Top 14 Wrap: Toulouse close gap on Clermont
Toulouse secured an impressive victory over Bordeaux in the Top 14, while there were also wins for Castres, La Rochelle and Toulon, but leaders Clermont could only draw.
Results
Saturday
Grenoble 27-27 Clermont Auvergne
Castres 37-10 Pau
La Rochelle 33-29 Agen
Toulon 26-16 Perpignan
Toulouse 40-0 Bordeaux-Bègles
Grenoble 27-27 Clermont
Stade des Alpes
Clermont Auvergne were forced to settle for a share of the spoils in the Top 14 as Alaska Taufa scored late on to rescue a draw for Grenoble at the Stade des Alpes.
Clermont may have gone into the game as the league leaders but they struggled in the opening period, despite Patricio Fernandez giving them a 3-0 lead after 10 minutes.
The hosts made life difficult for the 2017 champions and deservedly levelled matters via the boot of Gaetan Germain before they scored the first try of the match.
Beka Gigashvili had only been on the field for a brief time when the prop powered over to take Grenoble 8-3 ahead.
Germain missed the conversion but extended their buffer soon after with a three-pointer for a 11-3 advantage at the break.
Evidently stung by that first-half display, Les Jaunards responded at the start of the final 40 minutes as Sitaleki Timani crossed the whitewash.
Fernandez and Germain then traded penalties but Auvergne were now on the front foot and Alivereti Raka moved them ahead.
To their credit, the home side responded and were level via successive Germain three-pointers, but Peceli Yato appeared to have won the game late on.
However, Taufa went over with five minutes remaining, Germain converting, to rescue two points for the home team.
The scorers:
For Grenoble:
Tries: Gigashvili, Taufa
Con: Germain
Pens: Germain 5
For Clermont:
Tries: Timani, Raka, Yato
Cons: Fernandez 3
Pens: Fernandez 2
Grenoble: 15 Gaetan Germain, 14 Daniel Kilioni, 13 Pablo Uberti, 12 Alaska Taufa, 11 Raymond Rhule, 10 Adrien Latorre, 9 Theo Nanette, 8 Loic Godener, 7 Fabien Alexandre, 6 Steven Setephano, 5 Killian Geraci, 4 Salesi Fifita, 3 Davit Kubriashvili, 2 Etienne Fourcade, 1 JC Janse van Rensburg
Replacements: 16 Mike Tadjer, 17 Dylan Jacquot, 18 Francois Uys, 19 Taiasina Tuifua, 20 Lilian Saseras, 21 Franck Pourteau, 22 Taleta Tupuola, 23 Beka Gigashvili
Clermont: 15 Isaia Toeava, 14 Alivereti Raka, 13 George Moala, 12 Apisai Naqalevu, 11 Remy Grosso, 10 Patricio Fernandez, 9 Charlie Cassang, 8 Fritz Lee, 7 Judicael Cancoriet, 6 Damien Chouly, 5 Flip van der Merwe, 4 Sitaleki Timani, 3 Davit Zirakashvili, 2 Benjamin Kayser, 1 Beka Kakabadze
Replacements: 16 Yohan Beheregaray, 17 Giorgi Beria, 18 Jacobus van Tonder, 19 Peceli Yato, 20 Greig Laidlaw, 21 Peter Betham, 22 Tim Nanai-Williams, 23 Michael Simutoga
Referee: Pierre Brousset
Assistant referees: Tual Trainini, Laurent Breil
TMO: Eric Briquet-Campin
Castres 37-10 Pau
Stade Pierre-Fabre
Castres got their season back on track following a comfortable victory over a disappointing Pau team.
Christophe Urios’ men had suffered successive Top 14 defeats, including losing their last domestic home match to Stade Francais, but they were excellent in the opening period.
Although Thibault Daubagna opened the scoring for the visitors, Armand Batlle hit back from the restart as the home side moved in front.
It was a lead they would not relinquish and Robert Ebersohn’s try a minute later increased their buffer to 12-3.
Simon Mannix’s charges briefly halted the hosts’ surge, but Urios’ outfit were soon on the front foot and were 27 points ahead by the interval thanks to a penalty try and Martin Laveau’s effort.
The second half was quieter as Castres took their foot off the gas and that allowed Steffon Armitage to reduce the arrears, but that stirred the defending champions into action and Alex Tulou completed the victory.
The scorers:
For Castres:
Tries: Batlle, Ebersohn, Laveau, penalty try, Tulou
Cons: Kockott 2
Pens: Kockott 2
For Pau:
Try: Armitage
Con: Le Bail
Pen: Daubagna
Yellow Card: Pesenti
Castres: 15 Scott Spedding, 14 Martin Laveau, 13 Robert Ebersohn, 12 Florian Vialelle, 11 Armand Batlle, 10 Ludovic Radosavljevic, 9 Rory Kockott, 8 Alex Tulou, 7 Camille Gerondeau, 6 Baptiste Delaporte, 5 Rodrigo Capo Ortega, 4 Loic Jacquet, 3 Daniel Kotze, 2 Jody Jenneker, 1 Antoine Tichit
Replacements: 16 Kevin Firmin, 17 Tudor Stroe, 18 Victor Moreaux, 19 Kevin Gimeno, 20 Yohan Le Bourhis, 21 David Smith, 22 Thomas Combezou, 23 Marc Clerc
Pau: 15 Charly Malie, 14 Marvin Lestremau, 13 Florian Nicot, 12 Jale Vatubua, 11 Watisoni Votu, 10 Benson Stanley, 9 Thibault Daubagna, 8 Peter Saili, 7 Sean Dougall, 6 Ben Mowen, 5 Baptiste Pesenti, 4 Daniel Ramsay, 3 Malik Hamadache, 2 Laurent Bouchet, 1 Geoffrey Moise
Replacements: 16 Lucas Rey, 17 Thomas Domingo, 18 Fabrice Metz, 19 Paddy Butler, 20 Steffon Armitage, 21 Clovis Le Bail, 22 Pierre Nueno, 23 Lourens Adriaanse
Referee: Jonathan Dufort
Assistant referees: Julien Castaignede, Richard Duhau
TMO: Bruno Bessot
La Rochelle 33-29 Agen
Stade Marcel-Deflandre
La Rochelle sealed their third successive victory in the Top 14 following a battling victory over a dogged Agen team.
Philippe Sella’s men have been abysmal on the road so far this season but they gave a good account of themselves at the Stade Marcel-Deflandre.
Jake McIntyre signalled their intent with the opening score and, although Ihaia West levelled matters from the tee, a penalty try – which resulted in Romain Sazy being yellow carded – took the visitors 10-3 ahead.
West and McIntyre then traded three-pointers before Kevin Gourdon crossed the whitewash for La Rochelle.
The hosts’ fly-half then took them in front with penalties either side of the interval but his opposite number kept Sella’s charges in the contest.
However, Pierre Aguillon touched down to provide some breathing space for the 2017 Top 14 semi-finalists. Leo Berdeu did reduce the deficit via successive three-pointers but Alexi Bales completed the victory for La Rochelle, despite Clement Laporte’s late response.
The scorers:
For La Rochelle:
Tries: Gourdon, Aguillon, Bales
Cons: West 2, Lafage
Pens: West 4
Yellow Card: Sazy
For Agen:
Tries: Penalty try, Laporte
Con: Berdeu
Pens: McIntyre 3, Berdeu 2
Yellow Card: Lamoulie
La Rochelle: 15 Vincent Rattez, 14 Paul Jordaan, 13 Jules Favre, 12 Pierre Aguillon, 11 Eliott Roudil, 10 Ihaia West, 9 Alexi Bales, 8 Victor Vito, 7 Gregory Alldritt, 6 Kevin Gourdon, 5 Thomas Jolmes, 4 Romain Sazy, 3 Arthur Joly, 2 Hikairo Forbes, 1 Leo Aouf
Replacements: 16 Jean-Charles Orioli, 17 Mike Corbel, 18 Jone Qovu, 19 Remi Bourdeau, 20 Thomas Berjon, 21 Maxime Lafage, 22 Arthur Retiere, 23 Sila Puafisi
Agen: 15 Mathieu Lamoulie, 14 Nicolas Metge, 13 Sam Vaka, 12 Julien Heriteau, 11 Valentin Saurs, 10 Jake McIntyre, 9 Paul Abadie, 8 Antoine Miquel, 7 Vincent Farre, 6 Facundo Bosch, 5 Denis Marchois, 4 Tom Murday, 3 Yohan Montes, 2 Paula Ngauamo, 1 Giorgi Tetrashvili
Replacements: 16 Marc Barthomeuf, 17 Morgan Phelipponneau, 18 Adrian Motoc, 19 Yoan Tanga, 20 Lucas Rubio, 21 Leo Berdeu, 22 Clement Laporte, 23 Xerom Civil
Referee: Thomas Charabas
Assistant referees: Francois Bouzac, Eric Soulan
TMO: Mourad Zitouni
Toulon 26-16 Perpignan
Stade Mayol
Toulon sealed a crucial victory over Perpignan in the battle at the bottom as Francois Trinh-Duc kicked 16 points to lift them out of the relegation places.
It has been a dreadful season for the 2014 champions but the mood was immediately lifted by Xavier Chiocci’s early score.
However, despair was once again etched on the faces of the supporters when Enzo Forletta’s converted try levelled the game before Paddy Jackson moved the visitors in front from the tee.
The game remained tight and the respective fly-halves, Trinh-Duc and Jackson, traded penalties as the Catalans took a 16-13 advantage into the break.
Toulon came out with far more intent in the second period and were rewarded when former New Zealand star Julian Savea, who was playing at centre, crossed the whitewash.
At 20-16, the result was still in the balance but successive Trinh-Duc three-pointers secured a crucial win for Patrice Collazo’s side and extended Perpignan’s winless run.
The scorers:
For Toulon:
Tries: Chiocci, Savea
Cons: Trinh-Duc 2
Pens: Trinh-Duc 4
For Perpignan:
Try: Forletta
Con: Jackson
Pens: Jackson 3
Yellow Card: Cocagi
Toulon: 15 Hugo Bonneval, 14 Josua Tuisova, 13 Malakai Fekitoa, 12 Julian Savea, 11 Daniel Ikpefan, 10 Francois Trinh-Duc, 9 Eric Escande, 8 Liam Messam, 7 Raphael Lakafia, 6 Swan Rebbadj, 5 Romain Taofifenua, 4 Brian Alainu’uese, 3 Emerick Setiano, 2 Anthony Etrillard, 1 Xavier Chiocci
Replacements: 16 Bastien Soury, 17 Jean-Baptiste Gros, 18 Juandre Kruger, 19 Stephane Onambele, 20 JP Pietersen, 21 Louis Carbonel, 22 Yoan Cottin, 23 Sebastien Taofifenua
Perpignan: 15 Julien Farnoux, 14 Wandile Mjekevu, 13 Sione Piukala, 12 Adrea Cocagi, 11 Pierre Lucas, 10 Paddy Jackson, 9 David Mele, 8 Genesis Lemalu, 7 Alan Brazo, 6 Shahn Eru, 5 Berend Botha, 4 Tristan Labouteley, 3 Yassin Boutemanni, 2 Seilala Lam, 1 Enzo Forletta
Replacements: 16 Raphael Carbou, 17 Quentin Walcker, 18 Masalosalo Tutaia, 19 Yohan Vivalda, 20 Tom Ecochard, 21 Jonathan Bousquet, 22 Eroni Sau, 23 Eric Sione
Referee: Maxime Chalon
Assistant referees: Flavien Hourquet, Jean-Claude Labarbe
TMO: Akim Hadj-Bachir
Toulouse 40-0 Bordeaux-Bègles
Stade Ernest-Wallon
Toulouse closed the gap on Clermont Auvergne in the table following a dominant victory over fellow play-off chasers Bordeaux-Bègles.
Despite Thomas Ramos’ penalty, it took Ugo Mola’s men a while to find their rhythm but, when they did, the hosts effectively took the game out of Bordeaux’s reach with 18 points in 12 minutes.
Ramos added to his personal tally with a second three-pointer before Arthur Bonneval touched down for a 13-0 advantage.
Semi Radradra was then yellow carded and from the resulting opportunity off the tee Toulouse’s full-back made it a 16-point buffer.
Mola’s charges were dominant and Bonneval was soon over for his second try before Francois Cros sealed the triumph after the break.
UBB were struggling to gain any momentum and, after a yellow card for George Tilsley, Peato Mauvaka and Romain Ntamack rounded off an impressive win for Les Rouge et Noir.
The scorers:
For Toulouse:
Tries: Bonneval 2, Cros, Mauvaka, Ntamack
Cons: Ramos 3
Pens: Ramos 3
For Bordeaux:
Yellow Cards: Radradra, Tilsley
Toulouse: 15 Thomas Ramos, 14 Arthur Bonneval, 13 Sofiane Guitoune, 12 Romain Ntamack, 11 Cheslin Kolbe, 10 Zack Holmes, 9 Pierre Pages, 8 Selevasio Tolofua, 7 Louis-Benoit Madaule, 6 Rynhardt Elstadt, 5 Joe Tekori, 4 Florian Verhaeghe, 3 Maks van Dyk, 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 1 Clement Castets
Replacements: 16 Peato Mauvaka, 17 David Ainu’u, 18 Carl Axtens, 19 Francois Cros, 20 Alban Placines, 21 Maxime Mermoz, 22 Lucas Tauzin, 23 Charlie Faumuina
Bordeaux: 15 Nans Ducuing, 14 Blair Connor, 13 Semi Radradra, 12 Ulupano Seuteni, 11 George Tilsley, 10 Brock James, 9 Yann Lesgourgues, 8 Afa Amosa, 7 Alexandre Roumat, 6 Mahamadou Diaby, 5 Cyril Cazeaux, 4 Mariano Galarza, 3 Lasha Tabidze, 2 Adrien Pelissie, 1 Laurent Delboulbes
Replacements: 16 Florian Dufour, 17 Thierry Paiva, 18 Jandre Marais, 19 Beka Gorgadze, 20 Jules Gimbert, 21 Lucas Meret, 22 Jean-Baptiste Dubie, 23 Vadim Cobilas
Referee: Ludovic Cayre
Assistant referees: Laurent Millotte, Patrick Pechambert
TMO: Eric Gauzins