Leicester look to Stade after opening stroll

Leicester 57 Clermont Auvergne 23

"I don't imagine Stade Français will bat an eyelid when they hear of this," Howard said, referring to the Parisians who host Leicester this weekend. "They lost to Clermont Auvergne recently, but they would expect to beat them by this sort of margin on their own patch. We all know there are two French teams, who can look the same while being entirely different: the ones playing at home, and those playing away. I'm delighted we've registered a bonus-point victory first up, but let's not get carried away."

Leicester's most influential figures - Geordan Murphy, Daryl Gibson, Andy Goode and the magnificent Martin Corry - performed so well at Welford Road that the Frenchmen might well have been marmalised even had they not lost their senior half-backs, Stephen Jones and Pierre Mignoni, to injury and played as though they were less than fully engaged with the task in hand. They seemed happy to treat the audience to the occasional soupçon of attacking brilliance while declining to tackle anyone clad in green, red and white.

When the likes of Jean-Baptiste Dambielle did manage to make meaningful contact with a Leicester attacker, his victim tended not to be in possession of the ball. Sure enough, the full-back was sent to the sin bin for a crass assault on Murphy, his opposite number, as the Tigers, already 19-6 up, went in search of a second try. Then there was Martin Scelzo, the Argentinian prop, who is constructed on the scale of a Peronist palace and moves at a similar pace. After Scelzo had belatedly spotted Ollie Smith toe-poking the ball through a Clermont Auvergne ruck during the second half and descended upon him like a ton of bricks, he rose to see the extremely rapid Tom Varndell disappearing into the far blue yonder for the third of Leicester's seven-point scores.

Howard conceded that the Frenchmen would be far more accomplished come the return leg in the third week of January. He was, however, thrilled with the contributions of Corry, who he believes is revelling in the leadership role assumed from Martin Johnson, and Gibson, whose return gave the Leicester midfield renewed senses of purpose and direction.

An 80-point orgy for the easily seduced, but less than satisfying for those who crave genuine depth of meaning in their affair with the union game, Saturday's contest at least offered some eye-catching scores. Murphy's shimmering run past Breyton Paulse, which ended with an opening try for Harry Ellis, was lovely, as was Paulse's response early in the second half - a quicksilver attack finished by Tony Marsh. In the end, though, this was a soufflé of an occasion. Next weekend's will be 100 per cent beef, cooked rare.

Leicester: Tries Ellis, Lloyd, Varndell, Goode, Chuter, Murphy; Conversions Goode 6; Penalties Goode 5. Clermont Auvergne: Tries Marsh, Scelzo; Conversions Dambielle, McMullen; Penalties Dambielle 2, McMullen.

Leicester: G Murphy; L Lloyd (A Tuilagi,

56), O Smith, D Gibson (S Vesty, 50), T Varndell; A Goode, H Ellis (A Healey, 59); A Moreno, G Chuter (J Buckland, 66), D Morris (M Holford, 59), J Hamilton (B Kay, 50), L Cullen, L Moody, S Jennings (W Johnson, 66), M Corry (capt).

Clermont Auvergne: J-B Dambielle (S Kiole, 50); A Rougerie (capt), G Canale, A Marsh, B Paulse; C McMullen, J Moreau; L Emmanuelli (G Shvelidze, 56), M Ledesma, M Scelzo, D Barrier ( P Vigouroux, 68), J Cudmore, A Audebert (E Vermeulen, 56), S Broomhall, G Longo.

Referee: A Lewis (Ireland).