First Snow falling in January

Sale 13-22 Clermont Auvergne

vClermont Auvergne, a side who have made two semi-finals and a final in the past three seasons, left a chilly Salford on Saturday night looking anything but the team who are going to upset Saracens’ fortunes in the Massif Central next Sunday.

Instead they had to settle for a snatched win in a game that often appeared merely the backdrop for a couple of players – Danny Cipriani, once of England, and Morgan Parra of France – seeking to rejuvenate stalled Test careers and the French fly-half probably came out of it best if only because he spent most of the evening on the front foot. But the game remained strangely lifeless for 50 minutes before Sale were awarded a penalty try and Jamie Cudmore, the Clermont lock, joined his team-mate Wesley Fofana in the sin-bin. From three points down at the interval Sale had edged four points ahead before a flurry of penalties, three for Camille Lopez – currently the France No10 of choice – and a second for Cipriani, put Clermont two points clear with 10 minutes to go and the long-promised snow finally arriving.

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Clermont Auvergne, a side who have made two semi-finals and a final in the past three seasons, left a chilly Salford on Saturday night looking anything but the team who are going to upset Saracens’ fortunes in the Massif Central next Sunday.

Instead they had to settle for a snatched win in a game that often appeared merely the backdrop for a couple of players – Danny Cipriani, once of England, and Morgan Parra of France – seeking to rejuvenate stalled Test careers and the French fly-half probably came out of it best if only because he spent most of the evening on the front foot. But the game remained strangely lifeless for 50 minutes before Sale were awarded a penalty try and Jamie Cudmore, the Clermont lock, joined his team-mate Wesley Fofana in the sin-bin. From three points down at the interval Sale had edged four points ahead before a flurry of penalties, three for Camille Lopez – currently the France No10 of choice – and a second for Cipriani, put Clermont  jfhgkfhjgkfg ekgh kdhgkg  kfh dkfh dkf dfgh dtwo points clear with 10 minutes to go and the long-promised snow finally arriving. dhksjdhf ksh sdhf ksdf skd s kd.

Continue reading...

Clermont Auvergne, a side who have made two semi-finals and a final in the past three seasons, left a chilly Salford on Saturday night looking anything but the team who are going to upset Saracens’ fortunes in the Massif Central next Sunday.

Instead they had to settle for a snatched win in a game that