Top 14, round 13: Toulouse and Stade Francais
with the bonus; Toulon in disarray
20 December 2008
|
Toulouse 27 |
Mont-de-Marsan 6 |
|
Brive 20 |
Bourgoin 12 |
|
Montpellier 33 |
Toulon 8 |
|
Perpignan 16 |
Castres 9 |
|
Stade Francais 35 |
Bayonne 8 |
|
Dax
16 |
Clermont 20 |
|
Montauban 19 |
Biarritz 12 |
Toulouse
and Stade Francais both registered bonus-point victories as
the Top 14 drew to a close for 2008 at the halfway point in
the season.
Defending champions Toulouse ran in four tries to
ensure they end the year in top spot as they predictably
overwhelmed basement club Mont-de-Marsan 27-6.
Their
all-star back line proved too strong for the battling
visitors with Florian Fritz, Maxime Medard, Yannick Jauzion
and Clement Poitrenaud all getting on the scoresheet. But
the biggest cheers of the afternoon were reserved for
returning hero Vincent Clerc as the international winger
made his long-awaited playing comeback at the Stade Ernest
Wallon.
Clerc,
who had been out of action since rupturing knee ligaments in
April, was cheered every time he received the ball, until
waltzing off to a standing ovation 10 minutes from time.
He came
within two metres of capping his return with a try, but
Toulouse still had enough to cruise to their 13th
successive win in all competitions.
Toulouse's nearest rivals Stade Francais also scored
four tries in their 35-8 demolition of fourth-placed
Bayonne.
An
opening penalty apiece left it 3-3 after the initial
skirmishes before Italian Mirco Bergamasco went over for the
first try in the 13th minute.
Stade,
who had lost five of their last seven matches, eased further
ahead when flanker Pierre Rabadan scored their second try on
the half hour, with Falie Oelschig adding the conversion and
two penalties.
An 18-3
half-time advantage was pretty much game over for the
visitors, but if there was any doubt about the result then
hooker Dimitri Szarzewski's 48th-minute try ended the
argument.
Australian prop Rodney Blake did get one back for Bayonne
but substitute winger Geoffroy Messina went over for Stade's
fourth to ensure the Paris club secured their precious bonus
point.
The
result still left Toulouse three points clear, but Stade
Francais at least got back to winning ways after their home
and away heartbreak against Harlequins in the Heineken Cup.
And they
also had the satisfaction of doubling their one-point
advantage over third-placed Perpignan after the
latter struggled to beat lowly Castres.
Unexpectedly, it was star signing Dan Carter who suffered a
few teething problems on his home league debut as the
Catalans made hard work of the win.
The All
Black fly-half missed four successive penalties after the
break, eventually ceding kicking duties to substitute
full-back Jerome Porical, who promptly scored a try, a
penalty and a conversion as the Catalans won out 16-9.
Carter
did at least succeed with two earlier efforts in the first
half - including one after just three minutes - which helped
keep the home side in touch after Anthony Lagardere had
kicked the visitors into a surprise 9-3 lead.
But,
ultimately, it was another good day for Perpignan, who also
fielded eligible again Marius Tincu after the Romanian
hooker was cleared to play following the overturning of his
18-week ban for eye gouging.
In-form
Brive made it four league wins on the spin as they
eventually overcame dogged Bourgoin 20-12, with Top
14 highest scorer Andy Goode once more to the fore as he
kicked 15 points.
Goode
could even afford to uncharacteristically miss with four
attempts at goal, but the home side were always in the
ascendancy once full-back Alix Palisson raced over for an
early try.
Les
Correziens now break for their Christmas interlude three
points behind Clermont (who
beat Dax on Friday evening) in sixth place
having overcome a tricky start to their campaign when the
fixture list threw up a strange sequence of early away
games.
Elsewhere, Montpellier piled on the
misery for struggling Toulon as they were routed 33-8
in the concluding part of their recent trilogy.
Georgian
lock Mamuka Gorgodze got the ball rolling when he powered
over in the seventh minute, and Toulon's travails were
exacerbated by Ramiro Pez then missing four penalties in
eight minutes as they fought to regain parity.
Opposing
kicker Olivier Sarramea rubbed further salt in their wounds
with three successes of his own as Montpellier eased 14-3
ahead, before Gorgodze went over for his second try of the
game 12 minutes after the restart.
Sonny
Bill Williams came on as a second-half substitute to try and
lift the visitors, but Santiago Dellape's yellow card for
punching merely handicapped them further, enabling their
hosts to score a penalty try after continued scrum
collapses.
Winger
Thierry Brana went over 15 minutes from time to heighten the
advantage and secure the bonus point despite Jerry Collins'
late consolation score.
Tana Umaga’s side have now
lost all six away games this season and are just one point
off the drop zone at the halfway stage of the season,
perilously positioned just above Castres and Mont-de-Marsan.
Montpellier, on the other
hand, were left rejoicing after an excellent home win and
also the news that Louis Picamoles had decided to spurn an
offer to join Toulouse.
"I know that people will
think I am acting with my heart and some may think I'm mad
to turn Toulouse down," he said. "Of course there is emotion
but also I believe in Montpellier's sporting ambitions,"
added the recently capped international.
And the New Year is
looking equally bleak for Biarritz after they slumped
to their seventh successive defeat - their fifth in the
league - when they went down 19-12 at Montauban.
Damien Traille kicked them
into an early lead with a third minute drop goal, but
Ibrahim Diarra went over for the game's only try on the
quarter hour, with Cedric Rosalen adding the conversion and
four later penalties.
It leaves Les Biarrots in
10th position, inconceivably just six points off the
relegation zone, and on a downward spiral that is
threatening to consume them.
Montauban, on the other
hand, lie in eighth position and are a mere three points off
Clermont in fifth in a congested mid-table.
Finally, Pierre Camou
has been elected the new president of the French Rugby Union
Federation.
Camou had been acting
president since July when his predecessor Bernard Lapasset
became president of the International Rugby Board (IRB).
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