Stoddart was sent to the sin bin for the first time on 15minutes when he was harshly punished for lazy running at a ruck. He got on the wrong side of referee Peter Fitzgibbon again just before halftime when he was failed to move away from a ruck after making a try-saving tackle.

A disappointed Scarlets head coach Simon Easterby was bitterly disappointed to see his side go down to the heavy loss after stunning the home side in the first spell with a Jonathan Davies try as his team held Clermont to 13-13 before Stoddart's premature departure.

Easterby said: "We came with a good game plan and it was going well for 30 minutes, but the sending off changed everything. The red card is harsh to say the least.

"Certain things were going our way, we were sticking to our plan but they scored a soft try with virtually their first attack of the half. I didn't see the first sin-bin, the second if Morgan didn't roll away should it have been a penalty try?

"He knew he had sent him to the sin-bin and didn't show any empathy for the game. But we didn't get the defence right on Morgan's wing and they scored three tries."

Clermont are now unbeaten in 48 games at home, and Easterby is demanding his side hit back next week when they face current European champions Leinster at Parc y Scarlets.

"We will take a lot from this game, we took a bit of a beating which will be tough to take. The players in there to a man are bitterly disappointed, but this group is still very much alive and we are very much alive in it.

"But next week is a must win game. If you lose your first in Europe, you have to win your second."

The French giants showed no mercy in the second half, snaffling five tries through Lee Byrne, Damien Chouly, Julien Bonnaire and Naipolioni Nalaga along with a penalty try.