Wrap: Top 14, Round 20
There was not a lot of upset in Round 20 of France's Top 14, unless you consider disappointing Perpignan managing a draw with mighty Toulon. Biarritz eased their relegation anxieties with a win over Brive.
Clermont were the only team to win away from home.
This coming weekend all teams have a bye and then it is full steam ahead for the play-offs. There will be no more weakened teams, except those naturally so.
Results, Round 20
Perpignan vs Toulon, 22-22
Clermont vs Agen, 29-20
Biarritz vs Brive, 26-11
Montpellier vs Bayonne, 327-26
Stade Français vs Lyon, 40-19
Toulouse vs Castres, 34-27
Racing-Métro vs Bordeaux-Bègles, 22-13
Log after Round 20
There is little change. Castres and Agen have slipped. Montpellier have gone further up Abd so have Stade Français.
1 Toulouse 73
2 Clermont 69
3 Toulon 58
4 Montpellier 52
5 Castres 51
6 Racing Métro 49
7 Paris 47
8 Agen 44
9 Bordeaux 37
10 Brive 37
11 Perpignan 34
12 Biarritz 34
13 Bayonne 30
14 Lyon 26
Match details:
Racing-Métro vs Bordeaux-Bègles
Despite the large win, the teams scored only one try each.
The scorers
For Racing-Métro:
Try: Ghezal
Con: Germain
Pens: Germain 5
For Bordeaux-Bègles:
Try: Reihana
Con: Lopez
Pens: Lopez 2
The teams:
Racing-Métro: 15 Gaëtan Germain, 14 Sireli Bobo, 13 François Steyn, 12 Fabrice Estebanez, 11 Juan Imhoff, 10 Juan Martín Hernández, 9 Mathieu Lorée, 8 Jacques Cronjé, 7 Bernard Le Roux, 6 John Leo'o, 5 François van der Merwe, 4 Santiago Dellapè, 3 Salemane Sa, 2 Thomas Bianchin, 1 Julien Brugnaut.
Replacements: 16 Benjamin Noirot, 17 Eddy Ben Arous, 18 Karim Ghezal, 19 Jone Qovu, 20 Sébastien Descons, 21 Henry Chavancy, 22 Álvaro Galindo, 23 Juan Pablo Orlandi.
Bordeaux-Bègles: 15 Bruce Reihana, 14 , 13 Félix Le Bourhis, 12 Andrew Mailei, 11 Blair Connor, 10 Camille Lopez, 9 Heini Adams, 8 Matthew Clarkin, 7 Hugh Chalmers, 6 Justin Purll, 5 Adam Jaulhac, 4 Daniel Leo, 3 Bees Roux, 2 Wayne Avei, 1 Hikairo Forbes.
Replacements: 16 Fabien Rofes, 17 Laurent Delboulbes, 18 Cameron Treloar, 19 Louis Madaule, 20 Julien Seron, 21 Gerard Fraser, 22 Rafael Carballo, 23 Albert Toetu.
Referee: Sébastien Cloute
Assistant referees: Vincent Blasco, Christophe Clavere
TMO: Bernard Dal Maso
Toulouse vs Castres
The scorers:
For Toulouse:
Tries: Donguy, Johnston, Fritz, Galan
Cons: McAlister 3
Pens: McAlister 2
For Castres:
Tries: Wihongi, Martial, Caballero
Cons: Teulet 3
Pens: Bernard 2
The teams:
Toulouse: 15 Yannick Jauzion, 14 Timoci Matanavou, 13 Florian Fritz, 12 Yann David, 11 Yves Donguy, 10 Luke McAlister, 9 Luke Burgess, 8 Shaun Sowerby, 7 Yannick Nyanga, 6 Jean Bouilhou, 5 Romain Millo Chlusky, 4 Patricio Albacete, 3 Census Johnston, 2 Jaba Bregvadze, 1 Daan Human.
Replacements: 16 Jérémy Falip, 17 Gurthrö Steenkamp, 18 Gregory Lamboley, 19 Sylvain Nicolas, 20 Jean-Marc Doussain, 21 Maxime Payen, 22 Gillian Galan, 23 Johnson Falefa.
Castres: 15 Romain Teulet 14 Romain Martial, 13 James So'oialo, 12 Romain Cabannes, 11 Marc Andreu, 10 Pierre Bernard, 9 Thierry Lacrampe, 8 Chris Masoe, 7 Yannick Caballero, 6 Ibrahim Diarra, 5 Rodrigo Capo Ortega, 4 Matthias Rolland, 3 Karena Wihongi, 2 Marc-Antoine Rallier, 1 Yannick Forestier.
Replacements: 16 Mathieu Bonello, 17 Anton Peikrishvili, 18 Benjamin Desroche, 19 Jannie Bornman, 20 Rory Kockott, 21 Seremaia Bai, 22 Pierre Gilles Lakafia, 23 Michael Coetzee.
Referee: Laurent Cardona
Assistant referees: Alexandre Ruiz, Sébastien Hebert
TMO: Bruno Bessot
Montpellier vs Bayonne
Montpellier keep climbing. At one stage they were bottom of the log but now are strong contenders for the play-offs, and then all things are possible.
The scorers:
For Montpellier:
Tries: Nagusa 2, Martin
Cons: Moyano 3
Pens: Moyano 5
DG: Fernandez
For Bayonne:
Tries: Boyet, Huget
Cons: Garcia 2
Pens: Boyet, Garcia 3
The scorers:
Montpellier: 15 Lucas Amorosino, 14 Timoci Nagusa, 13 Thomas Combezou, 12 Paul Bosch, 11 Martin Bustos Moyano, 10 Santiago Fernandez, 9 Julien Tomas, 8 Alex Tulou, 7 Rémy Martin, 6 Fulgence Ouedraogo, 5 Thibaut Privat, 4 Drikus Hancke, 3 George Jgenti, 2 Agustin Creevy, 1 Juan Figallo.
Replacements: 16 Erasmus Jansen van Vuuren, 17 Na'ama Leleimalefaga, 18 Alikisio Fakate, 19 Masini Matadigo, 20 Benoît Paillaugue, 21 Geoffrey Doumayrou, 22 Yoan Audrin, 23 Maximiliano Bustos.
Bayonne: 15 Yoann Huget, 14 Marvin O'Connor, 13 Joe Rokocoko , 12 Lionel Mazars, 11 Sam Gerber, 10 Benjamin Boyet, 9 Cédric Garcia, 8 Marc Baget, 7 Dwayne Haare, 6 Guillaume Bernad, 5 Mark Chisholm, 4 Abdellatif Boutaty, 3 Renaud Boyoud, 2 David Roumieu, 1 Aretz Iguiniz.
Replacements: 16 François Da Ros, 17 Nemiah Tialata, 18 Rob Linde, 19 Julien Puricelli, 20 Julien Audy, 21 Clément Otazo, 22 Thibault Lacroix, 23 Clément Baiocco.
Referee: Salem Attalah
Assistant referees: Flavien Hourquet, Christophe Malterre
TMO: Denis Gillet
Stade Français vs Lyon
The scorers:
For Stade Français:
Tries: Camara 2, Sackey, Roncero
Cons: Contepomi 4
Pens: Contepomi 4
For Lyon:
Try: Grosso
Con: Loursac
Pens: Loursac 4
The teams:
Stade Français: 15 Djibril Camara, 14 Paul Sackey, 13 Paul Williams, 12 Martin Rodriguez, 11 Julien Arias, 10 Felipe Contepomi, 9 Jérôme Fillol, 8 David Lyons, 7 Pierre Rabadan, 6 Antoine Burban, 5 Gerhard Mostert, 4 Anton van Zyl, 3 Francisco Tetaz, 2 Rémi Bonfils, 1 Rodrigo Roncero.
Replacements: 16 Aled De Malmanche, 17 Rabah Slimani, 18 Alexandre Flanquart, 19 Scott Lavalla, 20 Byron Kelleher, 21 Paul Warwick, 22 Morgan Turinui, 23 Stanley Wright.
Lyon: 15 Romain Loursac, 14 Mosese Ratuvou, 13 Vinaya Wakanivuga, 12 Nicolas Raffault, 11 Rémy Grosso, 10 Laurent Tranier, 9 Ricky Januarie, 8 Nicolas Bontinck, 7 Juan Leguizamón, 6 Eugene N Zi, 5 Arnaud Dorier, 4 Arnaud Marchois, 3 Antoine Guillamon, 2 Jody Jenneker, 1 Xavier Fiard.
Replacements: 16 Guram Kavtidze, 17 Anthony Roux, 18 Coenie Basson , 19 Gerald Gambetta, 20 Brice Salobert, 21 Luke Abraham, 22 Régis Lespinas, 23 Tariel Ratianidze.
Referee: Christophe Berdos
Assistant referees: Akim Hadj Bachir, Dominique Parrini
TMO: Eric Gonthier
Agen vs Clermont
The scorers:
For Agen:
Try: Palesasa
Pens: Barnard 5
For Clermont:
Tries: Russell, Kayser
Cons: James, Skrela
Pens: James 5
The teams:
Agen: 15 Silvère Tian, 14 Saimoni Vaka, 13 Miguel Avramovic, 12 Junior Palesasa, 11 Romain Samuel, 10 Conrad Barnard, 9 Maxime Machenaud, 8 Opeti Fonua, 7 Ueleni Fono, 6 Jean-Joseph Monribot, 5 Adri Badenhorst, 4 Dewald Senekal, 3 Gert Muller, 2 Jalil Narjissi, 1 Bernard N'Nomo.
Replacements: 16 Julien Janaudy, 17 Semisi Telefoni, 18 Lisiate Fa'aoso, 19 Marc Giraud, 20 Alexi Bales, 21 Manu Ahotaeiloa, 22 Belisario Agulla, 23 Beka Sheklashvili.
Clermont: 15 Anthony Floch, 14 Brent Russell, 13 Noa Nakaitaci, 12 Regan King, 11 Jean-Marcellin Buttin, 10 Brock James, 9 Ludovic Radosavljevic, 8 Elvis Vermeulen (captain), 7 Alexandre Audebert, 6 Jason White, 5 Nathan Hines, 4 Loïc Jacquet , 3 Benjamin Kayser, 2 Benjamin Kayser, 1 Raphaël Chaume.
Replacements: 16 Benoît Cabello, 17 Lionel Faure, 18 Julien Pierre, 19 Alexandre Lapandry, 20 Kevin Senio, 21 David Skrela, 22 Gavin Williams, 23 Adrien Oleon.
Referee: Pascal Gauzere
Assistant referees: Nicolas Datas, Didier Dussaut
TMO: Gérard Borreani
Biarritz vs Brive
The scorers:
For Biarritz:
Tries: Haylett-Petty, Penalty try
Cons: Yachvili 2
Pens: Yachvili 4
For Brive:
Try: Spedding
Pens: Caminati 2
The teams:
Biarritz: 15 Iain Balshaw, 14 Takudzwa Ngwenya, 13 Marcelo Bosch, 12 Damien Traille, 11 Dane Haylett-Petty, 10 Julien Peyrelongue, 9 Dimitri Yachvili, 8 Talalelei Gray, 7 Benoît Guyot, 6 Wenceslas Lauret, 5 Manuel Carizza, 4 Jérôme Thion, 3 Francisco Gomez Kodela, 2 Arnaud Heguy, 1 Sylvain Marconnet.
Replacements: 16 Benoît August, 17 Yvan Watremez, 18 Pelu Taele, 19 Raphaël Lakafia, 20 Jean-Pascal Barraque, 21 Benoît Baby, 22 Ilikena Bolakoro, 23 Eugene van Staden.
Brive: 15 Julien Caminati, 14 Jacques Boussuge, 13 Arnaud Mignardi, 12 Jamie Noon, 11 Guillaume Namy, 10 Scott Spedding, 9 Agustin Figuerola, 8 Julien Ledevedec, 7 Vincent Forgues, 6 Poutasi Luafutu, 5 Arnaud Méla, 4 Retief Uys, 3 Alexandre Barozzi, 2 Guillaume Ribes, 1 Davit Kinchagishvili.
Replacements: 16 Louis Acosta, 17 Mathieu Barres, 18 Olivier Caisso, 19 Simon Azoulai, 20 Jean-Baptiste Pejoine, 21 Mathieu Belie, 22 Sevanaia Galala, 23 Patrick Barnard.
Referee: Cédric Marchat
Assistant referees: Christophe Dutreuilh, Jean-Michel Schutz
TMO: Jean-Pierre Pellaprat
Perpignan vs Toulon
The scorers:
For Perpignan:
Try: Coetzee
Con: Porical
Pens: Porical 4, Mélé
For Toulon:
Try: Tillous-Borde
Con: Giteau
Pens: Giteau 5
The teams:
Perpignan: 15 Jérôme Porical, 14 Farid Sid, 13 David Marty, 12 Rudi Coetzee, 11 Adrien Planté, 10 Gavin Hume, 9 Kevin Boulogne, 8 Henri Tuilagi, 7 Jean-Pierre Perez, 6 Grégory Le Corvec, 5 Olivier Olibeau, 4 Romain Taofifenua, 3 Benoît Bourrust, 2 Guilhem Guirado, 1 Perry Freshwater.
Replacements: 16 Charles Geli, 17 Kisi Pulu, 18 Gerrie Britz, 19 Ovidiu Tonita, 20 David Mélé, 21 Joffrey Michel, 22 Damien Chouly, 23 Danie Theart.
Toulon: 15 Luke Rooney, 14 Christian Loamanu, 13 Geoffroy Messina, 12 Gabriele Lovobalavu, 11 Alexis Palisson, 10 Matt Giteau, 9 Sébastien Tillous-Borde, 8 Steffon Armitage, 7 Joe El Abd, 6 Olivier Missoup, 5 Dean Schofield, 4 Simon Shaw, 3 Carl Hayman, 2 Sébastien Bruno, 1 Laurent Emmanuelli.
Replacements: 16 Jean-Charles Orioli, 17 Eifion Lewis-Roberts, 18 Christophe Samson, 19 Pierrick Gunther, 20 Julien Dumora, 21 Mathieu Bastareaud, 22 Fabien Cibray, 23 Levan Chilachava.
Referee: Patrick Pechambert
Assistant referees: Stéphane Boyer, Pierre Gorbenko
TMO: Eric Gauzins