Bayonne 19 (16)
Biarritz 22 (6)

French international Dimitri Yachvili was the Biarritz hero as he scored all 22 points in his side's hard-fought derby win away to Bayonne.

The diminutive scrum-half scored and converted his team's only try - early in the second half - and also kicked five out of five penalties, including the match-winning effort just four minutes from time.

Top 14 League Table

But it was far from a one-man show from the visitors, with the pack urged on by the irrepressible captain Imanol Harinordoquy, while second row Erik Lund also enjoyed a superb match as Biarritz rallied from 13-6 down at half time.

The defeat left both teams level on 23 points, but Bayonne have now lost three games on the spin, including the two in succession at home.

    Leading try and point-scorers in Top 14

The Stade Jean Dauger was a 17,000 sell-out for the 93rd edition of the Basque derby and they had good reason to cheer in the opening period as the home side enjoyed large swathes of possession and territorial dominance. Yachvili kicked Biarritz ahead with a 13th-minute penalty, but after that it was pretty much Bayonne all the way.

Fly-half Benjamin Boyet missed with his first effort at goal - a sixth-minute drop-goal attempt - but went on to land successful penalties in the 19th and 25th minutes before South African winger Sam Gerber stole in for the game's first try after half an hour.

Gerber, who was the leading try-scorer in Top 14 last season, ran in under the posts after a Lionel Mazars break from the halfway line had taken Bayonne up to the 22, with scrum-half Julien Audy then off-loading inside to free-up the home team's winger.

Boyet's conversion extended Bayonne's lead to 13-3, but the former Bourgoin fly-half - playing in his first Basque derby - missed with a second drop-goal attempt before the interval as the hosts failed to fully capitalize on their dominance. Scrum-half Audy was also short with a long-range penalty, enabling Yachvili to narrow the gap to seven points when he kicked a 48m effort in reply just before the interval.

Boyet did find the target again four minutes after the restart to put Bayonne 16-6 up, but it was Biarritz who emerged the stronger in the second period, with Yachvili's try coming in the 47th minute after good work from Lund and replacement fly-half Julien Peyrelongue, who was stopped just short of the line. Yachvili's conversion brought the deficit back to three points, only for Boyet's fourth penalty of the evening (on 52 mins) to give Bayonne further breathing space.

That was the last significant contribution from the home team's fly-half though as he was forced to leave the field shortly after when he sustained a knee injury after colliding with Biarritz winger Takudzwa Ngwenya - leading to Italian international Craig Gower coming on as his replacement.

The momentum was very much with Biarritz by now, however, and Yachvili went on to kick two further penalties in the 56th and 65th minutes to draw the visitors level, before then landing the knock-out punch four minutes from time after Dwayne Haare had been penalized for taking man without ball.

Minutes earlier Audy had missed with his second penalty attempt for Bayonne - profligacy that eventually proved extremely costly as the hosts' let 12 possible points slip throughout the match.

"It was a good first period in terms of intentions," admitted Bayonne head coach Christian Gajan afterwards. "We missed the target in our kicking game and we have turned into half-time with too few points ahead," he lamented.

	Bayonne	Biarritz
Tries	Gerber	Yachvili
Conv	Boyet	Yachvili
Pens	Boyet (4)	Yachvili (5)
Drop-goals	-	-