Perpignan 24 (13)
Stade Toulousain 25 (14)

European champions Stade Toulousain warmed up for the defence of their crown with a morale-boosting (and timely) away win at Perpignan on Friday night.

Guy Noves' team bounced back superbly from their capital punishment at Racing-Métro last weekend with a 25-24 victory that featured tries from flankers Jean Bouilhou and Yannick Nyanga.

The combined boots of David Skrela (two penalties and a drop-goal) and Frédéric Michalak (two pens) contributed the remainder of their points, but the latter limped off with an apparent ankle sprain which will make him doubtful for next weekend's Heineken Cup quarter-final away to Biarritz.

Top 14 League Table

The Catalans are also in Heineken Cup action next weekend - at 'home' to Toulon in Barcelona - but they will travel to Spain having had their five-match winning streak abruptly brought to an end. This defeat was also their third at the Stade Aimé Giral in the league this season, and could have a seriously detrimental effect on their play-off ambitions. If Clermont Auvergne and Toulon both win on Saturday - at home to Biarritz and Stade Francais respectively - then Perpignan will slip from sixth to eighth with just three games to go.

Leading try and point-scorers in Top 14

Perpignan got the opening score of the game when full-back Jérôme Porical slotted a fifth-minute penalty, but the hosts were 9-6 down after half an hour when Toulouse registered the first try of the match through Bouilhou.

Scrum-half Michalak failed to add the conversion to two earlier penalties, and the visitors were soon on the back foot when Fijian winger Vilimoni Delasau was yellow-carded on 32 minutes.

The home team seized their opportunity and had soon scored a try of their own when hooker Guilhem Guirado touched down two minutes before the break, with Porical's conversion leaving them 14-12 down at the break.

The momentum stayed with Perpignan after the resumption and the 2009 champions took the lead five minutes after the restart when winger Adrien Plante grabbed their second try as he went over in the corner. Porical missed the conversion this time, but added another penalty shortly after to leave it 21-14 to the home side.

To compound Toulouse's worries they then saw Michalak limp off, but fly-half David Skrela successfully took over the kicking duties and duly added six quick-fire points as he landed penalties in the 58th and 60th minutes.

Flanker Nyanga then followed up with his side's second try of the night - and his first in three seasons - as Toulouse reclaimed the lead, with Porical adding a late penalty to reduce the arrears but missing another in the final minute which could have won the match.

Round 23 Preview

	Perpignan	Stade Toulousain
Tries	Guirado, Plante	Bouilhou, Nyanga
Conversions	Porical	-
Penalties	Porical (4)	Michalak (2), Skrela (2)
Drop-goals	-	Skrela
Yellow Cards	-	Delasau