Defending champions
Perpignan reclaimed the Top 14 lead after beating
Clermont Auvergne 19-3 at the Stade Aimé
Giral.
The Catalans also had the
satisfaction of claiming an attacking bonus after running in
three unanswered tries, as they made six successive home
wins against 'Les Jaunards'.
Centre
Jean-Philippe Grandclaude got the hosts off to the
perfect start when he touched down in the corner after just
two minutes, setting the tone for a dominant opening half
from the title holders. Nicolas Laharrague kicked the
conversion and was on the money again 10 minutes later when
South African flanker Gerrie Britz added try number two.
A shell-shocked Clermont
finally got on the board when Brock James kicked a
straightforward penalty midway through the half, but he
missed with a later effort just before the interval as the
home side went in 14-3 to the good.
Perpignan - who beat Clermont
22-13 in last season's play-off final - wasted little time
extending their advantage after the break, with Julien
Candelon grabbing their third try in the 50th minute,
shortly after Clermont had been temporarily reduced to 14
men following Alexandre Audebert's yellow card.
More cards followed as tempers
flared after 64 minutes with Perpignan lock Robins
Tchale Watchou receiving yellow and Clermont's
Canadian Jamie Cudmore seeing red. Jérôme Porical missed the
ensuing penalty and momentum further swung towards to the
visitors when Laharrague was then sent to the sin-bin for a
high tackle on James.
Clermont - who now had a player
advantage despite Cudmore's sending off - redoubled their
efforts as they went in search of a defensive bonus, but
Perpignan's defense held firm to ensure the 19-3 win.
Top 14 Table
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Top 14 try-scorers
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Top 14 Results
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Top 14
Fixtures
Biarritz also picked up
a winning bonus after their convincing 23-9 home win over
Toulon, a result which lifted them just one point behind
Clermont.
First-half tries from Benedict
August and Imanol Harinordoquy set them on the way, with
scrum-half Dimitri Yachvili securing the extra point when he
celebrated his first start of the season with a try in the
65th minute.
Fly-half Valentin Courrent
added two penalties and a conversion to complete the
Basques' scoring, while Toulon - who made 11 changes from
the team which beat Stade Toulousian last weekend - were
restricted to three Sebastien Fauqué penalties.
England fly-half Jonny
Wilkinson eventually came off the bench on 67 minutes -
along with scrum-half Pierre Mignoni - but Biarritz were in
total control by then as they headed towards their fourth
successive league win.
Their only concern was the
sight of former Leicester centre Ayoola Erinle being
stretchered off in the first half following a stray boot in
the face from Toulon full-back Rory Lamont. The Scot was
then forced to make a professional foul to prevent Damien
Traille scoring less than a minute later, and saw yellow for
his troubles.
It summed up Toulon's struggles
and Philippe Saint-André will be disappointed that his
troops failed to secure a defensive bonus despite the
plethora of personnel changes.
Biarritz, meanwhile, climbed up
to third in the table and can now prepare in confident mood
for next week's mouthwatering home clash with Perpignan.
The big clash between the two
Stades - Toulousain and Francais - ended 9-9
as the home side's Frédéric Michalak experienced a torrid
afternoon with the boot.
The French international missed
with six of his eight kicks at goal, eventually getting the
bird from the 32,176 strong crowd when his third attempted
drop-goal flew wide. Fortunately for Toulouse Jean-Baptiste
Elissalde then took over the kicking duties and slotted a
49m penalty to at least earn a draw.
But there's no doubt that Stade
Francais ended the happier side as they maintained their
unbeaten start under Jacques Delmas and Didier Faugeron
thanks to a hat-trick of drop-goals from Lionel Beauxis.
Elsewhere, Springbok Francois
Steyn celebrated his Racing-Métro 92 debut with a win
after coming on as a second half substitute in their 18-14
home win over Montpellier.
The Parisians were already 13-7
up by the time Steyn made his entrance - after 51 minutes -
thanks to a first-half try from Sébastien Chabal and eight
points from the boot of veteran fly-half Andrew Mehrtens as
they cancelled out Julien Tomas' 18th-minute try for the
visitors. Chabal's score - a five metre power burst from the
back of the scrum - was his first in the sky blue and white
of his new club.
Montpellier's mounting gloom
was exacerbated by Jerome Valley's 58th-minute yellow card,
but the visitors were handed a lifeline on the hour mark
when replacement fly-half Francois Trinh-Duc intercepted a
Mikaele Tuugahala pass to run in from the halfway line. The
French international also added the conversion to give
Montpol a 14-13 lead, but it proved short-lived with Racing
centre Henry Chavancy touching down just four minutes later.
Montpellier dominated the
closing stages as they desperately sought to register their
maiden away win, but Racing's defence - marshalled by
full-back Steyn - held firm to finally end a run of four
successive defeats. It also lifted them out of the
relegation zone at Montpellier's expense.
Montauban's recent dip
in form continued with an unexpected home defeat by lowly
Bourgoin as they went down 12-15 at the usually
fortress-like Stade Sapiac. Bourgoin's Benjamin Boyet (five
penalties) outkicked Montauban's Julien Audy (four
penalties) in a scrappy match with few genuine try-scoring
opportunities, with the former's crucial fifth kick coming
just a minute from time as the visitors celebrated their
maiden away win of the season.
On Friday,
England
fly-half Andy Goode kicked six points as under-pressure
Brive hung on to beat Castres 11-9 at the Stade
Amédée Domenech.
Goode
marked his first start of the season with a first-half
penalty and drop-goal as the Limousin club edged the first
period 6-3. Flanker Vincent Forgues then scored the game's
only try three minutes after the restart, but the home side
still had to withstand a nervous finale after Romain Teulet
kicked two penalties in five minutes to leave it 11-9 with
20 minutes to play.
Goode
missed a series of kicks thereafter as the hosts struggled
to close out the match, with two more attempted drop-goals
and a pair of penalties all failing to extend their lead.
Fortunately for the former Leicester man it didn't prove
costly, except for allowing Castres to return home with a
defensive bonus. But the most important thing for Brive was
to win as they sought to stop a disappointing set of results
which had seen them lose four and draw one of their last six
games.
Over in
Albi, meanwhile, there were tears of joy from the
home side after the final whistle in their 19-14 victory
over Bayonne.
Albi had
gone into the match rock bottom of Top 14 with six defeats
from six, but it proved seventh time lucky as they raised
their game sufficiently to see of the Basques.
Fly-half Frédéric Manca was the home side's
hero with four penalties and a conversion as he contributed
14 of Albi's 19 points. Scrum-half Kevin Boulogne got their
other score with his 36th-minute try as they opened up a
13-3 half-time advantage.
Bayonne
were clearly given a wake-up call by coach Richard Dourthe
during the interval and emerged a different outfit as they
sought to fight their way back into the contest. Cédric
Garcia's 47th-minute penalty reduced the deficit, before
Jean-Baptiste Peyras-Loustalet brought them within a
point with his fourth try of the season just six minutes
later after an excellent break from Craig Gower.
Garcia missed the ensuing
conversion and a later penalty, but was on target again in
the 61st minute as the visitors took the lead for the first
time in the match. With 20 minutes to go it seemed Bayonne
were set to register their maiden away win of the season,
but two more Manca penalties in the closing stages ensured
it was home joy when the final whistle finally arrived.
There was still time for prop
Christophe Lafoy to see red after he picked up a second
yellow card in the last minute - adding to his 11th minute
sanction for punching - but Albi's joy was clear for all to
see as the players thanked their delirious fans after the
final whistle.
Their emotions were in stark
contrast to Dourthe's, who was clearly incensed that his
team had fallen to yet another away defeat - their fifth of
an increasingly frustrating season for a side which last
year pushed for a top six finish.
