Match action - starts
SAINTS, bouncing back from a first round mauling against Saracens, displayed plenty of ticker and endeavour but absolutely no composure in a frantic, seething match and predictably paid the price against such wily European operators as Clermont.
Jim Mallinder’s team put their heart and souls into their performance and in many ways excelled – but they were impatient and inaccurate in the final ten yards and could never build the scoreboard pressure to really discomfort Clermont.
Northampton enjoyed 70 per cent territory and 63 per cent possession yet were outscored four tries to one. The margin of defeat was cruel but despite a couple of lamentable refereeing decisions from Ben Whitehouse, there can be no arguing about the result.
Clermont drew first blood when Fritz Lee marched over from a scrum five before the game took a horrible turn with a horrific accidental broken leg to Camille Lopez which saw a long delay and the arrival of young scrumhalf Charlie Cassang, who was to play a huge part in the game.
Saints upped the tempo and were wrongly denied a surefire try when Courtney Lawes stripped Cassang of the ball at a lineout and Dylan Hartley pounced on the loose possession to score, but the five points were incorrectly scrubbed out.
Insult was soon rubbed into the wound for Hartley who dived into a ruck to clear out the opposition only to be left floundering as the Clermont player moved to one side. Hartley lost all balance and his hand made contact with Rabah Slimani on the floor. Technically it was a yellow but you will see much worse go unpunished.
And then more poor decisions from officialdom. Remi Lamerat was allowed to offend twice on his own line in trying to prevent Ben Foden scoring only for the Saints man to be penalised, and to compound Saints’ ire, the lively Cassang darted in under the post in added time.
To complete an inauspicious first 40 for referee Whitehouse, he allowed Morgan Parra back on the pitch having stopped play insisting he had been knocked unconscious in a tackle.
Straight from the break Cassang was at it again with a magnificent take and 60 yards sprint for the try that put the game beyond Saints – but from that moment onwards Northampton played with real purpose and guts up front.
Their only reward was a lineout rumble and try for Christian Day who ironically had got away with a foot in touch moments earlier when passing.
For a while Saints even threatened a second try but they either over-elaborated or just panicked near the line while their backs started drifting across the pitch and were easy pickings for the Clermont defence.
A fourth try, this time from Etienne Falgoux, earned Clermont the bonus point but there was still time for more nonsense from officialdom with Slimani escaping a sending off when he received only a yellow for clearing Hartley out with a high forearm smash to the head area.