Scarlets 21 (7)
Tries: D James, Peel, R King.
Cons: S Jones 2.

Llanelli Scarlets came up short in France against a Clermont Auvergne side that outpaced and outmuscled their Heineken Cup visitors from Wales.

Clermont captain Aurelien Rougerie got two tries before the break, with fellow wing Julien Malzieu also crossing.

Dafydd James scored for the Scarlets but they trailed 20-7 at half-time.

Julien Bonnaire got a fourth for the French, Scarlets replied through Dwayne Peel and Regan King, but three more Clermont tries sealed a French win.

Interview: Scarlets director of rugby Phil Davies

Rougerie claimed his hat-trick, before fly-half Brock James and replacement prop Thomas Domingo also crossed for tries.

After an early penalty from James, Clermont captain Rougerie extended their lead with a cheeky interception try.

The wing read a long pass from Scarlets fly-half Stephen Jones - hardly surprising as the two were team-mates at the Parc des Sports Marcel-Michelin for two seasons - and romped away under the posts.

We had a great time out there and it's a fantastic start to our European campaign Clermont captain Aurelien Rougerie

But Scarlets hit back immediately thanks to a sublime break from King, the centre handing off Alexandre Audebert to send Dafydd James over in the right corner.

After a nervous wait for the TMO to confirm the grounding of the ball, Jones kicked a fine conversion to leave the Welsh trailing 10-7 after 20 minutes.

Both sides were committed to trying to play with flair and it made for an exciting encounter.

Clermont fly-half James nearly fashioned a score with a clever chip-and-chase down the left, but Morgan Stoddart was alert to the danger.

Yet the Scarlets failed to learn that lesson and James chipped through again, although this time for Malzieu who raced past a labouring Dafydd James to touch down.

Before the half-hour mark Clermont had their third try, open-side flanker Audebert providing the link to allow Rougerie to force his way over for his second try.

Thankfully for the visitors Brock James missed both conversions, but a 20-7 gap at half-time still looked ominous for the Scarlets.

It took less than five minutes after the restart for Clermont to seal a bonus point, as blind-side flanker Bonnaire went over from close range.

A brilliant solo effort from Peel, the scrum-half scorching under the posts after taking a line-out tap down, suggested the Scarlets were not yet out of it.

And that was confirmed as a flowing move from right to left sucked in the French cover, allowing King to gather and run in another seven-pointer.

But back came Clermont again, Gonzalo Canale chasing through Brock James' kick to gather - with a suspicion of a knock-on - before the ball went out to the right for Rougerie to claim his hat-trick.

James' conversion made it 34-21 to Clermont, before the fly-half raced through for a try of his own that stretched the home side's lead to 20 points.

Scarlets' best chance of taking something out of the match now realistically rested with a fourth try for a bonus point.

But the French powered their way to the end of the match, the strength of their squad such that they were able to bring on South Africa's World Cup-winning captain John Smit at hooker.

Replacement prop Domingo claimed a seventh Clermont try - former Wasps man Alex King converting - to cap a fine performance and leave them top of Pool Five.