
Stade Français and Clermont produced an early candidate for the game of the season after drawing 30-30 at the Stade Jean Bouin in Paris. We've got extended highlights plus a shorter recap if you don't have the time (we'd highly recommend the longer video though).
Six tries in total on a sun-kissed September afternoon of non-stop attacking and counter-attacking perfectly encapsulated the passion and flair of French rugby.
Stade dominated the opening half with Geoffrey Doumayrou the star player for the home side. The centre bagged two almost identical chip-and-chase tries inside the opening 15 minutes before creating a third for winger Djibril Camara barely 10 minutes later.
Clermont had the rub of the green in the second half though and fought backÂ*from two disallowed tries to edge in front thanks to two Morgan Parra penalties and a long-range effort from Scott Spedding.
Spedding exchanged penalties with Jules Plisson before Fritz Lee seemed to have given Clermont the upper hand by sneaking through the middle of a line-out to score in the corner.
Stade retaliated and scored a brilliantly worked try two minutes from time through Waisea Nayacalevu, which Plisson converted. But the drama was left for the final minute.
With both teams coming so far, neither wanted to settle for the draw meaning the final 60 seconds were a frantic battle for the vital winning score. Defences were inevitably lax but neither Stade nor Clermont held on to possession and an exhilarating game ended in a 30-30 deadlock.
View the 20 minute highlights video below, with the shorter highlights (in French) on page two
credit: therugbychannelXV
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