Northampton 34 Clermont Auvergne 21: Saints restore lost pride and end Clermont's unbeaten run

Northampton restored some of their lost pride after a wretched European campaign with a stunning bonus-point win which ended Clermont’s unbeaten run.

A dominant second half display produced tries for Ben Foden, Ken Pisi and Cobus Reinach and went a long way towards erasing the memory of their shambolic display against Ospreys five weeks ago which  led to Jim Mallinder’s departure as director of rugby.

Under Alan Gaffney, there have been encouraging signs of a recovery, and this was  a lively and resilient display.

“The players have been to some dark places over the last three months,” said attack coach Alan Dickens after the Clermont victory. “It’s good to see them smiling and the ground rocking.” 

Northampton still have plenty of work to do before they can be considered a Premiership force but they will head to Saracens for their final pool match next Saturday in decent fettle.

Yesterday, their defence was twice exposed in the first half when Clermont attacked with wing Remi Grosso crossing almost from the kick-off, then former England utility back Nick Abendanon setting up Isaiah Toeava.Last month, Northampton might have disappeared without trace, but they were driven forward by the aggression of Dylan Hartley, Courtney Lawes and Tom Wood and inspired by a couple of touches of magic from Foden.

A crossfield kick from Foden bounced kindly for Nafi Tuitavake, then the former England full-back gathered a poor clearance from Luke McAlister and raced through a gaping hole in Clermont’s defence for the try that turned the match. “Ben is talking about rolling back the years. He’s got boots on from 2011, and thinks that was the secret today. I was really pleased for him. It was a fantastic try. He should be chuffed,” Dickens said.

Northampton were never comfortable, but Hartley instilled improved discipline in the second half. Clermont, struggling to retain their Top 14 title in an injury-ravaged season, lost the tactical battle by kicking away too much possession after regaining the lead through two Morgan Parra penalties.

Northampton made their pressure in the final quarter pay as Pisi wriggled over after Harry Mallinder found Rob Horne with a hanging kick. Reinach denied Clermont a losing bonus point when he went over from close range.

Match details

Scores 5-0 Grosso try; 0-76 Parra con; 5-7 Harrison try; 5-12 Toeava try; 5-15 Parra pen; 10-15 Tuitavake try; 13-15 Mallinder pen; 18-15 Foden try; 20-15 Mallinder con; 20-18 Parra pen; 20-21 Parra pen; 25-21 Pisi try; 27-21 Maillinder con; 32-21 Reinach try; 34-21 Mallinder con.

Northampton A Tuala (N Tuitavake 28); K Pisi, R Horne, T Stephenson, B Foden; H Mallinder, N Groom (C Reinach 59); C Ma’afu (F van Wyk 61), D Hartley (captain – M Heywood 61), K Brookes (J Ford-Robinson 77), A Ratuniyarawa (M Paterson 74), C Day, C Lawes, T Wood, T Harrison (M Eadie 77).

Clermont Auvergne I Toeava; N Abendanon, P Betham, R Lamerat, R Grosso; L McAlister (S Spedding 64), M Parra (captain); E Falgoux (R Chaume 64), B Kayser (Y Beheregaray 74), R Slimani (D Zirakashvili 61), F van der Merwe (A Itturia 54) (P Jedrasiak 67) , S Vahaamahina, D Chouly (V Kolelishvili 61), A Lapandry, F Lee.

Referee George Clancy (Ireland)