French Rugby Top 14: Round 2 Results
Welcome back!
Round 2 of French Rugby Top 14 compeition saw some spirited matches and some near major upsets on a day when France was sweltering.
Little fancied Mont-de-Marsan came within a whiskers length of defeating the highly fancied Paris side Stade Francais. Stade Francais were lucky to get away with the win at home as the minnows of the Top 14 game them a real fright.
Toulon and Brive played a dour and uninspiring 3-3 draw. Neither side delivered in the warm conditions and both kickers had chances to win but neither could claim victory. Clermont and Toulouse both bounced back to win but Toulouse did it tough against another minnow in Dax. Clermont were showing signs of returning to their form of last year with a convincing 43-20 win over Montpellier.
The full results from Round 2 are below;
Toulon 3 Brive 3
Toulouse 32 Dax 25
Bayonne 22 Montauban 20
Stade Francais 27 Mont-de-Marsan 22
Clermont 43 Montpellier 20
Biarritz 32 Castres 17
Bourgoin 16 Perpignan 22
French Top 14 Round One Wrap-up
The French Rugby Top 14 competition kicked off in France yesterday and several surprise results had the season off to an interesting start. The champions Toulouse were stunned in their loss to Montpellier 16-11 and Toulon the new boys to the competition came from behind in the second half by winning 22-16 against Clermont.
Montpellier who could be a surprise packet after their win against the highly fancied Toulouse side. Toulouse will be analysing this missed chances, particularly focusing on the vital 10 minutes that Byron Kelleher spent in the bin.
Toulon were dead and buried at half-time but managed to win 22-16 after trailing 13-0. Sonny Bill Williams got Toulon back into the clash right after half-time and Toulon were able to power away with a first up victory after being promoted to the French Top 14. In other match results Stade Francais had a convincing win under new coach Ewen McKenzie. Stade Francais top the ladder after Round 1.
Results
Perpignan 34 Brive 18
Castres 26 Bayonne 27
Dax 9 Stade Français 31
Montpellier 16 Toulouse 11
Montauban 37 Mont-de-Marsan 19
Biarritz 29 Bourgoin 22
Toulon 22 Clermont 16