Top 14, r19: Bayonne win Basque derby to raise survival hopes; Toulouse batter Albi

28 January 2010

Bayonne recorded a crucial 15-.0 home win against Biarritz in the Basque derby as they continued their battle for Top 14 survival.

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The win lifted them within a point of 12th-placed Bourgoin - who went down heavily at Perpignan - and maintained their 100% record under new head coach Christian Gajan.

Bayonne dominated the early proceedings at Stade Jean Dauger but had to wait until the 24th-minute for Cédric Garcia's penalty to put them ahead, despite Biarritz playing 10 minutes with 14 men after lock Pelu Taele-Pavihi saw yellow - to follow his red in the earlier meeting between these two sides.

Garcia missed with two other attempts but was on target again on the half hour after winger Jean-Baptiste Peyras had scooted in for his sixth league try of the season after a deft dummy from fly-half Manny Edmonds.

Edmonds then failed with two drop-goal attempts - either side of half-time - but the Australian finally got on the scoreboard when he crashed over from close range for Bayonne's second try on 54 minutes.

It remained like that until the final whistle, although Bayonne nearly stole an attacking bonus with the game's final play when Sam Gerber appeared to beat Iain Balshaw to a long kick through, only for the ref to disallow the score in the belief the South African failed to ground the ball.

But victory alone will do for now for Gajan and his team, especially in the always hotly-disputed Basque derby. Indeed, it was Bayonne's first home derby win for four seasons, giving extra reason for their fans' celebrations .

The defeat saw Heineken Cup quarter-finalists Biarritz drop down to ninth position and they are now nine points adrift of sixth-placed Toulon - and the play-off zone. Bayonne, meanwhile, have boosted their Top 14 survival hopes following a third straight win under Gajan. They are now just a solitary point behind Bourgoin (and with a game in hand), and will hope their woeful league run of seven defeats from their last eight games is now behind them.

Bourgoin felt the might of defending champions Perpignan as they went down 49-20 at the Stade Aimé Giral.

The Catalans ran in six tries as they wiped away their Heineken blues with a vibrant attacking display that maintained their 100% home record this season - with nine wins from nine in Top 14.

Fly-half Nicolas Laharrague opened the scoring with a fourth-minute drop-goal before France centre David Marty grabbed the first try 10 minutes later. Bourgoin briefly held their own, and even managed a try through John Senio on 21 minutes, but Perpignan full-back Jeoffrey Michel, number eight Henry Tuilagi and winger Christophe Manas all went over for the hosts as they opened up a 34-10 half-time advantage.

Benjamin Boyet and Laharrague traded a penalty apiece after the restart before the reigning French champions added two more tries in the final 15 minutes. Replacement hooker Guilhem Guirado was first over before Michel doubled his evening's tally on 74 minutes.

Laharrague kicked five of the six conversions, along with two penalties and his early drop-goal, to finish with 19 points on the night, while Bourgoin managed a 78th-minute consolation try through Jean-Francois Coux.

Stade Toulousain were also victorious on Thursday night as they won 24-6 away to basement club SCA Albi.

A converted first-half try from Argentine lock Patricio Albacete sent them on their way, before second half efforts from Yoann Maestri, Cedric Heymans and Maxime Médard sealed both the win and the attacking bonus.

The victory ensured Stade held on to their third place, and narrowed the gap on second-placed Clermont Auvergne to a single point. Albi, on the other hand, now look destined for a swift return to ProD2 after falling 10 points behind 13th-placed Bayonne following their 16th defeat in 19 league games.

On Wednesday, Castres reclaimed the Top 14 lead after coming back from 6-14 down to beat Stade Francais 32-14.

Their latest win saw them climb back above Clermont Auvergne, who had earlier came down from their Heineken high with a resounding bump as they crashed to a 33-24 defeat away to Racing-Métro 92.

Vern Cotter's decision to rest a handful of first-teamers initially backfired spectacularly, with Racing surging into a 24-0 lead after just 25 minutes thanks to tries from Henry Chavancy, Dan Scarborough and Sireli Bobo.

Fly-half Jonathan Wisniewski ensured the hosts got maximum return for their supreme opening by landing all three conversions (as well as a sixth-minute penalty) against the shell-shocked visitors.

Francois Steyn then slotted a brace of penalties either side of half-time to put Racing 30-0 ahead before Clermont finally got on the board when Seremaia Bai bagged one in reply in the 50th minute. Jacquet Loic's try 10 minutes later - converted by Bai - reduced the deficit further before Wisniewski kicked another three-pointer to leave Racing 33-10 up with 15 minutes left.

A late rally then saw Clermont score two more tries in three minutes through Gavin Williams and recalled France winger Julien Malzieu, with Bai adding the extras on both occasions as 'Les Jaunards' fought back to within nine points. They continued to push for an unlikely defensive bonus in the final minutes, but Racing held out for an excellent home win that maintains their play-off hopes.

Castres kicked off two hours later than Clermont, so knew that a home win over Stade Francais would be enough to propel back into pole position.

Romain Teulet and Lionel Beauxis traded two penalties apiece in the opening quarter of an hour, before both then struck woodwork with their third attempts. Stade, who were looking for their maiden away win in the league this season, then gave themselves a boost when centre Geoffroy Messina crossed for the game's opening try on 30 minutes.

Scrum-half Benjamin Tardy missed with the conversion, but fly-half Ignacio Miéres pulled them 14-6 ahead at half-time when he landed a 38th-minute penalty.

Castres emerged re-energized after the break and were given a crucial advantage when Sam Gerber was sin-binned four minutes after the restart. Former All Black flanker Chris Masoe then rubbed salt in Stade's wounds by powering over from a close-range maul as he celebrated his new three-year contract with Castres.

Teulet kicked the conversion and followed up with three more penalties before the hour mark as the home side opened up a 25-14 lead as they began to take control of the match.

It remained like that until six minutes from the end when Castres' mounting pressure finally resulted in a penalty try for a collapsed scrum, with Teulet adding the conversion to seal the 32-14 win which lifted them back into first position.

Stade Francais, meanwhile, have now slipped to eighth position and are six points adrift of the play-off zone.

Toulon, however, bolstered their own play-off aspirations with a 31-19 bonus-point home win against Montpellier that consolidated their sixth position.

The home side made a dynamic start, scoring two tries in the opening nine minutes with centre Mafileo Kefu and flanker Fotu Auelua both going over, with fly-half Felipe Contepomi - deputising for the absent Jonny Wilkinson - kicking both conversions.

Two Fédérico Todeschini penalties brought Montpellier back within eight points and the visitors got further encouragement just before the interval when Sonny Bill Williams was yellow-carded for the hosts. Sakiusa Matadigo then went over two minutes later, and with Todeschini again on target it was 14-13 to Toulon at the interval.

Scrum-half Pierre Mignoni was forced off the pitch five minutes after the restart and Toulon then slipped behind for the first time in the match when Olivier Sarramea's 40m drop-goal put Montpellier into the lead.

Bit the visitors' joy was short-lived and Toulon's response was instant as Scottish full-back Rory Lamont then ran in their third try after good work from Fabien Cibray, Juan Fernandez Lobbe and Williams. Contepomi kicked the conversion and a subsequent penalty to make it 24-16 to Toulon and although Todeschini added another penalty of his own it was the home side which continued to dominate.

The Stade Félix Mayol then erupted as Olivier Missoup wrapped up a good evening's work by scoring the home side's fourth try four minutes from time - thus ensuring the attacking bonus - although Philippe Saint-André will be disappointed that lock Jocelino Suta blotted his copybook in the final minute by getting sent-off for a needless punch.

But the five points will be more important, as Toulon maintained their unbeaten home run and followed up impressively on their weekend quarter-final qualification in the Amlin Challenge Cup.

Rejuvenated Brive were also victorious, beating Montauban 19-14 to make it five league wins from six as they continue to push for a top six finish.

Fly-half Fabrice Estebanez celebrated his first call-up to the France squad with an individual third-minute try that set Brive on their way, and fellow French international Alexis Palisson added the conversion.

But Montauban made light of their abysmal recent away record - seven successive league defeats - and powered back to take an 8-7 lead after Olivier's fifth-minute penalty and a subsequent try from Scottish centre Andrew Henderson.

Palisson and Oliver then traded penalties before the former edged Brive into a 13-11 half-time lead with his second success of the opening period. Both teams were down to 14 at the time following yellow cards for Godezi Shvelidze and Pat Barnard.

The second half was a tighter affair, but Brive moved 19-11 ahead courtesy of two more Palisson penalties before Montauban secured a defensive bonus at the death after Cedric Rosalen's last minute penalty.

Brive's latest win saw them climb up to seventh position, and the Limousin club are now just five points off the play-off zone having overcome a woeful first half to the season.

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