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20
September 2008
| Dax 30 |
Biarritz 18
|
| Montauban 10 |
Toulouse 41 |
| Castres 12 |
Clermont 6
|
| Bayonne 19 |
Mont-de-Marsan
15 |
| Toulon 15 |
Bourgoin 9 |
| Stade Francais
37 |
Brive 16 |
| Montpellier 3 |
Perpignan 5 |
Maxine Mermoz scored the game’s
only try as
Perpignan won 5-3 at
Montpellier to consolidate second position
after a nail-biting encounter at the Stade Yves du Manoir.
The result was a major blow for
Les Heraultais, who threw everything they had at Montpellier
and were leading 3-0 for most of the first half thanks to
Frederico Todeschini’s fifth-minute penalty.
But Mermoz’s opportunistic
score on the stroke of half time proved the decisive moment
on Saturday evening, leaving the Catalans joyous as they
completed their fourth win out of five.
But they still trail
Stade Francais, who ran
in four tries en route to a comfortable 37-16 home victory
against struggling
Brive.
Argentine fly-half Juan Martin
Hernandez scored two tries to continue his excellent form
but the match was dominated by an injury to national
compatriot and teammate Juan-Manuel Leguizamon, who was
knocked unconscious by a high tackle from Tongan centre
Sukanaivalo Hufanga.
Hufanga was immediately
red-carded for his indiscretion and Stade, who were winning
16-9 at the time, romped home with relative ease once they
had the numerical advantage. Dave Vainqueur and Franck
Montanella scored the other tries, with Brive flanker
Gerhard Vosloo getting a 74th-minute reply.
The result left Stade clear at
the top with five wins from five, while Les Corrèziens are
now at the foot of the table and still seeking their first
win despite heavy pre-season investment.
Meanwhile, Leguizamon was taken
to hospital for observation and is expected to be out for up
to three weeks.
Toulouse re-found their scoring touch as they
won 41-10 at
Montauban’s Stade
Sapiac.
David Skrela was in formidable
form with his goal kicking, landing four penalties and a
conversion as the visitors raced into a 19-3 half-time lead.
Byron Kelleher’s clever box kick set up Donguy for
Toulouse’s opening try, with Medard and Lacombe also going
over after the break.
It was a positive response to
last week’s disappointing loss at Clermont and lifted Guy
Noves’ team up to a more respectable fourth position.
Dax
built on last week’s surprise away win at Castres with a
comprehensive 30-18 home win against
Biarritz, thanks to a brace of tries from
Fijian Neumi Nanuku and 17 points from Antoine
Vignau-Tuquet.
Thomas Lièvremont’s side were simply too good for Biarritz
on Friday night, moving the ball with a precision and
confidence totally lacking from their ill-disciplined
opponents.
Fly-half Vignau-Tuquet was the
orchestrator-in-chief, setting up Nanuku’s second try before
going over himself after charging down Valentin Courrent’s
kick. He added three conversions and a hat-trick of
penalties to ensure the win, with Biarritz replying through
a Romain Cabannes try late in the first half and Courrent
touching down for a consolation score in the game’s dying
seconds.
But
the honours and the points go to Dax, for the second week
running, with the relegation favourites clearly flourishing
in their underdog status.
Castres bounced back from last week’s home
defeat by Dax to beat
Clermont 12-6 in a
scrappy affair notable for a series of missed penalty
attempts. Kiwi fly-half Cameron McIntyre opened the scoring
with a fourth-minute drop goal, with Mathieu Bourret (pen)
and Boscus (pen and drop goal) adding the further points.
Clermont, who had centre Julien Malzieu yellow carded with
ten minutes to go, had only Benoit Baby’s two penalties to
show for their efforts. Last year’s runners-up have now lost
all three of their away games and find themselves
languishing in a disappointing eighth position.
No such problems for
high-flying
Bayonne as they beat
Mont-de-Marsan 19-15 to
record their fourth win in five, with winger Filimone
Bolavacu scoring the game’s only try in the 47th
minute. Manny Edmonds added the conversion and two penalties
but Benat Arrayat kept the visitors in the game with five
penalties, even giving Les Montois a 13-15 lead with seven
minutes to go, before Maillard was successful with two late
kicks to secure the win that lifted Bayonne to third spot.
South African Joe van Niekerk
made an immediate impact on his
Toulon debut, scoring the decisive try as
Bourgoin were overcome 15-9 at the Stade
Mayol. Nineteen-year-old Clement Imbert also continued his
impressive form with an early try for the home side as
Toulon made light of the absence of coach Tana Umaga, who
had returned to New Zealand for personal reasons. Sébastien
Laloo kicked all nine of Bourgoin’s points but it wasn’t
enough as Toulon got a much-needed win that lifted them up
to seventh.
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