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Toulouse reclaimed Number 1 spot in France on Saturday after Clermont's temporary rise to the top following a determined win over plucky Montpellier the previous evening.
Elsewhere Bordeaux beat Agen to keep them afloat and Biarritz also strengthened their hand with a home win over Racing Metro - with their city rivals Stade moving to within two points in the league standings after coming out on top in an entertaining affair with Perpignan in Paris.
Play-off hopefuls Toulon and Castres drew blanks in the south whilst Bayonne's win over Lyon at Stade Matmut kept their slim hopes of survival alive for another week, but consigned their hosts to the ProD2 trapdoor.
ASM CLERMONT AUVERGNE 22-9 MONTPELLIER HR
Clermont climed momentarily to the summit of the Top 14 on Friday night with a gritty win over Fabien Galthie's Montpellier at Stade Marcel Michelin to extend their unbeaten run at home to 42 games.
Brock James helped the hosts to a 6-3 half-time lead with a penalty and drop goal, with the solitary penalty for the visitors coming courtesy of winger Martin Bustos Moyano.
James was binned early in the second half to give Montpellier encouragement and a further penalty from fly-half Santiago Fernandez tied the scores up, but two quick-fire Morgan Parra penalties stabilised Les Jaunards.
Fernandez's boot kept MHRC within bonus point range until a try from substitute hooker Ti'i Paulo sealed the game for Clermont with ten minutes left.
STADE TOULOUSAIN 30-21 CA BRIVE CORREZE
Clermont's position at the top of the league was short-lived as Toulose put recent disappointing results behind them to grind out the victory over stubborn Brive at Stade Ernest Wallon on Saturday.
But it was far from convincing from the defending champions again as the season reaches its intriguing climax.
Despite losing their previous two fixtures, the hosts tore into a commanding early lead with tries courtesy of France stalwarts Clement Poitrenaud and Vincent Clerc, with two penalties from Brive centre Rian Swanepoel keeping the Limousin club in touch.
With the score at 15-6 to the hosts Toulouse coach Guy Noves admitted he expected his side to put the game out of reach and "score 40 points", but Brive scored a brace of touchdowns through a wing and full-back of their own - Scott Spedding and Jacques Boussuge - to grasp an 18-15 interval lead.
But the Toulouse front eight seized control of the game in the second period and four Luke McAlister penalties - complimenting two first-half efforts - were enough to see the hosts home.
LYON OLYMPIQUE 19-20 OLYMPIQUE BAYONNAIS
Stade Matmut was the stage for arguably the most important game of the round as Bayonne came back from the brink to record a vital away win; and in-so-doing relegate Lyon back to ProD2 after just one top-flight campaign.
The visiting Basques got off to the perfect start as 7-cap wing Yoann Huget crossed the whitewash after just two minutes.
Jacques-Louis Potgieter converted for a 7-0 lead but from them on the first half belonged to Lyon.
Full-back Thibault Suchier replied with a 12th minute try and Wasps-bound Lee Thomas's conversion levelled the scores, with the Welshman's peerless kicking also contributing four penalties to hand Lyon a commanding 19-7 advantage at the break.
But with the wind at their backs as the second half kicked off, Bayonne turned things around.
A Potgieter penalty got belief flowing once more and a converted Marvin O'Connor score cut the deficit to just two points.
The ensuing twenty minutes were filled with attritional play and nervous tension that contributed to frustrating and mistake-riddled play as both teams surged to cling on to top-flight status by their muddied fingernails.
But, a minute after coming on, the responsibility to spare Bayonne was placed on Benjamin Boyet with a high-pressure penalty shot to win the game - and the experienced play-maker made no mistake to earn his side the slenderest of victories.
STADE FRANCAIS PARIS 35-31 USA PERPIGNAN
Seven penalties from half-back Julien Dupuy helped Stade to an exciting and high-scoring encounter against Perpignan on Saturday, keeping the Parisians in contention for a play-off place and maintaining their unbeaten record at Stade Charlety this term.
The France international had two 3-pointers to his name in the opening exchanges, sandwiched between a couple for James Hook in an even opening.
Dupuy took over again with another penalty double in the game's second quarter, before departing front-rower Rodrigo Roncero's try put daylight between the sides.
Dupuy was accurate from the tee for the 6th time just after the half-hour; but Adrien Plante;s converted 5-pointer for USAP made it 22-13 at the interval.
George Smith re-asserted Stade's position with a try a minute after the break, whilst Dupuy's metronomic boot kept the score ticking over - but tries from Julien Candelon and replacement Gavin Hume brought the visiting Catalans within striking distance, trailing 35-28.
With minutes remaining USAP made a raft of changes in the hope that fresh legs would bring impetus and inspiration, but in the end a Hook penalty was all they could muster for their efforts to claim what could prove an important losing bonus point in the relegation scrap.
BIARRITZ OLYMPIQUE 22-13 RACING METRO 92
A Takudza Ngwenya try 9 minutes from time was enough for Biarritz to see off the challenge of Racing on Saturday, lifting the Basque side to 9th and 5 points clear of the drop zone.
It was 9-3 at the break as Dimitri Yachvili outscored fellow kicking scrum-half Sebastien Descons 3-1 in penalties as visiting flank Johnny Leo'o saw yellow.
Yachvilli extended BO's lead after the interval with a fourth penalty, but Descons second 3-pointer and then Henry Chavancy's converted try edged the Parisians ahead.
It was building to a tight and tense finale, but Damien Traille restored the home lead with a drop goal before Ngwenya's late heroics sewed the game up.
UNION BORDEAUX BEGLES 29-15 SU AGEN
Bordeaux secured a crucial win over mid-table Agen to keep treading water in the Top 14, whilst defeat for their opponents means they are still not entirely safe either.
Three tries in the first forty from Bruce Reihana, Ole Avei and Patrick-Albert Tretu got Stade Andre Moga rocking and provided the hosts a 19-0 half-time lead.
Conrad Barnard eventually got the away side on the board after 47 minutes and tries from centre Manu Ahotaeiloa and winger Saimoni Vaka afforded some respectability to the scores, but Bordeaux were always comfortable and South African Heini Adams' bonus point try made the result a certainty.
RC TOULON 25-25 CASTRES OLYMPIQUE
In the weekend's late kick off Toulon threw away a 19-point lead to share the spoils with fellow play-off challengers Castres.
Steffon Armitage continued his renaissance in the south of France with the game's first try, succeeded swiftly by efforts from Wallaby Matt Giteau and journeyman Samoan David Smith, with Jonny Wilkinson complimenting these scores from the kicking tee.
But Romain Martial's try on the stroke of half-time kept Castres within touching distance and a quick-fire treble of penalties from full-back Romain Teulet made it 25-22 with plenty of time left.
Toulon tried to shore up defensively and beef up a tiring pack with the introductions of Juan Ignacio Fernandez Lobbe and Simon Shaw off the bench, but Pierre Bernard's successful shot coupled with a late miss from Wilkinson meant the tie finished level.
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