Bayonne 38 (19) Stade Francais 24 (18)

Basque joy abounded after Bayonne battered Stade Francais with a convincing 38-24 victory in Top 14's first ever league match on overseas soil.

More than 30,000 spectators packed into the impressive Estadio Anoeta in northern Spain, and the match was played in a suitably carnival atmosphere as five tries flowed in a free-scoring first half.

Only one point separated the two teams at the break, but Bayonne went on to exert almost complete authority after the interval, outscoring their Parisian guests by 19 points to six as they made up for last week's disappointment in Perpignan.

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On that occasion coach Richard Dourthe had blamed Cedric Garcia's profligacy with the boot as a major factor in their narrow defeat, but Benat Arrayet ensured there was no repeat by kicking 17 points on on debut in his first outing since signing from Mont-de-Marsan.

Full-back Jean-Baptiste Peyras began the festivities when he scorched in from the halfway line after just 15 minutes, outsprinting Stade's porous defence to touch down for a super opening try in the corner. Arrayet's conversion made it 7-0 and the hosts soon doubled their advantage when winger Benjamin Fall executed a perfect chip and chase before using his searing pace to add try number two just four minutes later.

But just when it seemed Bayonne had assumed an irresistible grip on the game, the boys in pink came bouncing back with England flanker James Haskell powering over for an immediate response after a nifty one-two with the ever impressive Argentine No 8 Juan Manuel Leguizamon.

Julien Dupuy duly converted and when fly-half Lionel Beauxis subsequently landed a 22nd-minute drop-goal the gap had been pared back to just a single point. Ewen McKenzie's team maintained the momentum to then claim the lead as inside centre Geoffroy Messina rounded off a sweeping move that criss-crossed the field and included a telling break from Tom Palmer, the England second row who appears to be thriving after his summer move from Wasps.

Beauxis missed the conversion but Stade had still racked up 18 points in a thrilling 10-minute spell, admittedly assisted by Arrayet's 28th-minute sin-bin.

But as time ran out before the interval Bayonne again broke through the Stade defence, with Fall's power to the fore once more as the 20-year-old winger showed more nimble footwork to touch down after a fly-hacked clearance from their own 22.

The half-time whistle brought welcome respite for both teams and at 19-18 the match was very much there for either side to win.

A series of penalties restricted the game's flow after the resumption and Arrayet was on target with four out of five attempts as Stade were continuously punished for a series of thoughtless infringements. Bayonne weren't blameless themselves, with Beauxis booming over a couple of 40m efforts, but by the time Mathieu Bastareaud was booed onto the pitch (with 20 minutes to go) the 'home' side were already 31-24 to the good.

McKenzie threw on more substitutes to try and reclaim the initiative but Stade just couldn't get their hands on the ball and Bayonne were more than happy to play percentage rugby by then. Fly-half Craig Gower kicked efficiently for position and the writing was on the wall long before Stade replacement Brian Liebenberg was yellow-carded with four minutes to go.

But the South African's thoughtless play will have infuriated his coach as it led directly to Pepito Elhorga's last-minute try - from yet another kick through - and denied the visitors what would have been a creditable defensive point, especially after last week's draw at Toulon. As it was McKenzie could only watch in horror as Liebenberg was sin-binned for a needless offside, paving the way for Elhorga to seal the win with the final move of the game.

The defeat means Stade have now won just two of their last 10 league matches - including the play-off semi-final against Perpignan. That is hardly the form of champions and while there's no disgrace on losing away to Bayonne, McKenzie will be most concerned at the lack of fight his team displayed in the closing 20 minutes.

Bayonne coach Dourthe had no such concerns and was delighted his players took on board the lessons of last week. Next up is Racing-Metro away as he seeks to build on Friday's impressive win.