ASM Clermont-Auvergne 21-33 Glasgow Warriors

A brace from captain Kyle Steyn in a Player of the Match-winning performance set the Warriors on their way, with Huw Jones – on his return from injury – joining Euan Ferrie and Jack Dempsey on the scoresheet.

With the atmosphere inside the Stade Marcel-Michelin at fever-pitch, it was the Warriors who were first to show their intent with ball in hand. Huw Jones wasted no time in getting his hands on the ball, the centre bursting clear from his own 22 before linking with Sione Tuipulotu. His chip ahead caused chaos in the Clermont defence, forcing Pita Gus Sowakula to infringe at the expense of a yellow card.

It took the Warriors two minutes to make their numerical advantage count. Whilst the hosts would defend the first maul, the concession of another penalty proved too much for the men in yellow. Ferrie was the man to emerge with the ball for the first score of the afternoon, the conversion drifting wide to leave the score at 5-0 in Glasgow’s favour with nine minutes gone.

Glasgow were motoring in the early exchanges, and their attacking momentum was rewarded with a second try just moments after Sowakula returned to the field. Jamie Dobie’s clever inside line off George Horne put Glasgow on the front foot, before Gregor Hiddleston’s pass put Jones through a gap. The centre was in no mood to be stopped as he raced home untouched from 40 metres, Horne converting for a 12-0 lead.

A third try was coming, and it arrived with 25 minutes played. Once more the Glasgow kicking game played its part, Jones chipping into space for Kyle Rowe to chase. The bounce favoured the Glasgow full-back, and whilst his race for the line was halted by Bautista Delguy, his offload was perfectly timed to send Steyn over next to the uprights. Horne converted, and the Warriors led 19-0.

Clermont knew that the next score had to be theirs, and with the Marcel-Michelin faithful urging them on, the men in yellow crossed for their first try of the encounter as the game ticked past the half-hour mark. Despite a superb try-saving tackle from Horne to deny Delguy, George Moala’s power on the follow-up carry saw the centre barge over, Harry Plummer converting to narrow the deficit.

Glasgow’s response was immediate. With Clermont conceding a penalty straight from the restart, the Warriors needed no second invitation. A sublimely-worked tap-penalty move allowed Jones to feed the onrushing Dempsey, the number eight carrying two Clermont defenders with him as he registered the bonus-point try. Horne made no mistake from the tee, and the Warriors led 26-7 with five minutes left in the half.

It was a lead they would hold until the interval, the Glasgow defence standing firm in the face of a Clermont barrage. From Patrick Schickerling’s tenacity in the chop tackle to the physicality of the Fagerson brothers in the collision, each Warrior stood tall, as Rowe and Dempsey combined to hold up Axel Guillaud over the try-line.

The defensive resolve continued at the start of the second stanza, Ferrie coming up with a crucial turnover on his own five-metre line to cut short Clermont’s charge for the try-line. Still the home side would press, and eventually their pressure would tell. With Schickerling having been sent to the sin-bin for repeated team infringements, Horne would join him on the sidelines as the officials deemed a deliberate knock-on to have prevented a try. The penalty try was awarded to boot, bringing the scoreline to 26-14 with half an hour to play.

It took the home side the full 10 minutes of the double sin-bin to take advantage, as the Warriors managed the penalty near-perfectly. Only a breakaway score from Irae Simone could put a blemish on their record during the period, Plummer converting to make it a one-score game as the match entered its final quarter.

Once more, though, the Warriors had a response, as the replacements made their mark. Max Williamson’s power saw the second-rower gallop into space, feeding Seb Stephen on his shoulder. The hooker rode the challenge of Guillaud to wait for his support, before Williamson and Gregor Brown combined to send Steyn over in the corner for his second of the evening. Horne converted expertly from the touchline, and Glasgow’s lead was restored to its 12-point margin.

It was a lead that the Warriors would not relinquish, holding their hosts at bay one last time to ensure that all five points would be coming home to Scotstoun. A result that keeps Franco Smith’s men top of the group and secures a place in the knockout stages – a clash with Saracens now awaits next weekend to determine the seeding ahead of the last-16.