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04 October 2008
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Perpignan v Toulon |
37 - 12 |
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Castres v Toulouse |
10 - 28 |
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Stade Français v Montauban |
34 - 16 |
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Bourgoin v Clermont |
23 - 30 |
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Biarritz v Montpellier |
46 - 3 |
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Dax v Bayonne |
27 - 17 |
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Brive v Mont-de-Marsan |
53 - 11 |
Runaway leaders Stade Francais made it seven
wins from seven as they beat Montauban 34-16 to maintain
their perfect start to the season.
Their latest win, achieved with the help of four second-half
tries, lifted them eight points clear at the head of Top 14
as they continue to flourish under the tutelage of Aussie
coach Ewen McKenzie.
Montauban put up stern resistance in the first half, holding
the Paris side to 6-6 with Lionel Beauxis and Fabien
Fortassin trading penalties, but the home side coasted clear
after the interval with tries from Djibril Camara, Mathieu
Blin, Bastareaud and Mauro Bergamasco ensuring the bonus
point was secured.
Montauban did manage a last-minute try from replacement
Matthew Clarkin but in truth Stade should have won even more
convincingly had Beauxis not missed with three out of four
conversions.
Defending champions Toulouse moved up into second spot as
they continued their resurgence with a 28-10 away to
struggling Castres (see report) in the southwest derby.
Clermont’s 23-30 win at Bourgoin confirmed a happy day for
the big three, with last year’s runners-up registering their
first away win of the season thanks to Brock James’ 17-point
display.
The fly-half grabbed a try, three conversions and three
penalties as Clermont rallied from 10-0 down after 15
minutes.
Wingers Julien Malzieu and Fijian Napolioni Nalag got the
other tries for Les Juanards, with Sylvain Nicolas and C
Basson going over for the home side as Bourgoin grabbed a
late ten points to narrow the margin.
Perpignan moved up to fourth after seeing off Toulon 37-12
at the Stade Aimee Giral thanks to four tries in ten
second-half minutes. Jean-Phillipe Grandclaude, Julien
Candelon, Adrien Plante and a penalty try did the damage,
with Jerome Porical adding 15 points from the boot.
Under-pressure Biarritz also ran riot after the interval in
their game, scoring five of their six tries as they
dispatched Montpellier 46-3 at the Parc des Sports
d’Aguilera. Damien Traille started and finished the
try-fest, running in the Basque club’s opening and closing
tries in the seventh and 80th minutes, with Nicolas Brusque,
Julien Peyrelongue, Phillipe Bidabe and Takudzwa Ngwenya –
getting his fifth of the season - touching down in-between.
Fly half Valentin Courrent kicked a further 14 points to
leave Montpellier, who had started the day in fourth
position, licking their wounds from another bad away day.
Meanwhile, Brive continued their remarkable turnaround by
slaughtering bottom of the table Mont-de-Marsan 53-11,
taking their tally to 94 points in their last two games.
Quite a turnaround for the club who had been bottom of the
pile themselves prior to last week’s breakthrough win.
Again it was former Leicester fly-half Andy Goode who
orchestrated the win, contributing 23 points and setting up
three of his side’s seven tries with cross-field kicks
before waltzing off to a standing ovation at the Amédée
Domenech.
Ex-England winger Ben Cohen began the scoring with a
fifth-minute try before Fiji’s Norman Ligairi (3) and Wales’
Barry Davies (2) feasted themselves. Fabrice Estebanez also
got in on the act as Les Correzions continued their dramatic
revival.
Eight days ago they were bottom of the pile with no wins
from five, but now they are on the verge of the top half
after nearly a century of points in just two games..
And it was a good day also for Dax, another club which has
found its feet after a torrid start as they beat high-riding
Bayonne 27-12 to record their third win in four.
The Basque club started well enough with a third-minute try
from captain Remy Martin but Dax fired back with three of
their own before the interval courtesy of Lucas Borges,
Mikael Bert and Gavin Williams. Antoine Vignau-Tuquet
converted all three, adding a brace of penalties for good
measure.
Bayonne, who had been second at the start of the weekend,
rallied after the interval but only had Arnaud Heguy’s try
to show for their efforts as they slipped to fifth. Dax,
meanwhile, climbed to ninth as they continued their revival
under coach Thomas Lievremont and will go into the two-week
European break buoyed by their recent form.
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