Ulster and Clermont Auvergne produced a pulsating, back and forth fixture on Saturday as they
Uslter started slowly, conceding a try within the first few minutes as Peceil Yato touched down between the posts after some smart play from Camile Lopez.
Image: ©INPHO/Morgan Treacy
Les Kiss' side responded as he hoped they would, with Luke Marshall, and with less than eight minutes on the clock, both sides had crossed the try line. That was to be the story of the game, as it became clear early on that defending was not going to be the order of the day for either side.
Images: ©INPHO/Presseye/Darren Kidd
Morgan Parra responded by slotting the ball between the posts for a penalty, before Ruen Pienaar and Tommy Bowe combined to create a chance that Iain Henderson took with both hands.
Images: ©INPHO/Presseye/Darren Kidd
Paddy Jackson missed the conversion, but he made up for that with a penalty to extend his side's advantage to 15-10. He was to provide even more magic later in the half, but not before Parra tacked on another three and Scott Spedding touched down to give Clermont control of the scoreboard once again.
Image: ©INPHO/Morgan Treacy
That didn't last long, as Jackson teed himself up for a try with a lovely grubber kick through the Clermont defence, before controlling it with a soft touch of his right boot and dotting down a try.
Images: ©INPHO/Presseye/Darren Kidd
Ulster lead 22-18 at the break, and they were quick to add to that in the second half as Luke Marshall scored a try, shortly followed by Charles Piutau, who crossed the line for his side's fifth try of the game. Jackson extended the lead to 39-18, and Clermont decided that they were interested in getting involved in a game of rugby again.
Images: ©INPHO/Presseye/Darren Kidd
Camille Lopez and Nick Abendanon combined to narrow the gap, before Damien Chouly also touched down and Parra converted to make it 39-32.
Images: ©INPHO/Morgan Treacy
Ulster's nerves were rattling, and they weren't helped when Wayne Barnes showed Rodney Ah You a yellow card with less than 10 minutes left in the game, leaving them to hang on to their now slender lead with just 14 men.
They managed the task however, despite a late scare when they turned the ball over with less than a minute on the clock. Although they secure the win and a bonus point, Ulster will be disappointed that they let such a commanding lead slip, and will need to produce another strong display in the return fixture next week.
Images: ©INPHO/Morgan Treacy
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