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Kotaro Matsushima took his season try tally up to seven in nine games with his hat-trick at Ashton Gate
Geoff Caddick
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UPDATES with Edinburgh-La Rochelle
Clermont coach Franck Azema praised "blossoming" Kotaro Matsushima after the Japan full-back scored a hat-trick of tries as the Top 14 giants opened their European Champions Cup campaign with a 51-38 bonus-point win at Bristol on Saturday.
Matsushima's tries took his season tally to seven in nine games as Clermont, the three-time runners-up, dominated the second-tier European Challenge Cup holders with some scintillating expansive play.
"We feel whether it's on or off the field in daily life he's blossoming. He feels good, he smiles, so we're happy. That's why we signed him," Azema told Sud Radio.