ASM Clermont Auvergne hosted Benetton Rugby at the Stade Marcel Michelin in a round 1 fixture in the 2024/25 Investec Champions Cup. ASM Clermont Auvergne led 21-00 at the halftime break, scoring their bonus point try with six minutes still to play in the match to secure a 28-00 win.
The hosts started like a house on fire, with a Peceli Yato try within the opening 10 minutes. They managed to maintain this lead all the while fending off a bright spell for Benetton, before adding to their tally through two Barnabe Massa tries, both duly converted by Ben Urdapilleta.
Benetton was clearly determined to reduce the deficit after coming out from half-time, with the Italian side keen to get forward whenever possible. This was soon stamped out by the hosts, however, who soon showed their might over the Italians.
Clermont always looked a threat from their counterattacks, but Benetton managed to remain watertight until the latter stages of the affair. The breakthrough came in the 76’ minute when Peceli Yato joined Barnabé Massa on two tries for the afternoon.
Scorers:
ASM Clermont Auvergne: Tries: Peceli Yato (2), Barnabe Massa (2). Conversions: Ben Urdapilleta (4).
Benetton Rugby:
Teams:
ASM Clermont Auvergne: 15 Alex Newsome, 14 Lucas Tauzin, 13 Mathys Belaubre, 12 Pierre Fouyssac, 11 Alivereti Raka, 10 Ben Urdapilleta, 9 Sebastien Bezy, 8 Fritz Lee (c), 7 Marcos Kremer, 6 Killian Tixeront, 5 Thomas Ceyte, 4 Peceli Yato, 3 Regis Montagne, 2 Barnabe Massa, 1 Etienne Falgoux. Replacements: 16 Etienne Fourcade, 17 Giorgi Akhaladze, 18 Michael Ala’alatoa, 19 Anthime Hemery, 20 Alexandre Fischer, 21 Baptiste Jauneau, 22 Theo Giral, 23 Irae Simone.
Benetton Rugby: 15 Leonardo Marin, 14 Louis Lynagh, 13 Nacho Brex, 12 Tommaso Menoncello, 11 Onisi Ratave, 10 Tomas Albornoz, 9 Alessandro Garbisi, 8 Simon Koroiyadi, 7 Manuel Zuliani, 6 Sebastian Negri, 5 Federico Ruzza (c), 4 Niccolo Cannone, 3 Simone Ferrari, 2 Agustin Creevy, 1 Thomas Gallo. Replacements: 16 Bautista Bernasconi, 17 Mirco Spagnolo, 18 Tiziano Pasquali, 19 Riccardo Favretto, 20 Alessandro Izekor, 21 Toa Halafihi, 22 Lautaro Bazan Velez, 23 Jacob Umaga.