Top 14, round 18: Toulouse benefit as in-form Brive send Stade Francais crashing

Stade Francais’ pursuit of leaders Stade Toulousain hit an Italian rock as they tumbled to a 26-11 away defeat at Brive on Saturday, only their fourth reverse of the season.

Luciano Orquera, standing in for England’s Andy Goode, kicked 16 points as he followed up on last week’s impressive cameo against Biarritz with another match-winning performance.

The 27-year-old outshone his more illustrious opponent – Juan-Martin Hernandez – as Brive made it just one defeat in 13 and continued their twin-track approach to Heineken Cup qualification – they are also in the quarter-finals of the European Challenge Cup.

Orquera kicked four penalties and two conversions as the home side took full advantage of a Stade Francais line-up heavily depleted by international calls. By comparison, Hernandez missed all three of his penalty attempts and had just a solitary drop-goal to his name before hobbling off injured in the 38^th minute.

The visitors were already 13-3 down by then, with Ronnie Cooke supplementing Orquera’s kicking skills with a try late in the first-half after Barry Davies had made the break.

Romanian prop Petrisor Toderasc added Brive’s second try midway through the second half and the victory margin would have been even more emphatic had it not been for Pascal Papé’s last-minute breakaway score as they pushed for an attacking bonus point.

Top 14 table

The defeat enabled hard-chasing Perpignan to move level on points in second place after the Catalans ran riot against rapidly sinking Montpellier at the Stade Aimé Giral.

USAP were only 16-10 ahead at the interval, but surged on with four second-half tries as they demolished their crisis-ridden opponents 50-13.

Centre Christophe Manas (2), scrum-half Nicolas Durand and winger Julien Candelon all crossed, adding to their earlier penalty try, and full-back Jerome Porical was also in sparkling form as he kicked four penalties and four conversions.

South African Gerrie Britz brought up the half-century with a last-minute drop-goal, but Perpignan’s season-long curse at fly-half struck again with Ignacio Mieres – Dan Carter’s replacement – going off injured in the 36^th minute.

The Catalans have already been forced to use an incredible 12 different combinations at half-back this season and the club’s medical team will be hoping that Mieres’ injury doesn’t prove too serious.

Montpellier, meanwhile, are in freefall after their ninth defeat in 12 games, and they now boast the third worst defence in Top 14 behind the basement duo of Mont-de-Marsan and Dax. And all this after they had the temerity to take an early 10-6 lead following Thierry Brana’s 25^th-minute try, although two yellow cards didn’t help their cause.

Stade Toulousain, meanwhile, ground out a narrow 9-6 home win against neighbours Montauban.

The hosts, who like Stade Francais were seriously under-strength due to international calls, never reached their fluent best and were indebted to kicks by Jean-Baptiste Elissalde (one pen) and David Skrela (two pens) for their victory.

They might also raise a glass to Montauban's Fabien Fortassin, who missed with a penalty and attempted drop-goal in the 78th and 79th minutes respectively.

Earlier, Julien Audy had given them a 3-0 lead in the sixth minute before Elissalde - playing at fly-half, with Frederic Michalak at scrum-half and Skrela at inside centre - equalised. Elissalde departed with an elbow injury shortly after but Skrela and Audy then kicked a further penalty apiece to leave the score 6-6 at the interval.

Skrela's winning kick came in the 66th minute, enabling Toulouse to open up a six point gap on Stade Francais and Perpignan, while Montauban's defensive point ensured they remained seventh.

Fourth-placed Clermont Auvergne maintained their play-off hopes with a 43-20 home win over struggling Castres, with the league’s leading try-scorer Napoleoni Nalaga clocking his second hat-trick of the season.

Samoan scrum-half John Senio scored Clermont’s other try, with Brock James adding 23 points, but Les Jaunards will be kicking themselves for conceding a late Afeleke Pelenise try which denied them an attacking bonus point.

Rejuvenated Biarritz were also in try-scoring form as they ran in six against hapless Dax en route to a handsome 44-13 home win.

Just two points separated the sides at half-time before four tries in 14 minutes condemned Dax to their sixth successive league defeat.

Fly-half Julien Peyrelongue and 21-year-old Fijian winger Ilikena Bolakoro scored a brace apiece, with Tongan flanker Samlu Vahafolau and American speedster Takudzwa Ngwenya claiming the others. Scrum-half Dimitri Yachvili chipped in with 14 kicked points, while Les Biarrots also had the satisfaction of seeing Vincent Courrent make his playing comeback as a second-half substitute following four months out with injury.

Dax, by contrast, have now gone three months without a league win and are Thomas Lièvremont's side are looking increasingly likely to be playing Pro D2 rugby next season.

Mont-de-Marsan remain favourites to join them but the basement battlers again showed their willingness for the fight as they fought back to earn an unlikely defensive bonus point against Bayonne.

Only a Julien Peyras try separated the sides as the hosts went in 14-9 down at the interval, but Bayonne roared into a 34-16 lead after the break thanks to further scores from Manny Edmonds and Sam Gerber, with Cedric Garcia 10 points from his boot.

But just when you expected the floodgates to open Les Montois bounced back Damien Cler and Julien Tastet both going over in the last seven minutes to leave it 37-30.

Bayonne will be happy enough with a win which keeps them ahead of Brive in fifth position, but Mont-de-Marsan’s defiant spirit has to be admired.

They are still rooted to the foot of the table, however, three points behind Dax following Toulon’s Friday night victory at Bourgoin.