Wrap: Top 14, Round 16

It’s tough at the top and even tougher at the bottom. Lyon’s win lifts them off the bottom where Bayonne find themselves. Montpellier’s huge win lifts them into the play-off zone, the top six. For Racing it was a tough defeat at Stade de France.

Results, Round 16

Toulouse vs Racing Métro, 19-13
Brive vs Perpignan, 17-9
Castres vs Biarritz, 29-23
Lyon vs Agen, 19-11
Toulon vs Bayonne, 50-10
Montpellier vs Stade Français, 38-6

Log after Round 16

Lyon and Bordeaux-Bègles have a match in hand. They will be playing it at Stade André-Moga on Friday.

1 Toulouse 60
2 Clermont 50
3 Toulon 45
4 Castres 44
5 Montpellier 40
6 Paris 39
7 Racing Métro 37
8 Agen 36
9  Bordeaux-Bègles 30
10 Brive 28
11 Perpignan 27
12 Lyon 24
13 Biarritz 24
14 Bayonne 23

Match Details

Toulouse vs Montpellier

The first half was all Toulouse but Racing came roaring back and were leading till Toulouse cheated a try with four minutes to go. It was not an honourable victory.

Down 13-12 Toulouse attacked and were close but François Steyn hauled wing Timoci Matanavou into touch for a line-out to Racing five metres from their line. Replacement hooker Grégory Arganèse threw in skew. Five-metre scrum. Toulouse ball, 15 metres in from touch.

The referee was on the far side of the scrum. Luke Burgess put the ball in, Toulouse heeled the ball, the scrum was firm and Luke Burgess moved to go to the blind side. Instead the massive, 20-year-old replacement Gillian Galan picked up and ran on the open side, the side where the ball had been put in and had a simple run for the line, scoring as Sébastien Chabal tried to tackle him.

Scrumhalf Mathieu Lorée was shadowing Burgess and there was no flank activity on the open side. There was no flank activity because prop Daan Human was holding onto Jacques Cronjé, thus clearing a path for Galan. The conversion made the score 19-13, the final score.

In the first half, Toulouse had all the play. They destroyed the Racing scrum, won the tackles, handled with confidence and it was a mystery that they led only 6-0 at the break. Their first score, after five minutes, had been a dropped goal by Lionel Beauxis when Racing flykicked ahead. The second score was a penalty goal when Virimi Vakatawa refused to release the ball in touch, shoved Beauxis and was [penalised. Beauxis goaled.

The second half was all change. Racing brought Lorée to scrumhalf, moved Sébastien Descons to flyhalf and shifted the others one along with Vakatawa left on the bench. They brought big Jone Qovu on and, most significantly Andrea Lo Cicero into prop. Suddenly it was Toulouse who were backpedalling at the scrum and Racing who enjoyed territory and possession.

Beauxis kicked a drop right at the start of the half and then Racing took over. First Descons kicked a penalty and then came the first try of the match. Lorée chipped, Matanavou saved but Sireli Bobo forced him out for a five-metre line-out to Racing. They bashed, the referee spoke to the TMO and Lo Cicero was awarded a try far out. Descons converted. 10-9 to Racing. It was an astonishing change in fortunes.

Toulouse broke Racing’s grip on the match and got into Racing territory where Luke McAlister kicked a long-range penalty. 12-10 with 15 minutes to play, but a minute later Toulouse went off side and Descons put the home side back in the lead – 13-12 with 13 minutes to play.

A powerful break by McAlister set Toulouse bashing and the sequence of events that led to their dubious try.

Scorers:

For Toulouse:
Try: Galan
Con: McAlister
Pens: Beauxis, McAlister
Drops: Beauxis 2

For Racing-Métro:
Try: Lo Cicero
Con: Descons
Pens: Descons 2

The teams

Racing-Métro: 15 Juan Imhoff, 14 Virimi Vakatawa , 13 Henry Chavancy, 12 François Steyn, 11 Sireli Bobo, 10 Fabrice Estebanez , 9 Sébastien Descons, 8 Jacques Cronjé, 7 Antoine Battut, 6 John Leo’o , 5  Karim Ghezal, 4 Lionel Nallet (captain), 3 Benjamin Sa, 2 Benjamin Noirot, 1 Mikaele Tu’ugahala.
Replacements: 16 Grégory Arganèse, 17 Andrea Lo Cicero, 18 Jone Qovu, 19 Sébastien Chabal, 20 Mathieu Lorée, 21 Joshua Matavesi, 22 Rémi Vaquin, 23 Juan Pablo Orlandi

Toulouse: 15 Clément Poitrenaud, 14 Timoci Matanavou, 13 Florian Fritz, 12 Yannick Jauzion, 11 Yves Donguy, 10 Lionel Beauxis, 9 Jean-Marc Doussain, 8 Sean Sowerby, 7 Sylvain Nicolas, 6 Jean Bouilhou, 5 Patricio Albacete, 4 Gregory Lamboley, 3 Census Johnston, 2 Christopher Toleafoa, 1 Gurthrö Steenkamp
Replacements: 16 Jaba Bregvadze, 17 Daan Human, 18 Yoann Maestri, 19 Gillian Galan , 20 Luke Burgess, 21 Luke McAlister, 22 Maxime Payen, 23 Yohan Montes 

Referee: Romain Poite
Assistant referees: Christophe Dutreuilh, Jean-Michel Schutz
Television match official: Hervé Dubes

Montpellier vs Stade Français

In a match of many penalties, the Parisians scored first through a penalty, one of a multitude at the tackle. Two penalties by Martín Bustos Moyano gave Montpellier the lead and they built on it, leading 13-3 at half-time, all their points scored by Bustos Moyano.

Julien Dupuy goaled a second penalty bring the score to 16–6 and after that Fabien Galthié’s side ran away with their Parisian visitors.

Scorers:

For Montpellier:
Tries: Bustos Moyano 2, Bosch, Nagusa
Cons: Bustos Moyano 2, Paillaugue
Pens: Bustos Moyano 4

For Stade Français:
Pens: Dupuy 2

The teams

Montpellier: 15 Lucas Amorosino, 14 Timoci Nagusa, 13 Thomas Combezou, 12 Paul Bosch, 11 Martín Bustos Moyano, 10 François Trinh-Duc (captain), 9 Julien Tomas, 8 Masini Matadigo, 7 Rémy Martin, 6 Fulgence Ouedraogo, 5 Mamuka Gorgodze, 4 Drikus Hancke, 3 George Jgenti, 2 Agustin Creevy, 1 Na’ama Leleimalefaga
Replacements: 16 Michael Ladhuie, 17 Juan Figallo, 18 Alikisio Fakate, 19 Alex Tulou, 20 Benoît Paillaugue, 21 Santiago Fernandez, 22 Yoan Audrin, 23 Maximiliano Bustos

Stade Français: 15 Paul Warwick, 14 Paul Sackey, 13 Paul Williams, 12 Martin Rodriguez, 11 Julien Arias, 10 Felipe Contepomi, 9 Julien Dupuy, 8 Sergio Parisse (captain), 7 Pierre Rabadan, 6 David Lyons, 5 Pascal Papé, 4 Gerhard Mostert, 3 David Attoub, 2 Dimitri Szarzewski, 1 Rodrigo Roncero
Replacements: 16 Aled De Malmanche, 17 Olivier Milloud, 18 Alexandre Flanquart, 19 Antoine Burban, 20 Byron Kelleher, 21 Morgan Turinui, 22 Jules Plisson, 23 Stanley Wright.

Referee: Jean-Luc Rebollal
Assistant referees: Patrick Pechambert, Laurent Sclafer
Television match official: Gérard Borreani

Castres vs Biarritz

A drop a minute from time by Damien Traille won Biarritz a bonus point.

Scorers:

For Castres:
Tries: Martial 2
Cons: Teulet 2
Pens: Teulet 4, Kockott

For Biarritz:
Tries: Guyot, Taele
Cons: Yachvili 2
Pens: Yachvili 2
Drop: Traille

The teams

Castres: 15 Romain Teulet 14 Romain Martial, 13 Max Evans, 12 Seremaia Bai, 11 Marc Andreu, 10 Pierre Bernard, 9 Rory Kockott, 8 Chris Masoe, 7 Ibrahim Diarra, 6 Yannick Caballero, 5 Rodrigo Capo Ortega , 4 Matthias Rolland, 3 Luc Ducalcon, 2 Mathieu Bonello, 1 Yannick Forestier.
Replacements: 16 Brice Mach, 17 Anton Peikrishvili , 18 Scott Murray, 19 Jannie Bornman, 20 Thierry Lacrampe, 21 Paul Bonnefond, 22  Thomas Sanchou, 23 Karena Wihongi

Biarritz: 15 Iain Balshaw, 14 Takudzwa Ngwenya, 13 Marcelo Bosch, 12 Damien Traille, 11 Benoît Baby, 10 Julien Peyrelongue, 9 Dimitri Yachvili, 8 Imanol Harinordoquy, 7 Benoît Guyot, 6 Wenceslas Lauret, 5 Pelu Taele, 4 Jerome Thion, 3 Francisco Gomez Kodela, 2 Arnaud Heguy, 1 Sylvain Marconnet.
Replacements: 16 Benoît August, 17 Yvan Watremez, 18 Manuel Carizza, 19 Raphaël Lakafia, 20 Yann Lesgougues, 21 Ilikena Bolakoro, 22 Dane Haylett Petty, 23 Eusebio Guiñazu 

Referee: Pascal Gauzere
Assistant referees: David Rosich, René Bordeneuve
Television match official: Jean-Marie Piraveau

Lyon vs Agen

Missing a late conversion cost Agen a bonus point.

Scorers;

For Lyon:
Try: Koyamaibole
Con: Loursac
Pens: Loursac 4

For Agen:
Try: Tian
Pens: Machenaud 2

The teams:

Lyon: 15 Romain Loursac, 14 Franck Romanet, 13 Latu Fatafehi, 12 Nicolas Raffault, 11 Mosese Ratuvou, 10 Xavier Sadourny, 9 Enrico Januarie, 8 Sisaro Koyamaibole, 7 Juan Leguizamón, 6 Eugene N Zi, 5 Coenie Basson, 4 Arnaud Marchois, 3 Philemon Toleafoa, 2 Jean-Philippe Bonrepaux, 1 Xavier Fiard
Replacements: 16 Antonio Testa, 17 Arnaud Tchougong, 18 Arnaud Dorier, 19 Vincent Clément, 20 Tewis de Bruyn, 21 Lee Thomas, 22 Régis Lespinas, 23  Antoine Guillamon

Agen: 15 Brice Dulin, 14 Saimoni Vaka, 13 Manu Ahotaeiloa, 12 Miguel Avramovic, 11 Romain Samuel, 10 Mathieu Lamoulie, 9 Maxime Machenaud, 8 Ueleni Fono, 7 Adri Badenhorst, 6 Lisiate Fa’aoso, 5 Damien Lagrange, 4 Dewald Senekal, 3 Gert Muller, 2 Semisi Telefoni, 1 Laurent Cabarry.
Replacements: 16 Jalil Narjissi , 17 Beka Sheklashvili, 18 Patrick O’Connor, 19 Jean-Joseph Monribot, 20 Alexi Bales, 21 Junior Palesasa, 22 Silvère Tian, 23  Martín Scelzo

Referee: Jérôme Garces
Assistant referees: Jérôme Lamirand, Patrick Beuriot
Television match official: Daniel Irazoqui

Brive vs Perpignan

Perpignan led 9-0 and then stopped scoring.

Scorers:

For Brive:
Tries: Spedding, Azoulai
Cons: Caminati 2
Pen: Caminati 28′
 
For Perpignan:
Pens: Porical 3

The teams:

Brive: 15 Scott Spedding, 14 Jacques Boussuge , 13 Julien Caminati, 12 Arnaud Mignardi, 11 Guillaume Namy, 10 Shane Geraghty , 9 Agustin Figuerola, 8 Antonie Claassen, 7 Alexandre Bias, 6 Simon Azoulai, 5 Arnaud Méla, 4 Retief Uys, 3 Vasil Kakovin, 2 Virgile Lacombe, 1 Pablo Henn.
Replacements: 16 Iuri Natriashvili, 17 Alexandre Barozzi, 18 Thibault Dubarry, 19 Poutasi Luafutu, 20 Vincent Forgues, 21 Mathieu Belie, 22 Riaan Swanepoel, 23 Pablo Cardinali.

Perpignan: 15 Jérôme Porical, 14 Farid Sid, 13 David Marty, 12 Maxime Mermoz, 11 Adrien Planté, 10 James Hook, 9 Florian Cazenave, 8 Damien Chouly, 7 Ovidiu Tonita, 6 Jean-Pierre Perez, 5 Robins Tchale Watchou, 4 Gerrie Britz, 3 Nicolas Mas, 2 Guilhem Guirado, 1 Jérôme Schuster
Replacements: 16 Charles Geli, 17 Perry Freshwater, 18 Bertrand Guiry, 19 Romain Taofifenua, 20 David Mélé, 21 Rudi Coetzee, 22 Gavin Hume, 23 Kisi Pulu.

Referee: Christophe Berdos
Assistant referees: Christophe Labaune, Didier Dussaut
Television match official: Laurent Valin

Toulon vs Bayonne

It was 15-3 at half-time.

Scorers:

For Toulon:
Tries: Armitage 2, Messina, Rooney, Palisson,
Cons: Wilkinson 5
Pens: Wilkinson 5

For Bayonne:
Try: Boyet
Con: Boyet
Pen: Boyet

The teams:

Toulon: 15 Luke Rooney , 14 Benjamin Lapeyre, 13 Mathieu Bastareaud, 12 Matt Giteau, 11  Alexis Palisson, 10 Jonny Wilkinson, 9 Sébastien Tillous-Borde, 8 Joe van Niekerk, 7 Steffon Armitage, 6 Pierrick Gunther, 5 Christophe Samson, 4 Simon Shaw, 3 Davit Kubriashvili, 2 Sébastien Bruno, 1 Eifion Lewis-Roberts
Replacements: 16 Jean-Charles Orioli, 17 Laurent Emmanuelli, 18 Bakkies Botha, 19 Joe El Abd, 20 Geoffroy Messina, 21 David Smith, 22 Fabien Cibray, 23 Carl Hayman

Bayonne: 15 Cédric Heymans, 14 , 13 Sam Gerber, 12 Lionel Mazars, 11 Marvin O’Connor, 10 Benjamin Boyet, 9 Mike Phillips, 8 Marc Baget Yoann Huget, 7 Julien Puricelli, 6 Dwayne Haare, 5 Mark Chisholm, 4 Abdellatif Boutaty, 3 Renaud Boyoud, 2 David Roumieu, 1 Aretz Iguiniz
Replacements: 16 François Da Ros, 17 Nemiah Tialata , 18 Sione Lauaki, 19 Guillaume Bernad, 20 Cédric Garcia, 21 Jacques-Louis Potgieter, 22 Thibault Lacroix, 23 Vitolio Manukula

Referee: Sébastien Cloute
Assistant referees: Jean-Luc Rebollal, Christophe Clavere
Television match official: Bruno Bessot

Bordeaux-Bègles vs Clermont

Scorers:

For Bordeaux-Bègles:
Try: Forbes
Con: Reihana
Pen: Reihana

For Clermont:
Try: Buttin
Pens: James 2, Skrela

The teams:

Bordeaux-Bègles: 15 Bruce Reihana, 14 Blair Connor, 13 Julien Rey, 12 Felix Le Bourhis, 11 Rafaël Carballo, 10 Gérard Fraser, 9 Heini Adams, 8 Matthew Clarkin, 7 Hugh Chalmers, 6 Justin Purll, 5 Adam Jaulhac, 4 Cameron Treloar, 3 Silviu Florea, 2 Wayne Avei, 1 Laurent Delboulbes
Replacements: 16 Fabien Rofes, 17 Hikairo Forbes, 18 François Tisseau, 19 Leroy Houston, 20 Julien Seron, 21 Camille Lopez, 22 Thierry Brana, 23 Albert Toetu

Clermont: 15 Jean-Marcellin Buttin, 14 Brent Russell, 13 Regan King, 12 Gonzalo Canale, 11 Sitiveni Sivivatu, 10 Brock James, 9 Kevin Senio, 8 Loann Goujon , 7 Alexandre Audebert, 6 Jason White, 5 Loïc Jacquet, 4 Jamie Cudmore, 3 Danie Kotze, 2 Benoît Cabello, 1 Raphaël Chaume.
Replacements: 16 Ti’i Paulo, 17 Lionel Faure, 18 Elvis Vermeulen, 19 Alexandre Lapandry, 20 Ludovic Radosavljevic, 21 David Skrela, 22 Noa Nakaitaci, 23 Clément Ric. 

Referee: Franck Maciello
Assistant referees: Eric Soulan, Régis Gabard
Television match official: J Matheu