While waiting for the end of this 10th day, with Clermont-Toulon on Sunday evening, the king of Toulouse has resumed his throne of leader thanks to his success at the expense of the USAP. For their part, Pau, however long battered by Biarritz, ended up stifling the good intentions of the BO while Lyon celebrated the return to the field of Mathieu Bastareaud with a success against Castres.
The fact: Toulouse, plucked but at the top
Stade Toulousain, despite the absences of many internationals, did not miss the opportunity to regain his chair before the break thanks to his enhanced victory against the promoted Perpignan (37-15). The reigning champion, once again deprived of eleven players selected with the Blues for the autumn tests, took advantage of the defeat of Bordeaux-Bègles the day before in La Rochelle (26-3). Beaten last week at Racing 92 (27-18), the Toulousains were heckled for a half by Usap at Ernest-Wallon, but they raised their voice after the break to finish on a good note the first block of the championship.
The sentence: “We do not lose the match against Montpellier, we lose it against us”
The Stade Français scrum-half Arthur Coville could not help but display his frustration after his team’s defeat at home against Montpellier (31-27). A setback with two bonuses, offensive for having scored four tries (against only one in Hérault) and defensive by finishing four lengths. “They fed off our mistakes. I’m not sure they did much in attack, but we make too many mistakes as children. It’s the first time I’ve lost with the offensive bonus, that sums up the match well “, added the Stadiste. Too penalized, the Parisians let the MHR win and chain a third consecutive success.
The number: 25 Berdeu points for a LOU appetite
For the big comeback of Mathieu Bastareaud, ten months after his last Top 14 match, the LOU ended a series of two defeats on the road, and six consecutive losses against Castres, by winning in pain (30 -23) against the Tarnais. To renew with success, Lyon relied on conquering forwards in the first period but also and above all on their opener and scorer, Léo Berdeu, author of 25 points (1 try, 1 transformation, 6 penalties). This fifth success of the season allows them to pass in front of their opponents and to point to 3rd place.
The end of the match: Pau, a two-speed section
Pau, battered by a playful and convincing Biarritz team for more than an hour, took advantage of the lack of discipline of the Basques to reverse the situation and win (33-21) on Saturday. Still eight minutes from time, she ended up in a cannonball to pocket this precious Pyrenees-Atlantiques derby, alert and pleasant.
The Basques have long thought that a coup was possible in neighboring Béarn. They put almost all the ingredients to get the best out of the Palois, especially when they came back from the locker room when they were leading 21-12 and especially three downs to zero. But their indiscipline, failing sector since the start of the season, in the conquest phase today, still played tricks on them and Hastoy, on a personal feat (75th), then punctuated a really crazy end to the match. Too bad for the promoted, still red lantern.
The end of the series: Brive finally returns to victory
Only victory is beautiful. This is necessarily what the Brivists must have thought, who remained on four defeats in a row, after their narrow success against Racing 92 (12-10) at the end of a tasteless match. Left at the disposal of the Hauts-de-Seine club by the supervision of the XV of France, Bernard Le Roux, Ibrahim Diallo and Donovan Taofifenua were not enough in the face of Corréziens who finally stopped the bleeding.