A late try from Argentine Juan-Martin Hernández helped Racing-Métro 92 beat Castres 20-13 as the Parisians reclaimed second spot in Top 14.

Hernández touched down in the 68th minute for the game's decisive score after Castres had earlier battled back to 13-13 having turned around 10-0 down at the break.

The match was still scoreless when Castres' Steve Malonga was yellow-carded in the 26th minute, but Racing surged ahead thanks to a try from flanker Johnny Leo'o and five points from the boot of Springbok Frans Steyn.

Top 14 League Table

Castres fought back after the interval, however, with veteran prop Danie Saayman going over in the 45th minute, with Romain Teulet adding the extras.

The visitors' full-back added a penalty on the hour mark to bring the scores level, before trading a further three points with Racing replacement Jonathan Wisniewski. That left the match evenly poised 13-13 with 12 minutes to play, and Castres were sensing their first away win of the season, only for Hernández to seal the result after a superb one-two with Fijian winger Sireli Bobo.

Racing's victory enabled them to climb back into second spot after Clermont Auvergne were dismantled 29-9 by the continuingly impressive Montpellier.

Friday 11 February 2011
La Rochelle	19	Stade Toulousain	22
Saturday 12 February 2011
Toulon	22	Brive	16
Perpignan	31	SU Agen	18
Racing-Métro 92	20	Castres	13
Bayonne	24	Bourgoin	7
Montpellier	29	Clermont Auvergne	9
Stade Francais	-	Biarritz	-

Leading try and point-scorers in Top 14

Defending champions Clermont took an early lead when Brock James slotted a fourth-minute drop-goal, but tries from Timoci Nagusa - his seventh of the season - and lock Aliki Fakate helped put Montpellier 15-3 up at the break.

Two James penalties briefly narrowed the gap at the start of the second half, before prop Juan Figallo and captain Fulgence Ouedraogo both went over to complete a superb afternoon for Fabien Galthié's side - although the coach was unable to attend due to a prior television commitment to cover the RBS Six Nations.

His absence didn't appear to hinder his impressive charges though, and Montpellier will be delighted to have taken the offensive bonus against Clermont. 'Les Jaunards' can no doubt point to their own welter of international absentees, but the stark fact is that this was their seventh straight away defeat in Top 14 - hardly the form of champions.

Fourth-placed Toulon are now level with Clermont on 49 points after they finally triumphed 22-16 over a dogged Brive side that continued to show its recent upturn in form - if not results.

Benjamin Lapeyre and Mathieu Belie traded an early penalty each at the Stade Félix Mayol before Toulon forged ahead thanks to a 20th-minute try from scrum-half Pierre Mignoni. Lapeyre added the conversion to make it 10-3 but Brive fought back thanks to a penalty each from Julien Caminati and Belie either side of half time.

Twenty-four-year-old Lapeyre was making only his fourth start of the season at full-back, but he helped calm home nerves with two more penalties of his own before Ronnie Cooke went over for the visitors 15 minutes from time.

Belie's conversion left it 16-16 as the match boiled to a fraught climax, but the home team edged it the closing stages with Lapeyre doing a passable impersonation of the missing Jonny Wilkinson as he added a further brace of penalties to seal the win, and end with a personal match haul of 17 points.

Brive did at least have the satisfying of leaving with the defensive bonus, but it still wasn't enough to lift them out of the relegation zone despite nearest rivals SU Agen going down 31-18 at Perpignan.

Home full-back Jérôme Porical got the game's opening try when he went over on 19 minutes, but the Catalans found themselves 5-10 down soon after when Conrad Barnard converted Saimone Vaka's response from Agen.

It looked like remaining that way up to half time but Perpignan's Romanian hooker Marius Tincu was pushed over by his forwards just before the interval, with Porical's conversion enabling the hosts to go in 12-10 ahead.

Perpignan had gone into this match languishing in 10th spot after just one win in their previous six league games but they pulled clear in the second half as further tries from Henry Tuilagi and Jean-Philippe Grandclaude enabled them to take control.

Agen threatened to deny them their first attacking bonus of the season when Brice Dulin crossed for the visitors with six minutes left, but Julien Candelon's 79th-minute try ensured it was a maximum return for the 2009 champions.

Bayonne were the other team to triumph on Saturday afternoon as they beat Bourgoin 24-7, although they will be disappointed to have missed out on the attacking bonus against the division's current whipping boys.

The Basques were certainly well placed after two breakaway tries from Sam Gerber helped them to open up a 17-0 lead after 23 minutes, but Bourgoin got the score their play deserved when lock Albin Louchard touched down just past the half hour mark.

Bayonne gave themselves further hope from Joe Pietersen crossed for their third try less than a minute into the second half, but Bourgoin's defence stood firm after that despite losing prop Olivier Milloud to the sin bin. That followed Alberto Di Bernardo's 10-minute spell off the pitch just before the break, so Bayonne only had themselves to blame for failing to take the extra point against a Bourgoin side which fell to its ninth successive league defeat.

Stade Francais eased to a 31-18 home win against Biarritz in their Saturday night clash, with the Parisians doing enough to keep alive their hopes of securing a top six finish.

The hosts were 18-9 up by half time thanks to the boot of fly-half Lionel Beauxis as the player linked with a summer move to Stade Toulousain landed five penalties and a drop-goal in the opening 40 minutes.

Biarritz kept in touch thanks to a trio of penalties from Julien Peyrelongue - who was forced to play as an emergency scrum-half due to international absentees - but the visitors were undone somewhat by a 12th-minute yellow card for Pelu Taele-Pavihi as three of Beauxis' successes came while the Samoan lock was in the sin bin.

Peyrelongue added a fourth penalty to narrow the gap nine minutes after the restart, but Stade pulled clear shortly after when scrum-half Julien Dupuy darted in for the only try of the match.

Peyrelongue kept chipping away at the lead when presented with the opportunity - he slotted a fifth penalty on 56 minutes, and another 10 minutes from time - while Beauxis and Biarritz's Dane Haylett-Petty both saw yellow late on after tempers flared.

Biarritz were in sight of a losing bonus as they trailed 25-18 going in to the final 10 minutes, but Stade snuffed out those hopes with Noel Oelschig and Dupuy adding a further penalty each to seal the 31-18 victory.

The result lifted them to within four points of sixth-placed Bayonne.

On Friday, leaders Stade Toulousain required a last-minute penalty from Nicolas Bézy to edge a tight victory away to relegation-threatened La Rochelle.

The win, which also featured Rupeni Caucaunibuca's maiden try for Stade, temporarily lifted the European champions 11 points clear at the summit of Top 14 - later reduced to seven by Racing's subsequent win - as they recorded only their third away victory in the league this season.

Thirty eight of the game's 41 points came in a pulsating first half, with Bézy's 79th-minute penalty the only score in the second period.

The result was harsh on La Rochelle, who gave everything in an effort to try and register a crucial home win against a Stade Toulousain side decimated by international calls, injuries and suspensions. But in the end Guy Noves' severely re-jigged side did just enough to earn their 12th league win of the season thanks to 21-year-old Bézy's calm head head.

La Rochelle were first on the board when full-back Greg Goosen slotted a sixth-minute penalty, and the recently signed South African added a second success on 16 minutes after Frédéric Michalak had replied in kind for the visitors.

Michalak, making his first start of an injury-ravaged season, again brought parity when he landed a 17th-minute drop-goal, and Toulouse then claimed the lead when Fijians Vilimoni Delasau and Caucaunibuca combined superbly for the latter to run in under the posts. Fly-half Michalak kicked the straightforward conversion to make it 13-6 to Stade, but La Rochelle hit straight back with Goosen's third penalty success of the evening as the former Racing-Métro player kept the scoreboard ticking over.

The next three-points came from an unlikely source as Stade's winger-turned-full-back Cédric Heymans landed a 45-metre drop-goal, but 13 minutes before the interval Kiwi lock Piula Faasalele reignited the home support when he touched down for his third league try of the season - and fifth in all competitions.

Goosen maintained his 100% record to bring the two sides level once more - this time at 16-16 - before both sides lost a player each to the sin-bin in quick succession. First off was La Rochelle centre Seru Rabeni when he saw yellow for a 34th-minute high tackle on Rémi Lamerat, which also enabled Michalak to kick a 40m penalty.

Shortly after Goosen missed his first kick at goal of the evening before Lamerat was then yellow-carded on 38 minutes, paving the way for Goosen to make amends and once again bring parity on the scoreboard.

It remained 19-19 up to the break and the second period became an increasingly tense affair as both sides squandered chances to claim the lead. Michalak was off target with a 48th-minute penalty and a 54th-minute drop-goal, while Goosen was similarly wayward with two penalty attempts of his own - in the 61st and 70th minutes.

Noves then introduced Bézy for Argentine scrum-half Nicolas Vergallo with 10 minutes to go, switching the 21-year-old to fly-half as Michalak moved to No 9. It proved a telling substitute in the end, with youngster going on to kick the decisive penalty just one minute from the end as he took his season's points total past the 50 mark.