Leinster overturn half-time deficit to beat Clermont 48-23

Leinster opened their Champions Cup campaign with a 48-23 bonus-point victory at Clermont Auvergne on Saturday, overturning a half-time deficit with five second-half tries. Reports from BBC Sport and RTÉ confirmed the seven-try win at Stade Marcel-Michelin, where the visitors had trailed 16-15 at the interval despite scoring twice in the opening period.

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Tadhg Furlong and Dan Sheehan supplied Leinster's first-half tries, but those scores did not give Leo Cullen's side control of the contest before the break. RTÉ highlighted Sheehan's anticipation in capitalising on a Clermont line-out mistake near the home side's tryline, one of the openings Leinster converted during a closely contested first half.

The balance changed soon after play resumed. Sam Prendergast's try provided the early breakthrough in a second half that turned a narrow contest into a comfortable away victory. RTÉ identified that score as the starting point for Leinster's improvement after the interval, with the Irish province going on to secure the bonus point as well as the win.

BBC Sport's account detailed the move: Prendergast broke through and kicked towards Jimmy O'Brien, who controlled the ball with his foot before gathering it and returning a pass to the fly-half. Prendergast finished beneath the posts within two minutes of the restart and ended the match with 16 points. Clermont had led through Joris Jurand's try and Harry Plummer's first-half kicking contribution of 11 points.

Leinster then received a penalty try, with Clermont prop Nohem Ez Zahouany sent to the sin-bin, before Sheehan added his second score. Mathys Belaubre crossed for the hosts, but Jack Conan and Tommy O'Brien scored in the closing quarter of an hour to extend Leinster's advantage and complete the visitors' seven-try total.

The pool-one result gave the four-time European champions a winning start to another attempt to claim a fifth title. BBC Sport noted that Leinster had lost a fifth final in eight seasons in May. Cullen selected a starting team packed with Ireland internationals for the trip to Clermont, and that side returned with a bonus-point victory.