A drop and a penalty from the opener Camille Lopez, whose entry into play was decisive, allowed Clermont to win at the expense of Toulouse (16-13), Saturday at Parc Marcel-Michelin, in a match of the 14th day of Top 14.
Suddenly, ASM moved from 7th to 6th place in the standings while Stade Toulouse, which has not won in Clermont-Ferrand in the league since 2002, remains 2nd, one length behind the leader, Bordeaux-Bègles, thanks to the point of the defensive bonus.
After having had two matches postponed each, in the Top 14 and in the European Cup, the two teams who had not played since December 11, delivered a rather intense meeting.
Camille Lopez, a substitute at the kick-off, came into play in place of Irishman JJ Hanrahan in the 58th minute and gave his team a decisive advantage (13-10), eleven minutes later. He then passed a penalty allowing his team to lead 16-10 (74th) against a Toulouse team who did not score any points after half-time.
“Beating Toulouse to start the year is rather a good thing”
Until then, the Clermontois had never yet led in this meeting after conceding an entry attempt scored by Juan Cruz Mallia, transformed by Thomas Ramos (7-0, 5th) who added a penalty to allow Stade Toulouse to lead 10-7 (38th).
Previously, the Clermontois had been able to equalize with a try from Yohan Beheregaray transformed by JJ Hanrahan (7-7, 13th) who then hit the post on a penalty (31st). At the end of the game, a penalty from Thomas Ramos brought Toulouse three points behind Clermont (16-13, 77th) but the Clermont defense held on to preserve the victory.
“Our first part of the season is not very successful and beating Toulouse to start the year is rather a good thing”, rejoiced Camille Lopez at the microphone of Canal Plus. “When you don’t have a rhythm, it’s physically difficult. The big guys have delivered a huge part ”.