CHALLENGE CUP: CLERMONT DISMANTLE ULSTER WHILE SHARKS DOWN EDINBURGH TO SET UP CLASH AT STOOP

Clermont Auvergne delivered a 53-point thrashing of Irish province Ulster as the French outfit reached yet another European semi-final. They head to The Stoop in London to face South African side Sharks, who pulled away in what was at one point a tight game against Edinburgh, but home advantage and their squad of Springboks proved too much for the Scots.

The Challenge Cup moved a step closer to the final as Saturday saw Clermont and the Sharks advance to the semi-finals, beating Ulster and Edinburgh respectively. They join Gloucester who beat Ospreys on Friday, with Benetton and Connacht still left to play on Sunday.

Clermont Auvergne recorded a whopping 53-14 win over Ulster at the Stade Marcel-Michelin. The game was initially close in the first half before Clermont’s quality proved too much for Ulster.

Nick Timoney opened the scoring for the visitors when he crashed over for his 10th try of the season. Clermont retaliated almost instantly to Timoney’s score as Peceli Yato evaded a number of challenges from short range and dotted down to tie up the game at 7-7.

The host’s momentum carried them through the rest of the half as they started to squeeze Ulster, scoring two penalties before Pita-Gus Sowakula, who set up Yato’s earlier try, finished off an incisive move with a try of his own.

The game threatened to slip away from Ulster before half time, but a second try from Timoney for the province pulled them within six points of Clermont.

Alex Newsome picked up Clermont’s third try shortly into the second half

with a nifty bit of handling on the wing, shutting down any momentum that Ulster had forged.

The floodgates had opened, and Clermont soon added two more scores to their tally. Sowakula picked up his second before Rob Simmons darted over not long after, bringing the score up to 41-14 with 15 minutes to go.

Clermont were now running wild: a sixth try – a second for Yato – sent the Stade Marcel-Michelin fans into rapturous and the taste of another European semi-final was looming.

Ulster, fighting for pride, had one final surge as the game drew to a close but couldn’t get over the line, instead conceding yet another try to bring up a final score of 53-14.

The French side will travel to London and The Stoop, Harlequins’ home, to take on South African side the Sharks, who pulled away in a tight affair against Edinburgh.

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