Clermont move closer to Top 14 playoff bye

Top 14 leaders Clermont edged closer towards clinching a semi-final place in the end-of-season playoffs after routing defending champions Stade Francais 36-10 at home on Sunday.

Morgan Parra racked up 18 points with the boot and crossed the whitewash for a second-half try, with Australian hooker John Ulugia also dotting down after Clermont were awarded a penalty try.

Clermont, who were beaten by Stade in last year's final, remained six points clear at the summit ahead of the last two rounds of matches with Toulon and Montpellier both locked on 77 points and European Cup runners-up Racing 92 also qualified for the playoffs. 

"We managed the game well, Stade didn't come here to be walked all over. We were able to adapt to the weather conditions as well as adversity," said Clermont coach Franck Azema.

"Morgan Parra is having a good season, it's night and day with the start of the championship," he added, saluting the display of the France scrum-half. 

The hosts jumped out to a 9-0 lead in soggy conditions, with Parra sending over two penalties before Scott Spedding added a third.

Morne Steyn put Stade on the board with a 32nd-minute penalty, but Clermont went into the interval with a 19-3 advantage as Parra struck again before the hosts added a penalty try with Stade prop Rabah Slimani in the sin-bin.

Ulugia touched down two minutes into the second half, Parra again converting, but Stade gave themselves a glimmer of hope when Djibril Camara grabbed a 53rd-minute try.

However, Parra completed a fine individual performance with a try of his own 10 minutes later to leave Clermont needing to beat either Toulouse or La Rochelle in their remaining games to nail down a spot in the Top 14 semi-finals.
Source :AFP