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The second round of the Top 14 saw its fair share of shocks this week, with losses for Toulouse, Perpignan, Racing Metro and Biarritz. The most entertaining game of the week was probably the clash of Stade ande La Rochelle, while the Biarritz - Toulon game was about as enjoyable as a viewing new coat of gloss.
Bourgoin 12 - 25 Clermont
Clermont bounced back from their opening round defeat to Perpignan with a rousing away win over Bourgoin. The game proved to be a real forwards battle with neither side attacking with real zeal. Parra and Di Bernardo traded penalties in the first half leaving the half-time score at 6-6. The game turned upon the sending off of Bourgoin winger Jean-Francois Coux in the 70th minute. Clermont took immediate advantage, sending winger Nalaga over for the game's first try, giving Clermont the lead for the first time. Further tries from flanker Alexandre Lapandry and winger Wesley Fofana sealed the deal as Clermont took the four points.
Bayonne 27 - 0 Agen
Bayonne continued their good early season form on Friday night with a comfortable win over new boys, Agen. Chrisitan Gajan's men racked up three tries against their less than illustrious opponents as they looked to build on last week's shock defeat of Toulon. An early try from second row Rob Linde set the tone for Basque club, with a further try from Italian fly-half Craig Gower and two penalties from Benjamin Boyet giving Bayonne a 20-0 lead at half time. A late try from replacement Lionel Mazars in the 76th minute closed out a one-sided game, however Bayonne may feel disappointed that they did not take the bonus point.
Brive 26 - 11 Perpignan
Brive bounced back from last week's home defeat to Racing with an impressive victory over last year's beaten finalists, Perpignan. In a breath taking first quarter, the former Heineken Cup champions scored 20 points to their opponents 3, with tries coming from Damien Brown and Gerhard Vosloo repectively. Perpignan never looked like reeling the hosts in, who maintained a healthy 20 point lead for most of the game. The only consolation for the visitors came through a late try from wing Julien Candelon but they still fell well short of a losing bonus point.
Montpellier 36 - Racing Metro 19
Motnpellier got their seaons back on track, runnig in 4 tries against Racing Metro to claim a good win. The visitors got off to the perfect start with a try from Julien Saubade and two successful penalties from Jonathan Wisniewskigiving them a 13 points to nil lead. This was as good as it was to get for Racing however, as the hosts soon bit back. Three tries in quick succession (Geoffroy Doumayrou x 2, Timoci Nagusa) gave Montpellier the lead and the boot of French fly half Francois Trinh-Duc kept Racing nicely at bay. Another try from Doumayrou completed his hattrick and gave Montpellier a well-deserved bonus point victory over their much fancied Parisian opponents.
Stade Francais 41 - 26 La Rochelle
Michael Cheika's good start in France continued with a 5 tries to three win over the newly-promoted La Rochelle. The visitors had the better of the early exchanges, leading 11-3 after the first quarter by virtue of a try from wing Florian Ninard. Matthew Bastareaud responded in the 26th minute with a try for the Parisian club, but the accurate boot of Maxime Lebourhis gave the visitors a narrow 14-10 lead to take in with them at halftime.
The sides exchanges tries fter the break with Ollie Philips and Thomas Combezou crossing the whitewash respectively. The game changed however, when in the 52nd minute La Rochelle scrum half Benjamin Ferrou was sin binned. Stade scored three tries with Ferrou off, leaving the result beyond question. Combezou would cross again in the 73rd minnute to add some respectability to the scoreboard for the visitors.
Biarritz 3 - 13 Toulon
Toulon will have certainly been the happier side leaving the Parc des Sports Aguilera on Friday night after what can only be called a bloody awful game of rugby. A try from Kris Chesney gave Toulon the lead in the 25th minute, while a penalty from the ever accurate Dimitri Yachvilli made the score 7-3 to the visitors at halftime. Johnny Wilkinson marked his return to the starting panel with a good day with the boot. In the second half he added a penalty and a drop goal to solidify Toulon's lead in a game where try scoring chances were scarce at best. The win is just what Toulon needed to kick start their season after least week's loss to Bayonne.
Castres 22 - 16 Toulouse
Castres will be out to prove that last year's good form was no fluke this year and what better way to do this than by beating the European champions? Chris Masoe scored the first try of the game in the 13th minute, although it appeared the fromer All Black had lost the ball over the line. The two sides exchanged penalites and a Cameron McIntyle drop goal to leave the halftime score at 13-3 to the hosts.
Romain Teulet added a further 3 penalties after the break, while Toulouse's responce came through 2 penalties and a try for young flanker Sylvain Nicolas in the 70th minute, winning them a losing bonus point.
So, after week two the table looks like this:
No doubt it will make happy reading for Bayonne and Stade.
Bourgoin 12 - 25 Clermont
Clermont bounced back from their opening round defeat to Perpignan with a rousing away win over Bourgoin. The game proved to be a real forwards battle with neither side attacking with real zeal. Parra and Di Bernardo traded penalties in the first half leaving the half-time score at 6-6. The game turned upon the sending off of Bourgoin winger Jean-Francois Coux in the 70th minute. Clermont took immediate advantage, sending winger Nalaga over for the game's first try, giving Clermont the lead for the first time. Further tries from flanker Alexandre Lapandry and winger Wesley Fofana sealed the deal as Clermont took the four points.
Bayonne 27 - 0 Agen
Bayonne continued their good early season form on Friday night with a comfortable win over new boys, Agen. Chrisitan Gajan's men racked up three tries against their less than illustrious opponents as they looked to build on last week's shock defeat of Toulon. An early try from second row Rob Linde set the tone for Basque club, with a further try from Italian fly-half Craig Gower and two penalties from Benjamin Boyet giving Bayonne a 20-0 lead at half time. A late try from replacement Lionel Mazars in the 76th minute closed out a one-sided game, however Bayonne may feel disappointed that they did not take the bonus point.
Brive 26 - 11 Perpignan
Brive bounced back from last week's home defeat to Racing with an impressive victory over last year's beaten finalists, Perpignan. In a breath taking first quarter, the former Heineken Cup champions scored 20 points to their opponents 3, with tries coming from Damien Brown and Gerhard Vosloo repectively. Perpignan never looked like reeling the hosts in, who maintained a healthy 20 point lead for most of the game. The only consolation for the visitors came through a late try from wing Julien Candelon but they still fell well short of a losing bonus point.
Montpellier 36 - Racing Metro 19
Motnpellier got their seaons back on track, runnig in 4 tries against Racing Metro to claim a good win. The visitors got off to the perfect start with a try from Julien Saubade and two successful penalties from Jonathan Wisniewskigiving them a 13 points to nil lead. This was as good as it was to get for Racing however, as the hosts soon bit back. Three tries in quick succession (Geoffroy Doumayrou x 2, Timoci Nagusa) gave Montpellier the lead and the boot of French fly half Francois Trinh-Duc kept Racing nicely at bay. Another try from Doumayrou completed his hattrick and gave Montpellier a well-deserved bonus point victory over their much fancied Parisian opponents.
Stade Francais 41 - 26 La Rochelle
Michael Cheika's good start in France continued with a 5 tries to three win over the newly-promoted La Rochelle. The visitors had the better of the early exchanges, leading 11-3 after the first quarter by virtue of a try from wing Florian Ninard. Matthew Bastareaud responded in the 26th minute with a try for the Parisian club, but the accurate boot of Maxime Lebourhis gave the visitors a narrow 14-10 lead to take in with them at halftime.
The sides exchanges tries fter the break with Ollie Philips and Thomas Combezou crossing the whitewash respectively. The game changed however, when in the 52nd minute La Rochelle scrum half Benjamin Ferrou was sin binned. Stade scored three tries with Ferrou off, leaving the result beyond question. Combezou would cross again in the 73rd minnute to add some respectability to the scoreboard for the visitors.
Biarritz 3 - 13 Toulon
Toulon will have certainly been the happier side leaving the Parc des Sports Aguilera on Friday night after what can only be called a bloody awful game of rugby. A try from Kris Chesney gave Toulon the lead in the 25th minute, while a penalty from the ever accurate Dimitri Yachvilli made the score 7-3 to the visitors at halftime. Johnny Wilkinson marked his return to the starting panel with a good day with the boot. In the second half he added a penalty and a drop goal to solidify Toulon's lead in a game where try scoring chances were scarce at best. The win is just what Toulon needed to kick start their season after least week's loss to Bayonne.
Castres 22 - 16 Toulouse
Castres will be out to prove that last year's good form was no fluke this year and what better way to do this than by beating the European champions? Chris Masoe scored the first try of the game in the 13th minute, although it appeared the fromer All Black had lost the ball over the line. The two sides exchanged penalites and a Cameron McIntyle drop goal to leave the halftime score at 13-3 to the hosts.
Romain Teulet added a further 3 penalties after the break, while Toulouse's responce came through 2 penalties and a try for young flanker Sylvain Nicolas in the 70th minute, winning them a losing bonus point.
So, after week two the table looks like this:
No doubt it will make happy reading for Bayonne and Stade.
