Live: Leinster face Clermont in Champions Cup opener

Clermont Auvergne 16-15 Leinster (HT)Half-time: Clermont 16-15 LeinsterLeinster win it back at the kick-off but a Clermont spill means they’re under advantage. Having gone backwards, Carley says there’s no advantage and calls the half to a close. 39 mins: Leinster are caught offside and it’s in kicking range for Plummer. He calls for the tee in a bid to retake the lead with the last play of the half. He’s got it. But there are still 10 seconds on the clock so we will have a restart. Clermont 16-15 Leinster37 mins: Carley really isn’t doing much to please Leinster here, not that that’s his job. Van der Flier is clearly on the ball, to the point that it pops out of the ruck, but the referee says he was latched onto an arm at the ruck. So he doesn’t reward him with a penalty. Then, at the next breakdown, van der Flier does get over the ball but Carley says he was on his knees. Clermont kick for the corner where Baird competes well at the lineout, winning the ball back. 35 mins: Oh that’s silly, stupid even. Carley told Clermont to stop competing for the ball with one of their own lying on the wrong side. That doesn’t stop Swain from flying in and clattering into Conan, who was blindsided by the hit. Penalty awarded and Leinster call for the tee in a bid to retake the lead coming up to half-time. It’s a straightforward kick inside the 22, Prendergast makes no mistake. Clermont 13-15 Leinster TRY JORIS JURAND33 mins: That scrum off the dead kick costs Leinster. One strong carry off the back of it gives momentum. From there, they hammer away at the line before going wide, drawing in the Leinster defence. Wing Jurand is the one who benefits in the corner. What’s more, Plummer’s conversion from the touchline is a beauty and Clermont now lead for the first time. Clermont 13-12 Leinster 30 mins: Mistake from Prendergast. Looking for a big spiral bomb from inside his own 22, he catches it beautifully. Too well, in fact. Jauneau tried to gather but missed it. Fortunately for him, the ball bounces over the dead-ball line without touching a Clermont hand. Back we go for a home scrum inside the Leinster 22. Tadhg Furlong asks Carley to be consistent with his call of crooked put-ins now Clermont have the ball. You have to laugh, really. TRY DAN SHEEHAN28 mins: That’s a gift, an absolute gift. The result of the previous counter-ruck was a charged down clearance going into touch. Clermont lineout close to their own line. However, they make a meal of it, the ball rebounding over the try-line as Leinster put pressure on the throw. The first man to react to the bouncing ball? Dan Sheehan, beating Jauneau in-goal. A soft, opportunistic score but five points all the same. Prendergast misses the wide conversion. Clermont 6-12 Leinster28 mins: Clermont’s defence is good, forcing a counter-ruck that sees another Leinster attack die inside the 22. 26 mins: Trouble here. Prendergast is down behind play and Carley immediately calls for a penalty in Leinster’s favour. Secondrow Swain is guilty of a late hit and Carley wants to have a look at why a scuffle broke out afterwards. Well, it turns out that the tackle was fine, timing-wise. However, Swain took his time to get off the outhalf, holding him on the floor. That’s why Joe McCarthy then got involved and others followed, albeit it was all very tame. Penalty only, Leinster go to the corner. Leinster's Joe McCarthy. Photograph: Ben Brady/Inpho 23 mins: Andrew Porter has Zahouany on toast at the scrum so far. Up pops the tighthead under pressure from the Leinster loosehead. Penalty, another scrum. Oh wow. Fintan Gunne has been pinged for a crooked feed into the scrum. This after Carley called him earlier for taking too long to set up a box-kick. Gunne won’t have the English referee on his Christmas card list. Clermont use the free-kick to clear their lines. 21 mins: Prendergast’s chip in behind goes dead, Keenan in hot pursuit. They had advantage, though, Clermont caught offside again. This one is very kickable but Leinster call for a scrum 5m from the line. Clermont first have to make a HIA, Lanen’s gumshield is flashing a warning. Michaux is on for him at secondrow. 19 mins: Leinster thought they had lost out in attack as Gunne spilled at the base of the ruck. However, the officials have spotted a cynical hand on the floor knocking the ball loose. Secondrow Lanen was the culprit. He’s lucky to not see yellow for that. Prendergast goes to the corner. 15 mins: Now Porter is caught offside trying to get off the line quickly. It’s in a similar spot to the last Plummer penalty but closer to the sticks. No surprise to see the kicking tee come back on. He really does strike the ball beautifully. Just like that, Leinster’s lead is down to one. Clermont 6-7 Leinster 13 mins: Henshaw slips a bit high in his tackle on Plummer. It’s marginal, but Carley sticks the arm out. Clermont could go into the corner but they’ve called for the kicking tee. Shot at goal from just inside the Leinster half. Plummer strikes it well and Clermont are on the board. Clermont 3-7 LeinsterTRY TADHG FURLONG10 mins: That’s an excellent score. IT all comes from a lineout just outside the 22, a dummy pop and switch at the back of a maul seeing Conan send Sheehan away down the short side. 10 or so phases later, playing under advantage after Clermont strayed offside, Gunne sniped from the base of the ruck, finding half a gap before offloading to Furlong. It’s not often we see the tighthead burrowing his way over the line, but that’s exactly what happened as he rides a tackle to open the scoring. Prendergast converts from a little bit out to the left. Clermont 0-7 LeinsterLeinster's Irish tighthead prop Tadhg Furlong scores a try. Photograph: Idriss Bigou-Gilles / AFP via Getty Images 9 mins: Leinster get close again. This time Keenan chases Prendergast’s kick into the 22 and wins the battle for it. Looking to land and sprint towards the line, he loses the ball in contact thanks to a hit from Plummer - the man he originally beat in the air. 8 mins: Jimmy O’Brien is over! Chasing a kick in behind, he beat Bautista Delguy to the ball in the in-goal. The only question is if he got enough downward pressure on the ball for the score?NO TRYMatthew Carley says O’Brien knocked-on in-goal while trying to dot down. It was an impressive break from Leinster, going wide in a counter-attack before O’Brien’s chip and chase. 7 mins: Prendergast with a rush of blood to the head. Retreating into the backfield to recover a kick, he tries to take on Jurrand - a wing - on the outside. It’s a predictable race that, given the disparity in pace. That leaves Prendergast scragged inside his own 22 but Leinster, thanks to a cleanout from Tommy O’Brien, manage to secure the ball and clear.5 mins: An early Leinster attack stutters despite a strong carry from Tommy O’Brien. Prendergast goes to the air but overcooks it, allowing Clermont to mark inside the 22. 2 mins: Leinster get away with giving away an early scrum right on their 22. The frontrow gets a big shove on at the scrum, driving Clermont back. Noah, at number eight, tries to pick and go but spills the ball. Now it’s a Leinster scrum in the same position. They get another shove and, this time, win a penalty. Leinster winning a scrum penalty against a big French pack? 1 min: Matthew Carley is today’s referee. He’s told Clermont to kick things off as they’re underway on a wet, greasy-looking surface in France. Straight away, Leinster make an error. Fintan Gunne doesn’t use the ball when told while lining up a box-kick. He was trying to ask Carley if he was in or outside the 22 to know if he could kick to touch, but in the time it took to pose the question, Carley said he had left the ball for longer than 5 seconds inside the ruck. Clermont 0-0 LeinsterThe players are out but before we start, there will be a moment’s silence in honour of Hyron Andrews. The South African lock tragically died on Friday while travelling with the Lions for their game against La Rochelle. LIONS SADDENED BY THE PASSING OF STAR LOCKWith broken hearts, we mourn Hyron Andrews, a cherished member of our Lions family. Our thoughts are with Maiglin, Hendrix, Emerson and the entire Andrews family.Rest in peace, Hyron. ❤️Full statement: https://t.co/V8WppYBnPk pic.twitter.com/lrVV5xLBqk— Lions (@LionsRugbyCo) October 16, 2026 On the Premier Sports coverage, they’re discussing some of the selection calls made by Leinster. It’s hard to say there are any ‘controversial’ calls, but the most hotly contested is probably at inside centre. Robbie Henshaw gets the nod today, with Jamie Osborne on the bench having started there last week. I’m sure Jamie Osborne is scratching his head at times. But Robbie has the experience. — Steven Ferris on Premier SportsLeinster's Robbie Henshaw. Photograph: Ben Brady/Inpho Over to the provincial run of games so. Leinster are set to kick-off in 10 minutes time. ASM Clermont Auvergne's Harry Plummer, Referee Matthew Carley and Leinster's Dan Sheehan at the coin toss ahead of the match. Photograph: Ben Brady/Inpho It’s just gone full-time in the first games of the day. Glasgow’s maul was dominant in the final quarter as they’re up and running with a hefty win over Sale. Champions CupSale 27-47 Glasgow Bulls 56-20 Stade FrancaisChallenge Cup Black Lion 14- 39 Ospreys Lyon 33-40 Sharks Glasgow Warriors' forwards go over the line for Scott Cummings to score a try. Photograph: Bryan Keane/Inpho Some stats for you. There’s been plenty of chatter on how new maul law applications have rendered that set-piece a more potent, if not unstoppable weapon. If that is the case, which clubs appear well set, based on the strength of their mauls last season? The short answer, historically at least, is not the provinces. For what it’s worth, Glasgow have just scored a maul try against Sale in one of the day’s early kick-offs...Read the full story below. [ Champions Cup stats show futility of hoping to break French stranglehold Opens in new window ]Metres per maul in last year's EPCR and domestic competitions. A view of the team kits ahead of kick-off. Clermont are in their European navy strip as opposed to their usual home yellow. As a result, Leinster can’t wear their own navy European offering, meaning they’re in the away white. Or at least I think it’s white? Maybe it’s grey...Investec Champions Cup Round 1, Stade Marcel-Michelin, Clermont-Ferrand, France 17/10/2026 ASM Clermont Auvergne vs Leinster A view of Baptiste Jauneau’s locker in the ASM Clermont Auvergne dressing room ahead of the match. Photograph: Ben Brady/Inpho A view of the Leinster jersey in the dressing room ahead of the match. Photograph: Ben Brady/Inpho Here’s some pre-match reading for you. John O’Sullivan’s preview is well worth your time. In it, he covers Joey Carbery’s return, Clermont’s threat at lineout time and how Leinster have tried to evolve their attack in recent weeks. Click the link below. Leinster have yet to score a maul try this season, and given their proliferation in the URC, that’s a statistic that jumps out and one that they’d love to rectify this afternoon. They’ll need to be strong and disciplined across set piece and breakdown and uncompromising in the collisions. The evolution in attack has been notable and noteworthy in qualitative terms.— John O'Sullivan[ Leinster to bring evolved attack as Clermont Auvergne challenge bears signs of similar tussleOpens in new window ]Joey Carbery returns to Leinster action today. Photograph: Ben McShane/Sportsfile Given Ulster are in Challenge Cup action at the same time as Leinster, it’s worth reminding us of the squad they’ve picked to take on Zebre. Plenty wondered how seriously Ulster would take this competition, given they went all in for last year’s final and both lost that while missing out on the URC playoffs. The answer is serious-ish. Richie Murphy has named seven of his 10 Ireland internationals - Tom O’Toole, Cormac Izuchukwu, Nathan Doak, Rob Baloucoune, Jacob Stockdale, Tom Stewart and Eric O’Sullivan. However, Jamie Benson at 10 or a centre pairing of Jake Flannery and Daniel Hawkshaw is not, you would think, Ulster’s first choice. As for Clermont, they have avoided the French affliction of picking purely second string teams for European competition. Leinster at home and all the history these two have during the province’s pomp, winning three titles in four years between 2009-12, perhaps it makes sense why they’re going after this one. Key man Baptiste Jauneau starts at scrumhalf with Bautista Delguy and AJ Lam providing running threats in the outside backs. Perhaps fortunately for Leinster, the appropriately named prop Regis Montagne hasn’t been named in the squad having featured in last week’s narrow defeat to Bordeaux. Nevertheless, there is plenty of heft in this Clermont pack. Let’s start with the team news from the day’s first Irish Champions Cup game. Leinster have made six changes to the XV that beat Cardiff in last weekend’s return to the RDS. Tommy O’Brien replaces Joshua Kenny on the right flank while Robbie Henshaw comes in for Jamie Osborne in the outside backs. At halfback, with Jamison Gibson-Park not yet fit for action, Fintan Gunne swaps in for Oliver Coffey. In the pack, Andrew Porter replaces Alex Usanov at loosehead, while Ryan Baird and Josh van der Flier come in for Max Deegan and Scott Penny in the backrow. There is going to be a first Leinster appearance for Joey Carbery since the province’s Champions Cup final win back in 2018. After stints with Munster and Bordeaux, Carbery is back at his home province and provides outhalf cover on the bench, Leinster going with the more experienced option over exciting young 10 Caspar Gabriel. Good afternoon everyone and welcome to live coverage of the start of the provincial run in this year’s Champions Cup. All three Irish sides involved in the top tier of European (and South African, for the sticklers) rugby are in action today. Ulster, who line out in the second tier Challenge Cup, also take to the field today. We’ll bring you updates from all of the action as it happens this afternoon and into the evening. First up, it’s last season’s beaten finalists Leinster taking on Clermont in the raucous Stade Marcel-Michelin. At the same time, Ulster are in Parma to take on Zebre. At 5.30pm, Connacht welcome three-time champions Saracens to Galway before Munster host Racing 92 in Cork at 8pm