DHL Stormers go down in Clermont-Ferrand

The DHL Stormers saw home side ASM Clermont Auvergne come from behind to secure a 24-14 win in their Heineken Champions Cup encounter at the Stade Marcel Michelin on Saturday.

The DHL Stormers were dominant in the first half and took an 11-point lead into the break, but the game was turned on its head in the second half in front of a passionate home crowd.

The opening exchanges were tense and things were made even more difficult for the DHL Stormers when Ben-Jason Dixon was shown a yellow card after just eight minutes.

“Dixon was on for Ernst van Rhyn who was off for a Head Impact Assessment and was sent to the bin for 10 minutes for a high tackle.

The teams traded penalties and were level at 3-3 when the DHL Stormers went back to 15.

They dominated the rest of the first half, with two more penalties and a maul try from Deon Fourie who was imperious at the breakdown.

The hosts started the second half with confidence and had a try in the corner from fullback Alex Newsome and they followed that up with a penalty to bring themselves back within a point.

The French side had all the momentum in the second half and they took the lead for the first time when wing Alivereti Raka scored with 15 minutes left.

A drop-goal and a penalty from Plisson were enough to seal the 10-point win for the home side.

The scorers:

For DHL Stormers:
Try: Fourie
Pens: Libbok 2, Blommetjies

For ASM Clermont Auvergne:
Tries: Newsome, Raka
Con: Plisson
Pens: Plisson 3
DG: Plisson

DHL Stormers: 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Alapati Leuia, 13 Ruhan Nel, 12 Dan du Plessis, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Herschel Jantjies, 8 Hacjivah Dayimani, 7 Ernst van Rhyn, 6 Deon Fourie, 5 Gary Porter, 4 Salmaan Moerat, 3 Neethling Fouche, 2 Joseph Dweba, 1 Steven Kitshoff (captain).
Replacements: 16 Andre-Hugo Venter, 17 Ali Vermaak, 18 Sazi Sandi, 19 Ben-Jason Dixon, 20 Marcel Theunissen, 21 Junior Pokomela, 22 Paul de Wet, 23 Clayton Blommetjies.