Clermont crush Castres

TOP 14 WRAP: Greig Laidlaw kicked 16 points as Clermont thrashed reigning champions Castres 41-6 on Saturday.

It saw them move six points clear at the Top 14 summit.

Meanwhile Toulouse extended their winning run to four matches.

Franck Azema's side have now won all four of their home matches with bonus points, after running five tries past Castres in a totally one-sided clash.

Clermont have now scored 21 tries in their last three games, after big victories over Northampton and Romania's Timisoara Saracens in the European Challenge Cup.

"We played a perfect match in the commitment and the pressure that we were able to put on, with or without the ball," said head coach Azema.

"We were proud today of our temperament in a tough fight in which we came out the dominant team."

But there was a blow for both Clermont and France as half-back Morgan Parra was ruled out for several weeks by a wrist injury suffered in training, with the 29-year-old replaced by Toulouse's Sebastien Bezy in Jacques Brunel's November internationals squad.

Centre Damian Penaud touched down to get the hosts off to a quick start at the Stade Marcel-Michelin after Rory Kockott had kicked Castres into a seventh-minute lead, with Peter Betham adding their second try soon afterwards.

France hopeful Alivereti Raka powered clear to score just days after he discovered he would have to wait to get a French passport, with Laidlaw's third successful conversion making it 21-6 at half-time.

The Scotland scrumhalf slotted over two penalties to end the game as a contest, and further tries from flank Judicael Cancoriet and Peceli Yato added extra gloss to the scoreline as Laidlaw finished with five conversions.

Toulouse backed up their thrilling European Champions Cup victories over Bath and title-holders Leinster by cruising to a 36-18 victory at bottom club Perpignan which saw them jump up to second in the table.

After ending Leinster's 10-game winning run in Europe last weekend, Toulouse found themselves 8-3 down against their newly-promoted opponents approaching half-time.

But South African international Cheslin Kolbe put the visitors in front, and scrum-half Antoine Dupont scored twice in the second period as Toulouse pulled away, with Australian fly-half Zack Holmes also crossing to finish the day with 14 points.

"I don't know if the two victories in the European Cup against Bath and Leinster bode well for the rest of the season, but they gave us confidence," said Toulouse fullback Maxime Medard.

Elsewhere, Racing 92 scored six tries in a 48-28 thrashing of Pau, who were left without a recognised flyhalf after first-half injuries to Antoine Hastoy and Colin Slade, while Agen and Grenoble battled to a dire 9-9 draw.

Later on Saturday, Stade Francais will be looking to cut the gap to just two points when they welcome last year's losing finalists Montpellier to the Stade Jean-Bouin.

Former All Black flanker Liam Messam will be available to play for struggling Toulon against La Rochelle on Sunday, after his four-week suspension for a dangerous tackle was reduced on appeal.

Agence France-Presse