Morgan Parra boots Clermont to victory over Harlequins

Clermont secured their place in the Challenge Cup final when they claimed a 32-27 win over Harlequins at Stade Marcel-Michelin on Saturday.

The home side were the dominant side for long periods and although Harlequins outscored them by four tries to two, superb goal-kicking from Morgan Parra helped Clermont to victory as he contributed 16 points courtesy of four penalties and two conversions.

The result means this year’s final will be an all-French affair between Clermont and La Rochelle at St James’ Park in Newcastle on May 10.

The opening exchanges were closely fought and we had to wait until the 10th minute for the opening points which came via a drop goal from Camille Lopez, but Harlequins drew level when Marcus Smith landed a drop goal shortly afterwards.

The tight nature of this game continued over the next 10 minutes but the home side regained the lead in the 26th minute when Lopez succeeded with his second drop goal. Parra then added a penalty which meant Clermont were leading 9-3 by the half-hour mark.

The match came alive during the half’s latter stages when Clermont gained control of proceedings courtesy of two well-taken tries.

First, Fritz Lee ran a superb angle and gathered a pass from Parra before slipping through a couple of tackles on his way over the try-line in the 32nd minute.

And five minutes later, George Moala tore the Harlequins defence to shreds before offloading to Damian Penaud, who kicked the ball ahead before regathering close to the visitors’ try-line and diving over the whitewash.

Harlequins needed a response and that came via a brilliant try from Mike Brown towards the end of the half. The England full-back gathered a pass from Smith just outside Clermont’s 22 and did well to escape the attentions of Penaud before crossing for a deserved try.

But despite that score, Clermont finished stronger and Parra added another penalty on the stroke of half-time which gave the Top 14 side a deserved 26-8 lead at the interval.

The home side continued to dominate after the break and extended their lead seven minutes into the second half when Parra added another penalty and he added another three-pointer off the kicking tee in the 55th minute which meant Clermont were cruising with the score 32-8 in their favour.

With the game in the bag, Clermont seemed to relax but Quins did not surrender and kept alive their faint hopes when Chris Robshaw barged over from close quarters in the 57th minute.

Harlequins continued to fight and 10 minutes later they were rewarded when Setariki Tuicuvu and Alivereti Raka failed to deal with a teasing grubber kick from Smith and James Lang pounced by diving onto the ball behind Clermont’s try-line.

Smith converted both tries, which meant the visitors were trailing by 10 points, and although Alex Dombrandt scored another try – off a lineout drive in the game’s closing stages – it was too little too late as Clermont held on for the win.

The scorers:

For Clermont:
Tries: Lee, Penaud
Cons: Parra 2
Pens: Parra 4
Drop goals: Lopez 2

For Harlequins:
Tries: Brown, Robshaw, Lang, Donbrandt
Cons: Smith 2
Pen: Smith

Clermont: 15 Setariki Tuicuvu, 14 Damian Penaud, 13 George Moala, 12 Wesley Fofana, 11 Alivereti Raka, 10 Camille Lopez, 9 Morgan Parra (c), 8 Fritz Lee, 7 Alexandre Lapandry, 6 Arthur Iturria, 5 Sébastien Vahaamahina, 4 Sitaleki Timani, 3 Rabah Slimani, 2 Benjamin Kayser, 1 Etienne Falgoux
Replacements: 16 John Ulugia, 17 Beka Kakabadze, 18 Mickael Simutoga, 19 Paul Jedrasiak, 20 Damien Chouly, 21 Greig Laidlaw, 22 Tim Nanai-Williams, 23 Peter Betham

Harlequins: 15 Mike Brown, 14 Ross Chisholm, 13 Alofa Alofa, 12 Ben Tapuai, 11 Charlie Walker, 10 Marcus Smith, 9 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, 8 Jack Clifford, 7 Chris Robshaw (c), 6 Alex Dombrandt, 5 Ben Glynn, 4 Matt Symons, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 2 Rob Buchanan, 1 Joe Marler
Replacements: 16 Elia Elia, 17 Nick Auterac, 18 Josh Ibuanokpe, 19 Stan South, 20 Semi Kunatani, 21 Niall Saunders, 22 James Lang, 23 Francis Saili

Referee: John Lacey (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Andrew Brace (Ireland), George Clancy (Ireland)
TMO: Simon McDowell (Ireland)