ACC, r6: Jonny Wilkinson's Toulon hit Castres for six to secure quarter-final berth

24 January 2010

Toulon ran in four first-half tries - and six in total - as they beat Castres 42-10 to secure their quarter-final berth in the Amlin Challenge Cup.

Castres full-back Thomas Bouquié kicked the visitors into an early lead with his second-minute penalty, but it was all Toulon after that with Mafi Kefu (2), Christian Loamanu and Sinoti Sinoti all crossing for tries before the half-time interval. England fly-half Jonny Wilkinson kicked all four conversions, sending Toulon into the break with a 28-3 lead.

That effectively secured Toulon's continued European progress as it guaranteed them an attacking bonus, and lifted them above Pool 3 rivals Saracens in the process.

But the hosts continued to attack after the break with Loamanu grabbing his second of the night, and flanker Cédric Beal completing the rout 10 minutes from time. Wilkinson maintained his 00% record by landing both conversions, while Castres did at least manage a try of their own (after 67 minutes) when Bouquié touched down.

The result was enough to give Toulon a one-point lead over Saracens in Pool 3, with the English side powerless to prevent themselves going out despite winning 56-8 away to Rugby Rovigo earlier on Saturday afternoon.

Montauban won their all-French Pool 5 encounter with SCA Albi, beating Top 14's basement club 27-20 in their final group match.

The hosts opened up a quick-fire 6-0 lead after two early penalties from Julien Audy, but then found themselves 6-17 down after half an hour following two converted tries and a penalty from Albi.

Winger Baptiste Hecker was first over, touching down in the 11th minute, before Blair Stewart added the conversion and a 17th-minute penalty. Captain and number eight Vincent Clément then extended Albi's advantage when he added their second try just five minutes later, with Stewart on the money with his conversion.

But the double blow stunned Montauban into an immediate response, with the home side then replying with their own try-double before the half-time break. Flanker Abdellatif Boutaty touched down on 27 minutes, with outside centre Jean Philippe Viard following in six minutes later. And with Julien Audy landing both conversions it was 20-17 to Montauban at the interval after an entertaining opening 40 minutes.

Amlin Challenge Cup - Pool results and tables

The second half was pedestrian by comparison, with Montauban adding a third try by Félix de Bourhis just two minutes after the restart, and Audy again adding the extras. Albi managed a solitary penalty in reply - through Kevin Boulogne - as the second-half petered out amid a welter of substitutions.

The result left Montauban two points behind Pool 5 winners Newcastle Falcons - who had earlier sealed their quarter-final berth with a 20-3 home win over Padova.

Montpellier were France's other Top 14 side in action on Friday night, and they concluded their Pool 2 campaign with an 8-3 home win over Worcester Warriors - and thus completed the double over their Guinness Premiership rivals.

Worcester led 3-0 at half-time thanks to a Matthew Jones penalty but the visitors paid for their ill-discipline as Matt Cox, James Collins and Tom Wood being sin-binned in the 31st, 53rd and 59th minutes respectively.

Montpellier's match-winning try came two minutes after the last of those three yellow cards, with number eight Marc Giraud getting the decisive score. Fly-half Jaques Schutte added a 70th-minute penalty to seal the win, but it still wasn't enough to earn them qualification, as they finished second behind Connacht.

On Saturday, Bayonne continued their upsurge in form with a 55-6 away win ay Rugby Roma in Pool 4, a result which lifted them above Racing-Métro 92 but still left them behind group winners London Wasps.

Those two sides met on Thursday, when Jonathan Wisniewski kicked an injury-time penalty to hand Racing a 19-17 home win against previously unbeaten Guinness Premiership side.

Racing were playing for pride after losing three of their previous five matches in the Amlin Challenge Cup, but there last-gasp win could have serious implications for Wasps, who were looking for a sixth straight win to seal a home quarter-final berth.

Wisniewski had opened the night's scoring with a third-minute penalty, but the Guinness Premiership side recovered to lead 9-10 at the interval thanks to a Tom Varndell try and five points from the boot of fly-half Danny Cipriani.

Amlin Challenge Cup - Pool results and tables

A second Wisniewski penalty, coupled with a 28th-minute drop-goal, kept the Parisians in touch and they subsequently reclaimed the lead after 57 minutes when Dan Ward-Smith was yellow carded and Racing won a penalty try, putting them 16-10 up.

But Wasps rallied again, despite being a man down, and Varndell's second try of the night on 65 minutes - again converted by Cipriani - edged them 16-17 with just 15 minutes to play. It remained like that until the dying seconds when a high tackle on the Racing fly-half enabled Wisniewski to steal it for Pierre Berbizier's at the death.

Wisniewski's last-gasp kick sealed the 19-17 win, and left Cipriani and Wasps ruing two missed kicks of their own when leading 10-3 early in the first half. The English side must now watch how the other weekend results unfold to see whether they do indeed secure that crucial home advantage in the last eight.

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