Top 14: Rocket man Steyn propels Racing-Métro to third after 28-15 win over Toulon

06 December 2009

Racing-Métro 92 continued their meteoric rise up the Top 14 table by beating Toulon 28-15 to claim third spot.

The Parisians have won an incredible eight successive league matches, a run that dates back to September 26th and includes victories over Stade Toulousain, Biarritz and now Toulon.

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Their latest win owed much again to their solid pack, with French internationals Sébastien Chabal and Lionel Nallet once more in outstanding form.

They had also had a crucial contribution from their third superstar, Springbok utility back Francois Steyn, who enjoyed an action-packed match. The youngest ever World Cup winner slotted a mammoth 50m penalty midway through the first half, but blotted his copybook shortly after when he was sent to the sin-bin for holding the ball while on the ground.

Toulon and England fly-half Jonny Wilkinson kicked the resultant penalty to edge the visitors ahead with his fourth success of the afternoon, but their numerical advantage was short-lived following Joe El Abd's 32nd-minute yellow.

Racing's Jonathan Wisniewski kicked the subsequent penalty to bring the scores level 12-12 at half-time, and the in-form fly-half added a brace of drop-goals shortly after the restart as the home side began to take control.

The game's only try followed just before the hour mark when Steyn - who else - touched down to make amends for his earlier transgression, and ensure that Racing's remarkable run continued.

Wisniewski added the conversion - to take his match haul to 17 points, but Wilkinson's fifth penalty success offered brief hope to the visitors with quarter of an hour to play. The minimum Toulon sought was to narrow the gap further to seven points or less to secure the defensive bonus, but Steyn had the final say with yet another booming kick as his second 50m penalty sailed over to seal the win.

Earlier on Sunday, Brive and SCA Albi both pulled off vital home wins as they continued their own respective revivals of recent weeks.

Brive must have feared a tough examination with 17-time champions Stade Toulousain coming to town, especially after their preparations were badly disrupted by the H1N1 virus last week, but the Limousin club merged all smiles after an entertaining 27-21 home win that will further boost their rising confidence.

They knew they'd need a good start to stand any chance of success, but even they must have been pinching themselves as they stood 12-0 up after just seven minutes. And it was former Toulousain winger Nicolas Jeanjean who did the damage, scoring two tries in three minutes - his first for the club - as Brive took full advantage of the visitors' hesitant defence.

The first came after Jamie Noon and Alexis Palisson had combined to send through Jeanjean in the corner, while the second was a gift for the former France international after he intercepted an ill-judged pass while under pressure from David Skrela.

It was an injudicious opening from fly-half Skrela on his first start of the season, but he did stroke a 16th-minute penalty to at least get his side on the board.

Fijian winger Vili Waqaseduadua nearly scored a third try for Brive when he made a devastating break on 21 minutes, but Stade's Florian Fritz just did enough with his covering tackle to prevent further damage. A 40m drop-goal from Palisson extended the hosts' advantage soon after, and the full-back also added a penalty as Brive stood 18-3 just before half-time.

Skrela's second penalty success narrowed that to 18-6 on the whistle, but the struggling fly-half was still substituted for Frédéric Michalak at the interval as coach Guy Noves sought to shake up his shell-shocked troops.

Michalak's introduction proved inspired and the French international had a decisive hand - or boot more correctly - as Cedric Heymans flattened in the corner just two minutes after the resumption. His touchline conversion inevitably followed and Michalak was instrumental again when Stade stormed in for their second try just eight minutes later. This time his diagonal kick found Heymans, who turned provider for Fritz on the loop as he returned the favour of his own opening score.

Michalak missed the ensuing conversion, leaving the scores tied at 18-18 and with Brive's nerves seemingly fraying by the minute. But the Limousin side regrouped commendably and appeared to have successfully weathered the storm after a penalty from Palisson and drop-goal from Fabrice Estebanez saw them move six points clear with just quarter of an hour to go.

A Michalak penalty brought the gap back down to three, but Palisson replied in kind to keep Brive calm and the black and white defence stood firm as Toulouse threw everything they had in the closing minutes.

The win was Brive's second in a row - following last week's 25-3 away victory at Montpellier - and means new head coach Ugo Mola has now lost just one in five games since taking charge.

Conversely, Stade Toulousain have now lost three of their last five games, and six of their eight away from home so far this season.

In the other Sunday afternoon match basement club SCA Albi also continued their recent revival with a 20-9 home win against Biarritz.

The victory was Albi's second in succession at home - following their recent 24-23 downing of Perpignan - and means they have now picked up nine points in their past three games after registering just one win in their first 12 matches. That run has seen them move to within four points of 13th-placed Bayonne as the once adrift bottom club continue to haul themselves back in and offer hope of a previously unthinkable escape.

Kevin Boulogne's controversial 13th-minute try might also indicate that luck has also turned their way as the Albi scrum-half got away with a blatant knock-on that caused the Biarritz defence to stop in its tracks. But the try stood and Boulogne went on to add three penalties too as the home side made the most of its fortune. Lulian Dumitras was also on target with a brace of drop-goals, although he did allow himself seven attempts in all.

Biarritz created opportunities themselves with American winger Takudzwa Ngwenya twice going close in the second half, but ultimately they had to settle for just three Dimitri Yachvili penalties as they slipped to their third successive defeat, and their fifth in six league matches.

It's hardly the sort of form they would have desired going into next weekend's Heineken Cup clash with the Dragons, and also leaves them five points adrift of the play-off berths.

On Saturday, Stade Francais finally banished their so-called ‘curse’ at the Stade de France as they swept aside struggling Bayonne 34-10 in a four-try exhibition of running rugby.

The Paris giants hadn’t won any of their previous five matches at the national stadium, but this time their on-field fireworks matched those off it as they returned to winning ways in style.

A rampaging 40m run from France hooker Benjamin Kayser started the rout on 11 minutes, and Bayonne must have feared the worst when Julien Dupuy added a second just two minutes later.

Fit-again fly-half Lionel Beauxis slotted both conversions, and was on target again after prolific lock Pascal Pape touched down for his third try of the season with 10 minutes still to go in a lopsided first half.

Bayonne’s cause wasn’t helped by having hooker David Roumieu yellow-carded, and they came within inches of conceding a fourth try soon after as Stade piled on the pressure. Eventually the hosts were forced to settle for a couple of Beauxis penalties instead as the French international kicked them into a 27-3 lead at the interval.

Bayonne had actually taken the lead through Pierre Bernard’s 52m penalty in the sixth minute, but thereafter they were largely reduced to onlookers in the first half as Stade ran them ragged in front of more than 70,000 fans.

They regrouped somewhat at the interval and managed to hold Stade at bay until themselves going over for a try after mounting pressure finally saw Sam Gerber cross the line. With eight minutes left it potentially robbed Stade of their attacking bonus, but Mark Gasnier touched down just two minutes later as he grabbed his sixth score of an increasingly prolific season.

His latest effort makes Gasnier Top 14's leading try-scorer as the former rugby league star continues to impress after crossing codes - and on the same day he was linked with a possible move back to Australia.

It was a welcome return to form for Stade Francais - also the league’s top scorers - after they had lost both their previous matches while weakened by international calls, and it sets them up nicely for next weekend’s Heineken Cup trip to Ulster.

The defeat capped a bad day for the Basques, after they had earlier slipped back into the relegation zone following a surprise 16-9 home win by battling Bourgoin over leaders Castres.

Returning fly-half Benjamin Boyet marked his comeback match after six weeks out with a third-minute drop-goal as Bourgoin made light of the poor form which had seen them go into the game on a the back of a five-match run without a win.

Namibian centre Piet van Zyl then intercepted an Iosefa Tekori pass to run in under the posts after just nine minutes for the only try of the match. Former Leeds star Alberto Di Bernardo kicked the conversion and added a penalty before half time, while Castres were reduced to two Romain Teulet penalties in reply.

The leaders redoubled their efforts after falling further behind courtesy of Sebastien Laloo’s 62nd-minute penalty, but the Bourgoin defence held firm as they added Castres to an impressive list of home scalps that already includes Perpignan, Biarritz, and Racing-Metro 92 this season.

Castres did manage one final score as Teulet kicked his third penalty with time running out, but it proved a crucial three points as it secured a vital defensive bonus which ensured they would remain top at the end of the weekend, regardless of scores elsewhere.

Perpignan’s subsequent 29-3 home win over Montpellier edged the defending champions back within two points of Castres (with a game in hand), with Jérôme Porical’s reliable boot inflicting the initial damage as he kicked them into a 12-0 half-time lead.

The Catalan full-back added a fifth early in the second half before two tries in five minutes ended the match as a contest. First over was former England prop Perry Freshwater (in the 62nd minute), with debutant Yannick Parent following suit soon after. Porical kicked both conversions to end with a 19-point match haul, while Perpignan eased up to second spot.

Earlier, battling Bourgoin pulled off a 16-9 home win against leaders Castres on Saturday afternoon as their topsy-turvy season continued.

The hosts began the day in 13th spot after five games without a win, but defied recent form with a sterling performance in front of their passionate support at the Stade Pierre Rajon.

They put financial worries and talk of a boardroom split behind them to focus on downing this season's surprise pacesetters. The return from injury of fly-half Benjamin Boyet proved crucial and the Bourgoin No 10 got the scoreboard ticking with a third-minute drop-goal.

Castres sought to bounce back immediately, but a Marc Andreu 'try' was disallowed for an earlier forward pass after superb work from Iosefa Tekori. Their frustration was further compounded in the ninth minute when Tekori's attempted pass to Chris Masoe was easily picked off by Namibian centre Piet van Zyl for his first try for Bourgoin since joining from the Cheetahs.

Alberto Di Bernardo slotted the conversion to make it 10-0 and then traded penalties with Romain Teulet as the hosts headed into the half-time interval with a deserved 13-6 lead.

Castres, who had only lost once in the league since late September, were not helped by seeing influential fly-half Cameron McIntyre limp off in the 24th minute, and they just couldn't find their usual rhythm.

Indeed, their normally powerful pack was dominated by Bourgoin's for most of the afternoon, with penalties continually conceded as the visitors lost discipline under sustained pressure. Di Bernardo failed to capitalise with a 53rd-minute penalty attempt which sailed wide, but replacement Sébastien Laloo fared better just after the hour as Bourgoin went 16-6 up.

The visitors redoubled their efforts to try and make up the 10-point gap, eventually earning a 74th-minute penalty which Teulet successfully kicked to secure a crucial defensive point that at least ensured they would remain top at the end of the weekend, whatever the results elsewhere.

But there was no doubting it was the home side's afternoon and this win was only Bourgoin's sixth of the season, although Castres join some notable scalps at the Pierre Antoine with Perpignan, Biarritz and Racing-Métro 92 their other victims. The victory also enabled Eric Catinot's side to climb above Bayonne and out of the relegation zone, for a few hours at the very least.

Clermont Auvergne's indifferent recent form continued with a 20-15 defeat at Montauban on Friday evening, meaning 'Les Jaunards' will go into next week's Heineken Cup clash with Leicester Tigers on the back on just one win in their last six outings.

It's hardly the kind of form to send shivers down the spine of the Guinness Premiership champions, especially when you consider that lone win was at home to struggling Bourgoin. To further darken coach Vern Cotter's mood their latest defeat was partly inflicted by former Clermont winger Vilimoni Delasau, who scored one of Montauban's two tries at the Stade Sapiac.

Conditions were never going to be favourable to a free-running game, but Cotter will be additionally concerned that his team failed to create clear-cut openings, and relied instead on the boot of international scrum-half Morgan Parra for all of their points.

Montauban are fast becoming something of a bogey team for Clermont, and certainly they showed no fear as they overwhelmed their visitors with another forward display, as well as some stubborn defence later in the game. Last season they inflicted Clermont's only home defeat in Top 14 - with Delasau on the scoreboard again - while honours were shared with a 19-19 draw at the Sapiac.

On Friday evening they went 0-3 down early on when Parra kicked an 18th-minute penalty, but that was as good as it got for the visitors all evening as the home side gradually established their superiority.

South African fly-half Leonard Olivier kicked a 45m penalty to equalise after 23 minutes and Marc Raynaud's team then surged into the lead with Delasau's try - his fourth of the season - just five minutes later. The veteran Fijian stole over in the corner following quick hands from Mathieu Belie and a miss-pass from Olivier after Montauban had stolen a scrum against the head.

Olivier kicked the conversion as he again impressed in only his second match for Montauban following his transfer from AMD Valke Falcons, and the home side headed into the interval with a thoroughly deserved 10-3 lead.

Parra's second penalty success narrowed the gap three minutes after the restart, but Montauban's response was clinical with Jean-Philippe Viard touching down for their second try following more good work from Delasau. Olivier's conversion made it 17-6 and raised hopes of a possible attacking bonus for hosts.

Cotter sent on a raft of replacements as he tried to revitalise his team, but Montauban's defence stood firm in the face of mounting pressure as they continued to smother any Clermont threat. A brace of Parra penalties brought the away side to within eight points as the match entered its final 10 minutes, but Montauban replacement Cédric Rosalen ensured there was no late fightback when he landed a 74th-minute reply to ensure the win.

Parra did manage one more late penalty, which at least gave Clermont the defensive bonus, but Cotter's men will have to seriously raise their game if they are to pose a meaningful threat to Leicester in next week's Heineken Cup group match.

To further compound Cotter's evening he now has fitness concerns over Benoît Baby after the Clermont winger was substituted in the 14th minute due to a shoulder injury.

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