Five-try Toulon down 14-men Bordeaux
The three-time European champions ran in five tries for a bonus-point win which allowed them to move into third spot in the table, five points behind leaders Clermont.
Fellow play-off hopefuls Bordeaux saw their hopes of victory extinguished as early as the 22nd minute when their New Zealand flank Luke Braid was red-carded for stamping on the face of Mamuka Gorgodze.
At that stage, they were trailing 3-13, after South African wing Bryan Habana had scored his first try of the league season, dotting down in the corner following a smart pass from All Blacks World Cup winner Ma'a Nonu.
Former Bordeaux flyhalf Pierre Bernard added a second try after 33 minutes as Toulon went in at the break with a 20-3 lead.
Australian wing Adam Ashley-Cooper went over for a converted try after 51 minutes to cut the deficit to 20-10 but that was as good as it got for Bordeaux.
Liam Gill, James O'Connor and Welsh full-back Leigh Halfpenny, who finished with 17 points, added further tries to secure the bonus point.
"We had a very good first half, we were in control of the match," said Toulon coach Mike Ford.
"Bordeaux are a great team who pose a lot of problems and despite the red card, it wasn't easy for us."
Bordeaux boss Raphael Ibanez admitted the red card for Braid was crucial.
"No discipline, no victory. It's as simple as that," said Ibanez. "It was the right decision but Braid is a classy player. He's a gentleman."
Toulouse scored five tries on their way to an emphatic win in their mid-table clash against Brive.
Up 17-5 at half-time thanks to three tries within 11 minutes, Toulouse went on to score two more for a 30-12 victory over an opposition line-up who rarely posed a threat.
On Saturday, Clermont had their lead at the top slashed despite a hat-trick of tries from England wing David Strettle after a shock 40-35 loss to struggling Pau.
Montpellier closed the gap at the top to four points with a seven-try 51-37 romp at Grenoble to give South African coach Jake White a boost.
White, the 2007 World Cup winning coach, was hospitalised overnight Friday with illness and didn't make the trip to Grenoble, leaving assistants Shawn Sowerby and Scott Wisemantel in charge.
The 53-year-old suffered dizzy spells but medical staff at the club revealed there were no immediate worries for his health.
La Rochelle are fourth, five points off the summit, after Racing 92 grabbed a last-minute try through Yannick Nyanga – converted by Dan Carter – to secure a 23-23 draw.
Pint-sized wing Gabriel Lecroix scored two tries for La Rochelle.
Stade Francais ran in eight tries in a 51-5 mauling of Bayonne with Australian scrumhalf Will Genia scoring his first for the club in the third minute.
Genia, signed after the 2015 World Cup, has been plagued by injuries and was playing just his seventh game for the Paris giants.
Agence France-Presse
