Three-time winners of the EPCR Challenge Cup ASM Clermont Auvergne held off a Cheetahs fightback in the Round of 16 to earn a 27-22 victory at the Stade Marcel-Michelin on Saturday.

The TOP14 club ran in three tries before the break, wings Joris Jurand and Bautista Delguy penning their names on the scoresheet with hooker Etienne Fourcade also crossing.

Flyhalf Anthony Belleau contributed a trio of successful kicks – one penalty and a pair of conversions.

Replacement scrumhalf Baptiste Jauneau added a fourth try early in the second period to put the hosts up 27-3, with the French entity seemingly having one foot in the quarter-final with just 20 minutes remaining.

Close finish

However, the United Rugby Championship (URC) club would make a game of it with three tries in the final quarter of the contest - replacement Sibabalo Qoma notching a brace in addition to a solo effort from full-back Tapiwa Mafura

Scrumhalf Ruan Pienaar matched his kicking counterpart with seven points from the tee.

The victory earns the TOP14 club a home match in the next round with either domestic rivals Montpellier Hérault Rugby or URC club Ulster Rugby set to visit the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region next weekend.

Over in the Champions Cup, the Bulls were at their ruthless best as they thrashed Lyon 59-19 in the European Champions Cup match, at Loftus Versfeld, in Pretoria on Saturday.

The Bulls outscored their opponents by nine tries to two, in a completely one-sided affair as the home side moved on to the quarter-final of the competition.

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