Top 14, round 11: Bayonne win again to keep the pressure on
Toulouse
23 November 2008
|
Bourgoin 12 |
Toulouse 18 |
|
Stade Francais
19 |
Castres 12 |
|
Bayonne 42 |
Montpellier 9 |
|
Mont-de-Marsan
12 |
Dax 6 |
|
Toulon 10 |
Biarritz 5 |
|
Brive 33 |
Montauban 28 |
|
Clermont 29 |
Perpignan 9 |
High-flying Bayonne were the big winners in round 11 of the
Top 14, with the Basque club moving up to second after
demolishing Montpellier 42-9 at the Stade jean Dauger.
The
hosts ran in five tries to record their ninth win in 11,
claiming their first attacking bonus of the season in the
process.
Hooker David Roumieu and winger Sam Gerber both went over as
Bayonne opened up an early 15-3 advantage, but it was a
three-try blitz midway through the second half that really
did for Montpellier.
The
visitors were already 21-6 down before
Thibault
Lacroix scored twice in four minutes, with his replacement
Vincent Inigo adding a third just sixty seconds later.
Australian Manny Edmonds landed all three conversions en
route to a match return of 17 points as Richard Dourthe’s
team continued to defy pre-season expectations.
They
are now just two points behind Toulouse, who laboured
to an 18-12 win at Bourgoin on Friday evening (see
report).
Third-placed Perpignan spurned the chance to move top
when they fell 29-9 at Clermont, with fly-half Brock
James claiming 24 points for Les Jaunards.
It
was only Perpignan’s third defeat of the season, and their
first since losing to Toulouse in September.
James, meanwhile, was able to celebrate a personal tour de
force after scoring a try, two conversions and five penalty
kicks as Clermont climbed to fifth.
Elvis
Vermeulen’s score early in the second half sealed the win,
with Perpignan reliant on two Jerome Porical penalties and a
David Mele drop-goal for their points.
There was further joy
for Vern Cotter's Clermont with the return from injury
(nearly a month ahead of schedule) of club captain Aurelien
Rougerie.
Stade Francais
remain fourth after their 19-12 home win over Castres
on Friday (see
report), with Montauban dropping one
to sixth after going down 33-28 at Brive in the
weekend’s highest scoring encounter.
Former Leicester fly-half Andy Goode continued his rich form
– he had scored Brive’s past 42 points going into this
fixture – by landing three penalties, three conversions and
a 35-metre drop-goal.
French centre Fabrice Estebanez also had a game to remember;
scoring a try in each half to set Les Correziens up for
their fourth league win. South African flanker Gerhard
Vosloo got Brive’s third try after an excellent interception
and break from Ben Cohen.
The
weekend’s other big winners were Toulon and Mont-de-Marsan,
who both recorded rare victories as they battled to escape
the relegation zone.
Tana
Umaga’s Toulon overturned a five-match losing streak
to beat Biarritz 10-5 at the Felix Mayol, with Kiwi
full-back Orene Ai’i scoring the game’s only try in the 54th
minute. The win lifted them above Castres into 11th
position.
Bottom of the table Mont-de-Marsan were also in
celebratory mood after beating Dax 12-6 in the Landes
derby to
record only their second of the season.
The
basement club looked destined for another disappointing
afternoon when they slipped to an early 6-0 deficit, but
Benjamin Arrayet (three penalties) and Yannick Laforgue (one
penalty) hauled them back, to leave them victorious for the
first time in 81 days.
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