In a weekend of tight fixtures Clermont Auvergne missed out on the opportunity to regain the lead of the Top 14 as Toulouse were held at Brive. Elsewhere third placed Castres drew against fourth placed Toulon whilst Stade Francais secured a second bonus point victory in a row at struggling Perpignan.
Friday
Racing Métro 28-9 Biarritz
After their European revival, Biarritz were brought roughly back down to earth in the capital as Racing Métro comfortably secured a sixth victory of the season. Biarritz took an early lead through a third minute penalty from young Jean-Pascal Barraque. Barraque was then sent to the sin bin for ten minutes, and Jonathan Wisniewski converted the resulting penalty before Benoit Baby “ filling in for Barraque “ restored the away side's lead. The first try of the match went to Racing, as Julien Saubade crossed for the first of his two tries. Biarritz replied almost immediately “ a 27th minute penalty from Barraque ensured that Biarritz went into the half-time break in the lead.
After such a close first half, Biarritz had put themselves in a strong position to compete for just a second victory of the season. Their hosts, however, had other plans. Racing were rampant in the second half. A second penalty for Wisniewski was quickly followed by their second try of the match, again from wing Saubade. Captain Lionel Nallet then crossed to secure a bonus point for the home side, Wisniewski adding the extras. The Racing kicker then scored a third penalty in the 53rd minute, a kick that would turn out to be the final score of the match. An explosive ten minutes for the Parisians which saw them score 20 unanswered points was too much for the basement side, as Biarritz sank to their seventh defeat of the season. Victory for Racing keeps them within touch of the leaders, moving up to fifth, equal on points with Toulon.
Perpignan 16-35 Stade Français
Perpignan's dreadful run continued as they succumbed to their sixth defeat in succession against a resurgent Stade Français on Friday night. The result also hailed a third home defeat in a row, of which two have seen their opposition return home with a try bonus point. Things got off to an ominous start as Samoan Paul Williams crossed for the first points of the game after just three minutes, with Julien Dupuy adding the extras. James Hook replied on six minutes with a penalty, but a Dupuy penalty and a converted try from France international Dimitri Szarzewski extended Stade Français' lead to 17-3 after just eighteen minutes. Two more penalties from Hook reduced the deficit to eight points at half-time, but Perpignan would need a huge performance if they were to end their current slump.
The home side were given a glimmer of hope when try scorer Williams was yellow-carded ten minutes into the second period, but it was Stade that struck with a second penalty for Dupuy. Perpignan's sole try came after 58 minutes through wing Julien Candelon with Hook converting, but it was to be the only points of the second half for the beleaguered home team. With ten minutes to go, replacement scrum half David Mélé was sin binned for Perpignan and Julien Dupuy added a third penalty. With Perpignan down to 14 men, the Parisians turned the screw. First captain Sergio Parisse crossed, then Martin Rodriguez secured the bonus point with five minutes left on the clock. Stade keep up their good run of form, sitting in the top half of the table, whilst Perpignan will be glad that they lie as high as 10th place, considering their current run of results.
Bayonne 15-9 Lyon
Bayonne's fourth victory of the season eased them away from the relegation zone, whilst Lyon's first Top 14 game since September 23rd saw them sink deeper into a survival battle. Last season's Division 2 champions lead 3-6 at the break through two successful penalties from full-back Eric Tomamichel, but in a match with no tries it was Benjamin Boyet's boot that kicked the home side to victory. After Boyet's fifth penalty in the 79th minute looked to have denied Lyon an important losing bonus point, replacement Romain Loursac struck with the last kick of the game to leave the away side just six points adrift of Bayonne. Come the end of the season, that losing bonus point could prove crucial, but Bayonne will be happy with the four points that sees them rise into ninth position.
Saturday
Brive 9-9 Toulouse
A hard-fought performance saw Brive hold league leaders Toulouse to a draw for a second year in succession. The visitors lead 6-0 at half time after a quiet first half, with Lionel Beauxis, in for Luke McAlister, slotting two penalties. A third three minutes into the second half extended the champion's lead to 9 points, but a spirited performance from the hosts saw them gain a well-earned draw. Wing Julien Camanati kicked three penalties, the match saver coming with just three minutes to spare. Brive had the chance to secure a dramatic victory in the dying seconds, but Camanati's drop goal was just wide of the mark.
Toulouse fail to win for only the third time this season, but manage to extend their slender lead in the process. Brive move up to eighth, not safe from the relegation battle, but a valuable two points nevertheless.
Montpellier 29-23 Clermont Auvergne.
With Toulouse held at Brive, Clermont had a great chance to regain the lead of the Top 14 as they travelled to last season's finalists Montpellier. However after failing to pick up a victory in Europe, despite two impressive performances, Montpellier rewarded their fans by turning another strong showing into victory over the title challengers. Nineteen points from scrum-half Benoit Paillaugue, kicking ahead of World Cup finalist François Trinh-Duc, and two tries from former Ulster wing Timoci Nagusa either side of Julien Bardy's try for Clermont gave the home side an unassailable lead. The introduction of Morgan Parra late on gave Clermont some impetus, the France scrum-half converting his own try and kicking a penalty with two minutes to go to ensure that Clermont did at least come away from the Stade Sabathé with a losing bonus point.
Castres 22-22 Toulon
Castres and Toulon were separated by just one place heading into Saturday's game, and it remained honours even as the sides left the Stade Pierre-Antoine with the score 22 points apiece. At the break the game was all but Toulon's, the away side leading 19-6. Four penalties from the ever-reliable Johnny Wilkinson were sandwiched between Castres penalties from Romain Teulet in the fourth minute and Rory Kockott in the 25th minute. Fijian centre Gabiriele Lovobalavu then crossed on 33 minutes to give Toulon a 17-6 lead, before Wilkinson added the extras.
If the first half belong to the visitors, the second belonged to Castres. A Teulet penalty was closely followed by Castres' only try of the match “ Kiwi number 8 Chris Masoe crossing and Teulet converting to leave the home side just three points adrift with half an hour remaining. Former Sale man Dean Schofield was then sent to the sin bin reducing Toulon to 14, but Castres failed to capitalise on their man advantage despite their early dominance in the second half. The home team did manage to level things up when replacement fly-half Pierre Bernard slotted a drop-goal with 14 minutes remaining. Wilkinson then looked to have secured victory with his fifth kick of the match with just two minutes to go, but in the dying seconds Toulon conceded a penalty, and Bernard coolly executed the penalty to earn Castres a draw, and ensure they remained in third place in the table.
Agen 24-15 Bordeaux-Bègles
Agen remain sixth and keep up the pressure on the top four with their sixth victory of the season. In try-less game, it was South African Conrad Barnard who won the battle of the boots, scoring all his side's points with seven penalties and a drop goal to his name. Opposite number, Kiwi Gérard Frazer neutralised each of Barnard's kicks in a tense first half, before the Agen man gave his side the lead at the break with a drop goal. Four more penalties from Barnard in the second half saw Agen ease to victory, with Frazer managing just a penalty and a drop goal in response. Even the sin binning of Bordeaux second row Adam Jaulhac could not give Agen the edge they needed to cross the line, but Barnard's 24 points was enough to see off the challenge of Bordeaux who, should Lyon win their game in hand against Montpellier on Wednesday, will be dragged into the relegation scrap at the bottom of the table.
Rescheduled Fixtures (from Week's 9 & 10)
Biarritz v Bayonne (Tuesday 19:45)
Lyon v Montpellier (Wednesday 19:45)
