Wins for Stade Français and UBB, Lyon march on
There were wins for Stade Français and Bordeaux-Bègles in the Top 14's early games before Brive, Pau and Lyon sealed victories.
Results
Stade Français 31-20 Montpellier
Bordeaux-Bègles 30-24 Toulon
Brive 27-22 Castres
Oyonnax 16-19 Pau
Agen 6-25 Lyon
Stade Français 31-20 Montpellier
Stade Jean-Bouin, Paris
Stade Français shocked Montpellier 31-20 to inflict the league leaders’ second defeat of the campaign.
The Parisians have struggled this season but have mounted a resurgence over the previous two weeks. They followed up last Saturday’s 25-23 victory at Pau by producing another impressive performance after overcoming Vern Cotter’s men at the Stade Jean-Bouin.
Jules Plisson was particularly excellent and, after the fly-half had taken the hosts into the lead, his flat pass allowed Waisea Nayacalevu to touch down.
Plisson converted before the centre came to the fore again. The visitors failed to control Julien Arias' kick ahead and Nayacalevu pounced, crossing the whitewash to the left of the uprights.
Despite the home side’s stand-off extending Stade's buffer from the tee, Montpellier responded and scored two converted tries through Bismarck du Plessis and Nemani Nadolo.
However, Stade kept their opponents at arm’s length thanks to the boot of their fly-half, who added a brace of three-pointers.
Ruan Pienaar did reduce the arrears to set-up an exciting final quarter but Tony Ensor deservedly secured the victory for Greg Cooper’s team.
The scorers:
For Stade Français:
Tries: Nayacalevu 2, Ensor
Cons: Plisson 2
Pens: Plisson 4
Yellow Card: Macalou
For Montpellier:
Tries: B du Plessis, Nadolo
Cons: Pienaar 2
Pens: Pienaar 2
Yellow Card: Guillamon
Stade Français: 15 Tony Ensor, 14 Julien Arias, 13 Waisea Nayacalevu, 12 Jonathan Danty, 11 Marvin O’Connor, 10 Jules Plisson, 9 Arthur Coville, 8 Willem Alberts, 7 Sekou Macalou, 6 Hugh Pyle, 5 Alexandre Flanquart, 4 Paul Gabrillagues, 3 Paul Alo-Emile, 2 Remi Bonfils, 1 Gurthro Steenkamp
Replacements: 16 Lucas Da Silva, 17 Siegfried Fisiihoi, 18 Steevy Cerqueira, 19 Antoine Burban, 20 Charl McLeod, 21 Morne Steyn, 22 Jimmy Yobo, 23 Lorenzo Cittadini
Montpellier: 15 Benjamin Fall, 14 Joffrey Michel, 13 Henry Immelman, 12 Alexandre Dumoulin, 11 Nemani Nadolo, 10 Frans Steyn, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Kelian Galletier, 7 Julien Bardy, 6 Fulgence Ouedraogo, 5 Nico Janse van Rensburg, 4 Jacques du Plessis, 3 Antoine Guillamon, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Mikheil Nariashvili
Replacements: 16 Charles Geli, 17 Yvan Watremez, 18 Julien Delannoy, 19 Martin Devergie, 20 Benoit Paillaugue, 21 Arthur Vincent, 22 Thomas Darmon, 23 Mohamed Haouas
Referee: Sebastien Minery
Assistant referees: Herve Lasausa Lespy Labaylette, Jean-Claude Labarbe
TMO: Denis Grenouillet
Bordeaux-Bègles 30-27 Toulon
Matmut Atlantique, Bordeaux
Jean-Baptiste Dubie touched down twice as Bordeaux-Bègles secured yet another impressive victory after they overcame Toulon 30-27 at the Matmut Atlantique.
Jacques Brunel’s men had already defeated last season's champions Clermont Auvergne and they added the 2016/17 defeated finalists to that list.
That was despite a difficult opening half. Although Simon Hickey kicked them ahead, the visitors went onto score 18 unanswered points.
Francois Trinh-Duc was the first to get Toulon on the board from the tee before the ever-dangerous Josua Tuisova touched down. Juandre Kruger then powered across the whitewash to leave Brunel’s side shell-shocked.
However, Bordeaux hit back thanks to Dubie's effort and a penalty try – a score which saw Laurent Delboulbes yellow carded.
With the prop off the field, Bègles took the game away from their opponents via Dubie and Hickey, despite Trinh-Duc rescuing a losing bonus-point for the visitors late on.
The scorers:
For Bordeaux-Bègles:
Tries: Dubie 2, penalty try, Hickey
Con: Serin
Pens: Hickey 2
For Toulon:
Tries: Tuisova, Kruger
Con: Trinh-Duc
Pens: Trinh-Duc 5
Bordeaux-Bègles: 15 Nans Ducuing, 14 Jean-Pascal Barraque, 13 Jayden Spence, 12 Apisai Naqalevu, 11 Jean-Baptiste Dubie, 10 Simon Hickey, 9 Baptiste Serin, 8 Leroy Houston, 7 Loann Goujon, 6 Mahamadou Diaby, 5 Jandre Marais, 4 Luke Jones, 3 Vadim Cobilas, 2 Clement Maynadier, 1 Jefferson Poirot
Replacements: 16 Adrien Pelissie, 17 Sebastien Taofifenua, 18 Cyril Cazeaux, 19 Marco Tauleigne, 20 Yann Lesgourgues, 21 Tian Schoeman, 22 Fa’asiu Fuatai, 23 Peni Ravai
Toulon: 15 Edoardo Padovani, 14 Josua Tuisova, 13 Mathieu Bastareaud, 12 Anthony Belleau, 11 Semi Radradra, 10 Francois Trinh-Duc, 9 Sebastien Tillous-Borde, 8 Raphael Lakafia, 7 Mamuka Gorgodze, 6 Jean Monribot, 5 Romain Taofifenua, 4 Juandre Kruger, 3 Emerick Setiano, 2 Antony Etrillard, 1 Xavier Chiocci
Replacements: 16 Guilhem Guirado, 17 Laurent Delboulbes, 18 Swan Rebbadj, 19 Rudy Gahetau, 20 Luke McAlister, 21 JP Pietersen, 22 Eric Escande, 23 Levan Chilachava
Referee: Pierre Brousset
Assistant referees: Luc Ramos, Jean-Luc Rebollal
TMO: Eric Gonthier
Brive 27-22 Castres
Stade Amedee-Domenech, Brive
Brive ended six weeks of misery as they finally secured their first victory of the season following an impressive 27-22 triumph over Castres.
Samuel Marques, a summer signing from Toulouse, proved to be the match-winner after kicking 15 points to earn a result which moved them closer to Oyonnax and Agen in the table.
As has typified the hosts this season, they struggled in the early exchanges and went 7-0 down through Julien Dumora’s try, but Nicolas Godignon’s men battled back.
Marques kicked successive penalties before pressure on the opposition line eventually led to them being awarded a penalty try.
They continued to dominate and, after Marques had added his third from the tee, Poutasi Luafutu touched down to put Brive firmly in control.
Although Julien Caminati reduced the arrears by crossing the whitewash, two further Marques three-pointers completed a fine victory for the basement-dwellers, despite Dumora’s second score and Benjamin Urdapilleta’s penalty setting up a nervous finale.
The scorers:
For Brive:
Tries: Penalty try, Luafutu
Pens: Marques 5
For Castres:
Tries: Dumora 2, Caminati
Cons: Urdapilleta 2
Pen: Urdapilleta
Yellow Card: Moreaux
Brive: 15 Benjamin Lapeyre, 14 Takudzwa Ngwenya, 13 Arnaud Mignardi, 12 Poutasi Luafutu, 11 Guillaume Namy, 10 Matthieu Ugalde, 9 Samuel Marques, 8 Sisa Koyamaibole, 7 Etienne Herjean, 6 Said Hireche, 5 Peet Marais, 4 Julien Ledevedec, 3 Sila Puafisi, 2 Mike Tadjer, 1 Na’ama Leleimalefaga
Replacements: 16 Thomas Acquier, 17 Karlen Asieshvili, 18 Jan Uys, 19 Retief Marais, 20 Vasil Lobzhanidze, 21 Nadir Megdoud, 22 Benjamin Petre, 23 James Johnston
Castres: 15 Julien Dumora, 14 Julien Caminati, 13 Robert Ebersohn, 12 Florian Vialelle, 11 David Smith, 10 Benjamin Urdapilleta, 9 Ludovic Radosavljevic, 8 Maama Vaipulu, 7 Anthony Jelonch, 6 Alexandre Bias, 5 Victor Moreaux, 4 Loic Jacquet, 3 Daniel Kotze, 2 Jody Jenneker, 1 Antoine Tichit
Replacements: 16 Kevin Firmin, 17 Tudor Stroe, 18 Christophe Samson, 19 Steve Mafi, 20 Yohan Domenech, 21 Thomas Combezou, 22 Alex Tulou, 23 Damien Tussac
Referee: Adrien Descottes
Assistant referees: Regis Guatelli, Bruno Gabaldon
TMO: Cedric Marchat
Oyonnax 16-19 Pau
Stade Charles-Mathon, Oyonnax
Oyonnax suffered yet another blow at the Stade Charles-Mathon as Pau came from behind to defeat the strugglers 19-16.
Following a dismal evening against Bordeaux last weekend, the hosts were much improved and controlled the opening half, but they were undone by a late Dave Foley try.
Adrien Buononato’s men won the physical battle in the first 40 minutes and deservedly went ahead via the boot of Ben Botica.
Tom Taylor responded for the visitors from the tee before the respective stand-offs traded three-pointers, but the promoted outfit were enjoying the better of the game.
The maul was causing Pau considerable problems and, following another dominant surge, Quentin MacDonald crossed the whitewash.
Oyonnax failed to build on that buffer, however, and Taylor reduced the arrears after the interval with a pair of penalties.
Although Botica managed to stem the momentum, the visitors dominated the final quarter and the pressure eventually led to the winning try when Foley barged over.
The scorers:
For Oyonnax:
Try: MacDonald
Con: Botica
Pens: Botica 3
For Pau:
Try: Foley
Con: Taylor
Pens: Taylor 4
Yellow Card: Slade
Oyonnax: 15 Silvere Tian, 14 Daniel Ikpefan, 13 Matt Hopper, 12 Roimata Hansell-Pune, 11 Dug Codjo, 10 Ben Botica, 9 Jeremy Gondrand, 8 Rory Grice, 7 Valentin Ursache, 6 Patrick Sobela, 5 Steven Sykes, 4 Phoenix Battye, 3 Hoani Tui, 2 Quentin MacDonald, 1 Tommy Raynaud
Replacements: 16 Hika Elliot, 17 Khatchik Vartanov, 18 Geoffrey Fabbri, 19 Bilel Taieb, 20 James Hall, 21 Mitch Inman, 22 Axel Muller, 23 Kevin Buys
Pau: 15 Charly Malie, 14 Bastien Pourailly, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Jale Vatubua, 11 Watisoni Votu, 10 Tom Taylor, 9 Thibault Daubagna, 8 Steffon Armitage, 7 Paddy Butler, 6 Pierrick Gunther, 5 Daniel Ramsay, 4 Fabrice Metz, 3 Malik Hamadache, 2 Quentin Lespiaucq, 1 Thomas Domingo
Replacements: 16 Lucas Rey, 17 Jamie Mackintosh, 18 Dave Foley, 19 Sean Dougall, 20 Julien Tomas, 21 Colin Slade, 22 Julien Fumat, 23 Lourens Adriaanse
Referee: Tual Trainini
Assistant referees: Thomas Chereque, Frederic Chazal
TMO: Mourad Zitouni
Agen 6-25 Lyon
Stade Armandie, Agen
Lyon will end the weekend at the top of the table after they recorded their sixth victory of the season following a 25-6 triumph over Agen.
With Montpellier losing earlier in the day, it gave Pierre Mignoni’s men a chance to overtake Vern Cotter’s side at the summit and they duly took that opportunity.
The visitors simply outclassed their opponents and were well in control by the interval. Even though Jake McIntyre’s two penalties to Frederic Michalak’s one had given the hosts a 6-3 advantage, Thibaut Regard and Jean-Marcellin Buttin moved Mignoni’s team nine points clear.
Lyon continued to dominate in the second period and Michalak’s second three-pointer added to Agen’s woes.
All the away side needed for a perfect evening’s work was the try bonus-point and they got it when Richard Choirat powered over from close range.
The scorers:
For Agen:
Pens: McIntyre 2
Yellow Card: Bethune
For Lyon:
Tries: Regard, Buttin, Choirat
Cons: Michalak 2
Pens: Michalak 2
Agen: 15 Mathieu Lamoulie, 14 Tamaz Mchedlidze, 13 Johann Sadie, 12 Julien Heriteau, 11 Filipo Nakosi, 10 Jake McIntyre, 9 Ricky Januarie, 8 Akapusi Qera, 7 Vincent Farre, 6 Antoine Erbani, 5 Mickael De Marco, 4 Denis Marchois, 3 Dave Ryan, 2 Facundo Bosch, 1 Quentin Bethune
Replacements: 16 Paula Ngauamo, 17 Giorgi Tetrashvili, 18 Tom Murday, 19 Antoine Miquel, 20 Lucas Rubio, 21 Clement Laporte, 22 George Tilsley, 23 Arthur Joly
Lyon: 15 Jean-Marcellin Buttin, 14 Timilai Rokoduru, 13 Rudi Wulf, 12 Thibaut Regard, 11 Alexis Palisson, 10 Frederic Michalak, 9 Baptiste Couilloud, 8 Carl Fearns, 7 Liam Gill, 6 Julien Puricelli, 5 Hendrik Roodt, 4 Felix Lambey, 3 Francisco Gomez Kodela, 2 Mickael Ivaldi, 1 Albertus Buckle
Replacements: 16 Virgile Lacombe, 17 Alexandre Menini, 18 Etienne Oosthuizen, 19 Taiasina Tuifua, 20 Jonathan Pelissie, 21 Hemani Paea, 22 Virgile Bruni, 23 Richard Choirat
Referee: Laurent Cardona
Assistant referees: Vincent Blasco-Baque, Eric Soulan
TMO: Maxime Chalon