Top 14: Clerc brace secures vital win
An opportunistic brace of tries from veteran France wing Vincent Clerc helped Toulouse to a 18-13 victory over Montpellier in the Top 14 on Saturday.
With just six matches remaining to cement a place in the top six teams who advance to play-offs, every match has become a must-win in the highly competitive French league with but a few points separating five teams in mid-table.
The victory temporarily moved Toulouse up into fifth spot on 49 points, while Montpellier came away with a bonus defensive point.
It was the fourth time this season these two teams had met, having been drawn together in the same European Champions Cup pool, and Toulouse's win drew it level at 2-all.
Montpellier, with Francois Trinh-Duc making his return as a replacement after a five-month injury lay-off, took an early lead through Benoit Paillaugue and Ben Lucas penalties, Luke McAlister hitting back with two of his own just before half-time.
But it was Toulouse replacement Vincent Clerc who proved the difference.
First Montpellier wing Rene Ranger, who will return to the Blues in a bid to get back into the All Blacks squad, made a hash of clearing a kick, the ball bobbling away over the line and out of the Kiwi's reach but into Clerc's.
Ranger's nightmare continued just minutes later when he fumbled a McAlister up-and-under behind the tryline, Clerc again on hand to pounce on the loose ball, McAlister kicking the extras.
Ranger went some way to regaining his game-breaking kudos with a fine break and one-handed offload to Fijian fullback Timoci Nagusa for the try, converted by Lucas to make for a nerve-racking final 10 minutes.
Grenoble moved into the sixth spot with an emphatic 30-21 win away at third-placed Stade Francais as just nine points separated eight clubs from Toulouse in fifth to La Rochelle in 12th.
Oyonnax's hopes were hit with a 35-20 defeat by La Rochelle while Brive moved out of the relegation zone with a stunning 36-12 victory over fourth-placed Racing-Metro.
Bottom-placed Castres suffered a 21-19 defeat by Bayonne thanks to an injury-time 45-metre penalty by Argentine Martin Bustos Moyano.
Clermont moved to the provisional head of the Top 14 on Friday with a 31-23 victory over Bordeaux-Begles.
Toulon can overtake them later Saturday if they win away at Lyon.
Top 14 results:
Bayonne 21 Castres 19
Brive 36 Racing-Metro 12
La Rochelle 35 Oyonnax 20
Stade Francais 21 Grenoble 30
Toulouse 18 Montpellier 13
Clermont 31 Bordeaux-Begles 23
Agence France-Presse
