Montpellier found their form from last season to thrash Toulouse, while Stade Francais produced another excellent performance to defeat Pau.
Results
Sunday
Pau 13-25 Stade Francais
Montpellier 66-15 Toulouse
Pau 13-25 Stade Francais
Stade du Hameau
Stade Francais moved to within one point of Clermont Auvergne at the summit of the Top 14 table after defeating Pau at the Stade du Hameau.
The Parisians controlled the opening period and scored three tries as they went into the break 22-3 in front. Gael Fickou claimed another brace, following his efforts last week, while Kylan Hamdaoui touched down for the other.
Simon Mannix’s men threatened a comeback when Watisoni Votu crossed the whitewash twice but Morne Steyn’s penalty in the second-half made sure of the victory.
Following the issues of 2017/18, Stade have enjoyed a remarkable start to the campaign and they were impressive in the first-half at the Stade du Hameau.
Although they were slow to get going, by the end of the first quarter Heyneke Meyer’s charges had scored their first try as Fickou went over.
Steyn and Thibault Daubagna then traded penalties before the visiting outside centre scored his second try for a 15-3 advantage. That buffer was soon increased just shy of the interval via Hamdaoui and that left Pau with plenty of work to do after the break.
To the hosts’ credit, they were improved in the second period and reduced the arrears when Antoine Hastoy broke through and fed Votu to touch down.
Steyn kept their opponents at arm’s length with a three-pointer before Votu finished in the corner to reduce the arrears going into the final quarter.
Pau were further boosted by Arthur Coville’s yellow card for taking Charly Malie in the air, but the away side were comfortable winners.
The scorers:
For Pau:
Tries: Votu 2
Pen: Daubagna
For Stade:
Tries: Fickou 2, Hamdaoui
Cons: Steyn 2
Pens: Steyn 2
Yellow Card: Coville
Pau: 15 Charly Malié, 14 Jesse Mogg, 13 Julien Fumat, 12 Benson Stanley, 11 Watisoni Votu, 10 Colin Slade, 9 Thibault Daubagna, 8 Antoine Erbani, 7 Sean Dougall, 6 Pierrick Gunther, 5 Fabrice Metz, 4 Daniel Ramsay, 3 Malik Hamadache, 2 Laurent Bouchet, 1 Thomas Domingo
Replacements: 16 Lucas Rey, 17 Geoffrey Moïse, 18 Baptiste Pesenti, 19 Martin Puech, 20 Julien Blanc, 21 Antoine Hastoy, 22 Florian Nicot, 23 Lourens Adriaanse
Stade: 15 Kylan Hamdaoui, 14 Waisea Nayacalevu, 13 Gaël Fickou, 12 Jonathan Danty, 11 Julien Arias, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Piet van Zyl, 8 Willem Alberts, 7 Sekou Macalou, 6 Tala Gray, 5 Yoann Maestri, 4 Paul Gabrillagues, 3 Ramiro Herrera, 2 Laurent Panis, 1 Heinke van der Merwe
Replacements: 16 Lucas Da Silva, 17 Siegfried Fisiihoi, 18 Alexandre Flanquart, 19 Ryan Chapuis, 20 Arthur Coville, 21 Jules Plisson, 22 Julien Delbouis, 23 Paul Alo-Emile
Referee: Ludovic Cayre
Assistant referees: Laurent Cardona, Jean-Luc Rebollal
TMO: Philippe Bonhoure
Montpellier 66-15 Toulouse
GGL Stadium
Louis Picamoles crossed the whitewash four times as Toulouse’s unbeaten start to the season came to a rather abrupt end at a rampant Montpellier.
Les Rouge et Noir were also reduced to 14 men when Piula Fa’asalele was sent-off for a dangerous tackle but by that point they were already 21-3 in arrears. Picamoles, Gabriel Ngandebe and Nemani Nadolo had all touched down before Fa’asalele’s indiscretion as Vern Cotter’s men took a commanding lead.
Romain Ntamack kicked a penalty and Arthur Bonneval crossed the whitewash twice for the visitors, but that was as good as it got for Ugo Mola’s outfit. Benjamin Fall and Nadolo both bagged a brace of tries but Picamoles was the standout figure, going over three more times in the second period.
After an inconsistent start to the season, Cotter’s charges were evidently determined to show their true capabilities. That they did after twice going over in the first 10 minutes through Picamoles and Ngandebe.
Although Ntamack responded for Toulouse with an effort off the tee, Nadolo finished well in the corner to open up an 18-point advantage before Fa’asalele’s red card effectively ended the game as a contest.
Two more tries were forthcoming in the first half as Ruan Pienaar and Fall crossed the whitewash for a 31-3 half-time score.
Nadolo and Bonneval traded efforts at the start of the final 40 minutes before the hosts ran riot in the final quarter.
They went over four more times, with three of those going to their talismanic back-rower, while Fall also touched down once again.
It was a torrid evening for Les Rouge et Noir but they had the final say when Bonneval surged across the line in the last minute.
The scorers:
For Montpellier:
Tries: Picamoles 4, Ngandebe, Nadolo 2, Pienaar, Fall 2
Cons: Pienaar 5, Goosen 3
For Toulouse:
Tries: Bonneval 2
Con: Ramos
Pen: Ntamack
Red Card: Fa’asalele
Montpellier: 15 Benjamin Fall, 14 Gabriel Ngandebe, 13 Frans Steyn, 12 Jan Serfontein, 11 Nemani Nadolo, 10 Johan Goosen, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Louis Picamoles, 7 Kévin Kornath, 6 Kelian Galletier, 5 Paul Willemse, 4 Nico Janse van Rensburg, 3 Antoine Guillamon, 2 Vincent Giudicelli, 1 Gregory Fichten
Replacements: 16 Romain Ruffenach, 17 Mikheil Nariashvili, 18 Julien Ledevedec, 19 Wiaan Liebenberg, 20 Enzo Sanga, 21 Yvan Reilhac, 22 Vincent Martin, 23 Jannie du Plessis
Toulouse: 15 Matthis Lebel, 14 Arthur Bonneval, 13 Pita Ahki, 12 Lucas Tauzin, 11 Sofiane Guitoune, 10 Romain Ntamack, 9 Pierre Pagès, 8 Carl Axtens, 7 Alban Placines, 6 Louis-Benoit Madaule, 5 Pierre Gayraud, 4 Piula Fa’asalele, 3 Dorian Aldegheri, 2 Guillaume Marchand, 1 Clément Castets
Replacements: 16 Julien Marchand, 17 David Ainuu, 18 Joe Tekori, 19 François Cros, 20 Selevasio Tolofua, 21 Sébastien Bézy, 22 Thomas Ramos, 23 Maks Van Dyk
Referee: Alexandre Ruiz
Assistant referees: Cyril Lafon, Richard Duhau
TMO: Mourad Zitouni