Stade Toulousain 21 (6) Bayonne 17 (14)

If the sign of potential champions is 'winning ugly' then Stade Toulousain are in fine fettle for the season ahead. although coach Guy Noves may have a word or two to say about that.

The result may be all that matters - especially at this stage of the season with three games in eight days - but Noves will be seething at a slipshod performance that threatened to end in a first home defeat in the league since April 2008.

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The 17-time champions were bizarrely off the pace in the opening 50 minutes, gifting a dogged Bayonne two opportunistic tries as their sloppy handling and countless unforced errors continually undid their attacking intent.

It wasn't until Noves sent on a raft of big gun replacements that Stade stepped up from their earlier powder-puff efforts, with the sniping scrum-half Byron Kelleher taking the lead role after coming on as a substitute for Jean-Baptiste Elissalde.

The former All Black hates to be sidelined - albeit in the cause of a well-earned rest during a hectic schedule - and Kelleher's introduction visibly lifted the home team, and their restless support, as he set about his business in typically bullish fashion. A couple of bullocking runs got the drums beating and Stade eventually finished the match amid a crescendo of pressure and noise as they finally overhauled their determined guests.

But up until the 50th minute it had largely been a case of 'after you' as Stade struggled for continuity amid a plethora of knock-ons and missed passes. The masters of the off-load were having a distinct off-day, with Elissalde and the returning Frederic Michalak chief culprits in a wayward first-half.

Elissalde found himself back at scrum-half as Noves rested Kelleher and brought in the fit-again Michalak at 10, and switch paid initial dividends as Elissalde booted Stade into a 12th-minute lead with a simple penalty. But that was about as good as it got for the hosts as they then lost their way in a subdued first half.

It was Elissalde's intercepted grubber kick that led to a simple run in for Vilimoni Bolavucu on 15 minutes, while Michalak's attempted inside pass handed Bayonne centre Lionel Mazars a 60m breakaway score just before the interval as they went in 14-6 ahead. The fact Bayonne had just been temporarily reduced to 14 men at the time must have further angered Noves as he watched on helplessly from the sidelines.

Inbetween scores Elissalde had landed penalty number two for the hosts, but two misses in quick succession followed shortly after the restart as Toulouse struggled to reassert some sort of authority.

The game's turning point came on 50 minutes as Noves sent on Patricio Albacete, William Servat, Jean-Baptiste Poux, Vincent Clerc and Kelleher - admittedly a substitutes bench to make most coaches green with envy - and the ensuing lift duly inspired the hosts.

Suddenly there was cohesion and concerted pressure up front, while Kelleher's natural sparkyness fired a previously lethargic back line. Bayonne battened down the hatches and threw everything into valiant defence, but something clearly had to give and in the end it was the visitors' scrum as Toulouse earned a 55th-minute penalty try.

Michalak duly converted to bring Stade to within a single point of Bayonne, but the momentum was clearly with the home side now and it was more a case of when rather than if. A 66th-minute penalty saw them finally regain the lead and their continuing urgency almost paid off again shortly after when Clerc narrowly failed to touch down his own hack through.

But the tempo continued to rise as the drums beat on and eventually, with just nine minutes left, Stade make the crucial breakthrough as number eight Shaun Sowerby touched down in the corner after a neat blindside break from Kelleher and Yannick Jauzion.

Michalak missed the conversion, enabling Bayonne to claim a defensive bonus thanks to Bernard's late penalty, but Noves will just be relieved that his troops finally responded after a wayward opening 50 minutes.

They will surely have to lift their game for Sunday's encounter with Clermont, but a win is a win at this stage of the season. Just ask Stade Francais.