Top 14: Rougerie double hands Clermont a rare away win

20 December 2008

Dax 16 (10) Clermont 20 (10)

Aurelian Rougerie’s last-minute try – his second of the game – earned Clermont a rare away win as they triumphed 20-16 against valiant Dax at the Stade Maurice Boyau.

The victory was only their second in seven attempts on the road this campaign – their first since beating Bourgoin on October 4 – and it consolidated Les Jaunards in fifth place at the halfway point of the season.

It was the perfect antidote for Vern Cotter’s men after last week’s Irish heartbreak in Munster, with returning captain Rougerie stealing the headlines with his two-try display.

And yet it could so easily have been Dax who were celebrating after another battling performance that confirmed them as a class above current relegations strugglers such as Mont-de-Marsan, Castres and Toulon.

Indeed, it was Thomas Lièvremont’s side which opened the scoring when Fijian winger Neumi Nanuku went over for his fifth try of the season in the 11^th minute. It was the first try the visitors had conceded in the league for 348 minutes, or since October 25 when they played Montauban, and Antoine Vignau-Tuquet added the conversion to give them a 7-0 lead.

But Clermont’s response was instant, with Rougerie touching down three minutes later after a deft cross-field kick by Australian fly-half Brock James – who also kicked the extras.

Both sides pushed for further scores before the break, with Dax full-back David Bortolussi landing a 22^nd-minute drop-goal before James drew Clermont level again as he replied in kind.

Vignau-Tuquet and James both missed with penalties soon after the restart before Dax once more claimed the lead courtesy of another drop-goal, this time a close-in effort from Vignau-Tuquet.

A 66^th-minute penalty from James left it all square once more but the home side looked to have secured the win when Vignau-Tuquet landed yet another drop-goal – their third of the game – to leave them 16-13 ahead with just four minutes remaining.

But Clermont threw everything they had at Dax in a thrilling finale, with Rougerie eventually powering over after a five-metre scrum gave them the perfect attacking position in the last minute.

It still required television replays to confirm the score, before James sealed the win with the conversion.

It was tough luck on Dax, who had never been behind in the match until that last score, but at least they had the satisfaction of taking a losing bonus point.

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