, with Jack Carty converting both and adding a penalty as they took a 17-0 lead.
But Sale rallied and tries from Chris Ashton, Francois De Klerk and two penalties and a conversion from De Klerk saw the Sharks go 18-17 ahead. However, David Horwitz's penalty nine minutes from time won it for the Irish province.
Harlequins climbed to the top of Pool Five with a 31-20 win over Grenoble. Danny Care, Mike Brown, Cadan Murley and Max Crumpton crossed for first-half tries, all converted by Marcus Smith, with James Lang's penalty their solitary score of the second period.
Tito Tebaldi scored a hat-trick of tries as Benetton beat Agen 38-24 in the other pool game.
Nick Fenton-Wells also grabbed a hat-trick of his own to lead Bristol to a comprehensive 65-9 Pool Four victory over Enisei-STM.
Piers O'Connor (two), Joe Joyce, Nick Haining, Matt Protheroe, Jake Armstrong, Sam Graham and Tom Pincus also crossed for the Bears, who climbed to second in the pool table. Callum Sheedy added five conversions.
On Friday night the Dragons ran in nine tries as they recorded an emphatic 59-3 win over Timisoara Saracens in Newport.
Both sides went into the game knowing they would fail to progress from Pool One but the Welsh region still managed to turn on the style for their fans.
Dragons led 17-3 at half-time after two tries from centre Hallam Amos and one each for Will Talbot-Davies and Rhodri Davies.
And Dragons moved further ahead after the break, with Talbot-Davies and Davies each adding to their tally and Matthew Screech, Jordan Williams and Ben Fry also crossing the line.
Despite having already been eliminated, Dragons will look for a further boost when they face classy French side ASM Clermont Auvergne in the competition next week.
La Rochelle effectively sealed their place in the quarter-finals with a hard-fought 32-12 win over Zebre in France.
The hosts struggled to assert their ascendancy in the first period and trailed 12-6 at the interval, but ultimately ran in four tries to all but secure their progression.
Stade Francais picked up a bonus point in a 35-14 win over Pau, while Bordeaux-Begles kept their own last-eight hopes alive with a 34-27 victory at French rivals Perpignan.
