Weekend Action From the Top 14

Agen v Clermont:

Clermont struggled to make an impact in the first half, giving up 3 penalties, and failing to register any points of their own. It seemed that Agen were going to upset third place Clermont, however, in the 4th minute, Clermont brought on French international Camille Lopez, and the side from the Auvergne lept into a higher gear. Two tries from No.8 Camille Gerondeau, as well as a penalty try, made the difference as Clermont ran away 33-16 winners, keeping them tied for first place in the table. Agen continue to sit rock bottom in the Top 14, as they continue to struggle with the spending pace with some of their rivals.
Final Score: 33-16

La Rochelle v Castres:

The first half was eventful, with Zack Holmes and Rory Kockott trading penalties before the half, Holmes was able to kick two additional penalties prior to Kockott responding with a try of his own before the half. The second half began eventfully, with Jone Quvo Nailiko crossing the line for La Rochelle, and Kockott crossing for a second, bringing the score to 22-21 with 31 minutes to play. Both sides battled back and forth, but neither was able to make any significant impact. In fact, it was not until the 68th minute that either side was able to gain any advantage with Zack Holmes successfully slotting a penalty kick to put his side ahead by 4. La Rochelle held off any semblance of a Castres fightback for the remaining 12 minutes, to secure a valuable win.
Final Score: La Rochelle 25- Castres 21

Grenoble v Oyonnax:

Grenoble demolished second from bottom Oyonnax, as former Ulster and Ireland U20’s center Chris Farrell powered his way to an impressive 86 meters in 9 carries. That said, former Springbok international Gio Aplon was the star of the show for Grenoble, beating 4 defenders, as well as racking up 120 meters, scoring a try and assisting another. Grenoble’s other tries came from Hendrik Loodt, Charl McLeod, and Fabien Alexandre. Grenoble fans will want this to be a turning point in their difficult season, while Oyonnax’s woes continue. Grenoble really do look like a side on the way up, and they should soon be knocking on the doors of the likes of Clermont or Toulon.
Final Score: Grenoble 42- Oyonnax 17

Racing 92 vs Union Bordeaux Begles

Racing have lept to the top of the table with a close win over Bordeaux Begles. Bordeaux had World Cup stars Adam Ashley-Cooper and Sekope Kepu lying in wait on the bench, but were unable to overcome the power of a Racing side featuring names like Dan Carter, Juan Imhoff, Brice Dulin, Casey Laulala, Mike Phillips, Francois Van Der Merwe, Yannick Nyanga, and Ben Tameifuna. Tries from former French captain Dimitri Szarzewski, and Alexandre Dumoulin made the difference as Racing continued their run of excellent form. Dan Carter has proven to be well worth his immense pricetag as he has lead the Parisian side to success after success, and they seem primed for great success not only in the domestic leagues, but the French as well.

Montpellier v Brive:

In a fiercely competitive battle between two sides vying for playoff contention, a try scored by Brive inside center Poutasi Luafutu proved to be decisive as Brive secured a 1 point win. The win brings Brive level with Montpellier on 32 points, just 6 points from the leaders in an incredibly tight Top 14. Brive’s win shows that signing big names from the southern hemisphere does not guarantee success, as they overcame a team featuring the Du Plessis brothers, Ben Mowen, Demetri Catrikillis, Ben Lucas, and Jesse Mogg. This match gives Brive plenty of momentum and hope ahead of the 6 Nations, as they look to leapfrog some of the biggest names in Europe in the table.
Final Score: Brive 19- Montpellier 18

Toulon v Pau:

This star studded clash between European heavyweight Toulon and recently promoted Pau lived up to every bit of its potential, as these two sides battled intently for 80 minutes. James O’Connor was the first to cross the try line in the 25th minute, and 5 minutes later, Pau lost Julien Jacquot after repeated infringements at the scrum tested the referee’s patience. Toulon were only able to get three points out of the card, mostly because 5 minutes after that, their own flyhalf, Quade Cooper, was sent to the bin as well after he cynically knocked the ball out of Pau scrumhalf Theibault Daubagna’s hand. Toulon exploded out of the gate after halftime, scoring tries through Konstantine Mikautadze, and once again O’Connor. Pau soon struck back however, with Conrad Smith humiliating fellow All Black Ma’a Nonu with a devastating dummy before dotting down to score. Pau were able to score again through a penalty while Toulon were a man down, but their fightback was not enough, as they fell 21-17. Toulon will want to see big improvements from their big money signings of Cooper, and Nonu, as both have seemed disinterested since arriving in France.
Final Score: Toulon 21- Pau 17

Stade Francais v Toulouse:

The current Top 14 champions wanted to turn their thus far lackluster season around, and what better way to do that than to scalp the 6 time European Champions Toulouse. Both sides pulled no punches for the encounter, giving fans the mouthwatering matchup of Sergio Parisse vs Louis Picamoles. Picamoles seems to have won that battle, although not the match, as he racked up 105 meters, 1 clean break, 4 defenders beaten and 4 offloads. It was the work of Stade outside center, Paul Williams that proved to be decisive, as he scored a 77th minute try to put his side ahead for good. This match could prove to be the catalyst for a Stade turnaround like we saw last year, as they made their remarkable run to the Top 14 title. Veterans like Heinke Van Der Merwe, and Parisse give this Stade team a core of leadership and a winning culture, that will hopefully bring them more results like this in the future.
Final Score: Stade Francais 18- Toulouse 17