Paris: Clermont, fired by new fly-half Camille Lopez, made it two from two in the Top 14 with a drab 21-6 victory over Brive on Saturday.
Lopez, a close season signing from relegated Perpignan, stepped into Brock James boots at 10 and kicked five penalties and a drop-goal (18 points) in the win that broke Clermont`s six-match losing away streak.
The fly-half was making his competitive debut for Clermont alongside Wales and Lions centre Jonathan Davies and former All Blacks winger Zac Guilford, who received a late yellow card.
But Clermont`s threat came more from their hard-hitting pack than in the backs, with Brive`s scrum destroyed.
The home side were also guilty of countless infringements at the ruck, handing first Morgan Parra and then Lopez the opportunity to keep the scoreboard ticking over for an academic victory.
On Friday, Toulouse clinched a four-try, bonus-point 35-6 win over Castres to make it two wins in two outings of the new French Top 14 season.
Gael Fickou, Jean-Marc Doussain, Maxime Medard and Sebastien Bezy all scored tries on a night when they played the last 15 minutes with 14 men after replacement full-back Thomas Ramos was red-carded for violent play after only being on the field for under two minutes.
Defending champions Toulon, convincing 29-15 victors over Bayonne last week, entertain newly-promoted La Rochelle later Saturday.
Elsewhere, Brive host Clermont, Grenoble travel to Montpellier, Bordeaux-Begles entertain Racing-Metro and fellow Paris team Stade Francais welcome newcomers Lyon.
AFP
First Published: Saturday, August 23, 2014, 23:20
