Jalibert outshines Te'o
TOP 14 WRAP: Young France flyhalf Matthieu Jalibert scored 19 points as Union Bordeaux-Begles beat Toulon 34-12 on Saturday.
England midfield discard Ben Te’o made his debut for the visitors in the same match.
Jalibert, 20, who won his only Test cap against Ireland in 2018, claimed a first-half try and slotted a pair of penalties and four conversions in a virtuoso display with the boot and in open play.
“We were a bit scared, Toulon came with high hopes after they played well last week,” Jalibert told broadcaster Canal+.
“We knew what to expect with a physical challenge. We responded in the best way possible.
“We have a difficult trip to Castres next week, we have to keep our feet on the ground, stay humble and keep on working,” the flyhalf, who was sidelined for more than nine months of last season with a knee injury, added.
Former international centre Remi Lamerat also dotted down twice either side of Adrien Pelissie’s 42nd minute try.
Toulon, who hammered Agen in their opening game of the season last weekend, failed to deal with the hosts’ intensity and Jalibert’s creativity with ball in hand.
Midfielder Te’o has joined the three-time European champions as World Cup cover after being omitted from Eddie Jones’ squad for the tournament.
Double World Junior Championship winner Louis Carbonel claimed Toulon’s only points with four penalties.
Christophe Urios’ outfit moved to the top of the table after backing up their victory over champions Toulouse last Saturday.
Elsewhere, last season’s losing finalists Clermont avoided an early slip-up as they beat promoted Bayonne 34-30 in the French Top 14 on Saturday.
The Basque outfit, who shocked Racing 92 in Paris last weekend, led 24-19 at the break as Maxime Lamothe and Peyo Muscarditz scored early tries before former New Zealand centre George Moala responded for the visitors.
Apisai Naqalevu and Charlie Cassang then dotted down in the second half to claim Clermont’s second victory of the new campaign.
Former Fiji winger Nemani Nadolo crossed as Montpellier thumped Pau 43-22, Agen beat the other new faces in the top flight Brive 16-10 and La Rochelle scraped past Stade Francais 28-26 after Jules Plisson missed a late conversion for the Parisians.
On Sunday, Racing 92 play Castres and record 20-time French champions Toulouse, without 13 players on Rugby World Cup duty, face a trip to Lyon.
Collated results
Bordeaux-Begles 34 Toulon 12
La Rochelle 28 Stade Francais 26
Montpellier 43 Pau 22
Agen 16 Brive 10
Bayonne 30 Clermont 34
Playing Sunday
Racing 92 v Castres
(10.30 GMT)
Lyon v Toulouse (15.00 GMT)
Table (played, won, drawn, lost, points for, points against, bonus points, total points):
Bordeaux-Begles 2 2 0 0 64 37 0 9
Clermont 2 2 0 0 62 40 0 8
Montpellier 2 1 0 1 68 48 2 6
Lyon 1 1 0 0 43 9 1 5
Bayonne 2 1 0 1 54 51 1 5
Toulon 2 1 0 1 56 59 1 5
Castres 1 1 0 0 26 25 0 4
Pau 2 1 0 1 55 57 0 4
Agen 2 1 0 1 41 54 0 4
La Rochelle 2 1 0 1 38 54 0 4
Toulouse 1 0 0 1 25 30 1 1
Stade Francais 2 0 0 2 35 71 1 1
Racing 92 1 0 0 1 17 24 0 0
Brive 2 0 0 2 24 79 0 0
