The leaders of France’s Top 14 arrived in subdued mood. When they play at home at the Stade Marcel Michelin in Clermont-Ferrand they start with a charge and then grow more ferocious. At Sandy Park the roar of the M5 was whipped away on a fierce wind or drowned by the crowd in full voice and Clermont then had to face Exeter in top form. Devon was a little too much for them.
Not that Exeter were unstoppable at first. They were too busy reshuffling their formations after Sam Hill felt his hamstring in the warmup. Jack Nowell moved into the centre and Olly Woodburn came off the bench to the wing, giving the home team a couple of shaven-headed outriders – James Short being the other wing.
Nowell responded to his change of position with relish. The watching Eddie Jones knows that centres on the international stage may not be afforded the time and space Clermont gave Nowell here but the new coach must have been impressed with the strength, speed and distribution of the England player.
Even more impressive was Thomas Waldrom. The No8 encased his round face in an orange scrum cap and looked as if he was fresh from a themed fancy-dress party – come as a toddler in a push-chair – but he played with huge authority. AnyHe also played with subtlety and dexterity, passing as often as he rumbled.Not so long ago, the ability of French clubs to replace superstars with superstars set them apart. Exeter have Dave Ewers (currently out with an injured knee) and Waldrom on their books – and that makes them special. In fact, Tom Johnson came on for Waldrom and the former England back-row looked pretty dynamic too.
way, before then it took Exeter a little time to settle down and turn good buildup play into points and, while they were sorting themselves out, Clermont helped themselves to two tries.
The first was by Hosea Gear after good approach work from a five-metre scrum by Morgan Parra and Camille Lopez. The second was scored by Aurélien Rougerie after Gear set Noa Nakaitaci free with a deft pass out of contact and the wing chipped over the last defenders.
From then on Exeter took control. They scored four tries, the first by Waldrom from short range – most tellingly into the wind. It meant Exeter trailed by only four points at half-time and would now have the gale at their backs. Waldrom scored a second – another specialist finish from the master of the final metre – before Don Armand, a workhorse No6 perfect alongside Waldrom, crossed.
The bonus try, by the Australian Mitch Lees, another workhorse in a fine pack, came right at the end. Clermont will be a different proposition in round four but in this form Exeter will travel to the Massif Central with anything but subdued hopes.
Exeter Dollman; Woodburn, Nowell, Whitten, Short; Steenson, Chudley (Lewis, 65); Moon (Rimmer, 65), Yeandle (capt) (Taione, 66), Francis (Low, 65), Lees, Welch (Parling, 60), Armand, Salvi, Waldrom (Johnson, 66).
Tries Waldrom 2, Armand, Lees. Cons Steenson 4. Pen Steenson
Clermont Auvergne Spedding; Strettle, Rougerie (Vulivuli, h-t), Gear, Nakaitaci; Lopez, Parra (Radoslavjevic, 75); Domingo, Ulugia (Van der Wetshuizen, 59), Ric (Kotzre, 59), Jedrasiak (Van der Merwe, 38), Vahaamahina, Yato, Kolelishvili, Chouly.
Tries Gear, Rougerie. Cons Parra 2
Referee J Lacey (Ireland)
Attendance 12,000
