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Dan Carter’s conversion of Juan Imhoff’s try sealed a superb extra-time 34-33 win for Racing 92 over Clermont in the Top 14 semi-final
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The two sides had been tied 27-27 at the end of normal
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WATCH: Dan Carter kicks Racing Metro into top14 Final ! Unbelievable last minute try!
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Racing now head to the Nou Camp in Barcelona to face either Toulon or Montpellier in the final
Racing 92 overcame Clermont 34-33 in a French Top 14 semi-final extra-time thriller tonight with All Black legend Dan Carter sealing the famous victory with a conversion in the game’s 99th minute.
Toulon face Montpellier in the second semi-final, also at Rennes, on Saturday with Racing awaiting the winners in the final to be played at Barcelona’s Nou Camp stadium on June 25.
A drop goal from Camille Lopez opened the scoring for Clermont before Carter struck back with three straight penalties to edge Racing six points in front.
Johan Goosen’s try then gave Racing a commanding lead but Fritz Lee crucially hit back before the break for Clermont to go with a Morgan Parra penalty, as Racing led 16-11 after a highly competitive opening 40.
Two penalties from Camille Lopez after the break give Clermont a narrow lead for the first time before Joe Rokocoko’s try and a Goosen penalty recaptured the lead for Racing, 17-24.
Lopez and Carter traded kicks heading into the final quarter but centre Wesley Fofana’s converted try made the scores level at 27-27 in the 63rd minute.
Neither side could find the necessary score to win, sending the contest to extra-time, where Scott Spedding and Tom James put Clermont in in front with time quickly running out.
But after Viktor Kolelishvili’s yellow card for a dangerous tackle on Luc Ducalcon, Imhoff and Carter combined to snatch victory for Racing at the end of a thrilling encounter.
DAN CARTER
Clermont: 15 Scott Spedding, 14 David Strettle, 13 Aurélien Rougerie, 12 Wesley Fofana, 11 Nick Abendanon, 10 Camille Lopez, 9 Morgan Parra, 8 Fritz Lee, 7 Alexandre Lapandry, 6 Damien Chouly, 5 Sébastien Vahaamahina, 4 Flip van der Merwe, 3 Daniel Kotze, 2 John Ulugia, 1 Raphaël Chaume
Replacements: 16 Pellow van der Westhuizen, 17 Thomas Domingo, 18 Paul Jedrasiak, 19 Viktor Kolelishvili, 20 Ludovic Radosavljevic, 21 Brock James, 22 Noa Nakaitaci, 23 Davit Zirakashvili
Racing 92: 15 Brice Dulin, 14 Joe Rokocoko, 13 Johan Goosen, 12 Henry Chavancy, 11 Juan Imhoff, 10 Dan Carter, 9 Maxime Machenaud, 8 Chris Masoe, 7 Yannick Nyanga, 6 Wenceslas Lauret, 5 Manuel Carizza, 4 Bernard Le Roux, 3 Ben Tameifuna, 2 Dimitri Szarzewski, 1 Eddy Ben Arous
Replacements: 16 Camille Chat, 17 Khatchik Vartanov, 18 Juandré Kruger, 19 Antonie Claassen, 20 Xavier Chauveau, 21 Marc Andreu, 22 Albert Vulivuli, 23 Luc Ducalcon