Top 14: Seven Up for Toulouse;
Stade Francais end three-match losing run
22 November 2008
Results took precedence over performance as
Toulouse and Stade Francais both recorded wins that
maintained their respective title challenges on Friday
night.
For leaders Toulouse it was a case of getting
the job done while their first XV was again effectively away
on international duty, while for Stade there was obvious
relief at finally ending a run of three successive league
defeats.
Conversely, it was a night of ‘close but no
cigar’ for the vanquished, with Bourgoin and Castres going
down to their ninth and seventh defeats respectively.
It could be argued that both deserved more
for their efforts on a wintry and wet evening, but neither,
ultimately, had the conviction to claim much needed wins.
Bourgoin
were the first to suffer, losing 18-12 at home to
Toulouse as the visitors overcame their spirited hosts
thanks to tries from Maleli Kunavore and Byron Kelleher –
the latter with the final move of the match.
If the scoreline reflected poorly on
Bourgoin’s efforts they did at least have the satisfaction
of taking a defensive point when Freddie Michalak missed his
last-minute conversion.
It was a suitably scrappy end to another
indifferent performance from Michalak, who missed a clutch
of kicks and was also fortunate only to be yellow carded for
a highly dangerous tackle on Mickael Forest.
Wayward kicking was a constant theme
throughout the game, with the appalling conditions no doubt
contributing to a number of slices, misjudgements and sheer
wastefulness.
Bourgoin’s Benjamin Boyet started the rot
with an early missed penalty but his 19th-minute
effort finally got the scoreboard up and running, much to
the delight of the home crowd at Stade Pierre Rajon.
But joy turned to concern when New Zealand
flanker Tim Cowley was stretchered off following a collapsed
scrum shortly after, and Toulouse then doubled the pain when
Michalak freed Manu Ahotaeiloa to set up Kunavore for the
opening try.
Michalak added the
conversion and a subsequent penalty to stretch their
advantage to 3-10, but Boyet replied with a drop goal and
penalty of his own to leave the match intriguingly balanced
9-10 at half-time.
Both kickers squandered further opportunities
to score after the interval before Bourgoin full back
Florian Denos gathered a misplaced Gaffie Du Toit clearance
and fired over an opportunistic 40m drop-goal.
When Michalak then departed for his 10-minute
stint in the sin-bin it seemed an upset might be on the
cards, but Toulouse rather than Bourgoin appeared inspired
by the incident with Du Toit’s 66th-minute
penalty kicking them back into the lead.
To compound the home side’s misery the
ever-prolific Kelleher then scrambled over for his late
score, seemingly taking half the Bourgoin team with him as
he again demonstrated his enormous strength and eye for a
try.
Michalak’s missed conversion at least spared
the hosts a pointless night, but their ninth defeat in 11
leaves them deep in the relegation mire with the season’s
halfway mark rapidly approaching.
For Toulouse it was a seventh straight league
win as they continue to build momentum after sluggish start
to their campaign.
Meanwhile, Stade Francais were
indebted to the boot of scrum-half Falie Oelschig as they
overcame Castres 19-12 to climb up to third. The
South African kicked four penalties and a conversion to
ensure the Paris club returned to winning ways, with their
only concern being the sight of Marc Gasnier limping out of
action midway through the first half.
It initially looked like Stade were in for a
comfortable evening when Djibril Camara cruised in for a 17th-minute
try after good work by Julien Arras, but the visitors
rallied after that early score and ground their way back
into contention courtesy of Romain Teulet’s four penalties.
It was enough to keep them constantly in
touch but Stade always had enough to hold Castres at arm’s
length, with Oelschig directing affairs admirably from
behind the scrum.
Bullocking centre Mathieu Bastareaud was a
danger throughout for Stade, but the visitors had their own
chances to score, most notably when Phil Christophers broke
through but couldn’t find the supporting Chris Masoe when
only yards from the line.
Castres, like Bourgoin, had to settle for a
defensive bonus point, but even that had an element of
fortune about it after Oelschig missed a late penalty
following Rodrigo Capo Ortega’s senseless punch.
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