Stade Francais opened their Top 14 season with a bonus-point victory at Perpignan, despite having Sergio Parisse red carded late in the first-half.
Bordeaux-Bègles, Clermont and La Rochelle also won while Lyon and Toulouse drew their opener before Racing 92 won the late game against Toulon.
Results
Saturday
Perpignan 15-46 Stade Francais
Bordeaux-Bègles 41-19 Pau
Clermont Auvergne 67-23 Agen
La Rochelle 28-21 Grenoble
Lyon 16-16 Toulouse
Toulon 9-25 Racing 92
Perpignan 15-46 Stade Francais
Stade Aime Giral
Stade Francais began their Top 14 campaign with a 46-15 win over newly promoted Perpignan.
Leading 29-3 at half-time thanks to an impressive 40 minutes that saw flank Sekou Macalou (2), full-back Kylan Hamdaoui and centre Waisea Nayacalevu cross, Stade were in excellent form early on.
However, a red card for Sergio Parisse on 36 minutes for leading with the elbow in contact offered USAP a possible route back into the game.
New signing Paddy Jackson did cross wide out on 53 minutes and when Perpignan were awarded a penalty try after a strong scrum on the hour mark, they were just 29-15 adrift of the Parisians.
But Stade responded well with scores from Hamdaoui and Piet van Zyl putting the result beyond doubt, as they kick-off with a maximum.
The scorers:
For Perpignan:
Tries: Jackson, Penalty try
Pen: Jackson
For Stade Francais:
Tries: Macalou 2, Hamdaoui 2, Nayacalevu, Van Zyl
Cons: Steyn 5
Pens: Steyn, Plisson
Perpignan: 15 Julien Farnoux, 14 Jonathan Bousquet, 13 Afusipa Taumoepeau, 12 Sione Piukala, 11 Mathieu Acebes, 10 Paddy Jackson, 9 Tom Ecochard, 8 Genesis Mamea Lemalu, 7 Alan Brazo, 6 Karl Chateau, 5 Berend Botha, 4 Masalosalo Tutaia, 3 Gert Muller, 2 Rapahel Carbou, 1 Enzo Forletta
Replacements: 16 Manu Leiataua, 17 Yassin Boutemani, 18 Tristan Laboutely, 19 Shahn Eru, 20 Sadek Degmache, 21 Enzo Selponi, 22 Adrea Cocagi, 23 Eric Sione
Stade Francais: 15 Kylan Hamdaoui, 14 Julien Arias, 13 Waisea Nayacalevu, 12 Jonathan Danty, 11 Tony Ensor, 10 Morne Steyn, 9 Piet van Zyl, 8 Sergio Parisse, 7 Sekou Macalou, 6 Ryan Chapuis, 5 Alexandre Flanquart, 4 Hugh Pyle, 3 Ramiro Herrera, 2 Remi Bonfils, 1 Hendrik van der Merwe
Replacements: 16 Laurent Panis, 17 Siegfried Fisiihoi, 18 Mathieu de Giovanni, 19 Charlie Frncoz, 20 Clement Daguin, 21Jules Plisson, 22 Julien Delbouis, 23 Paul Alo-Emile
Referee: Laurent Cardona
Assistant referees: Thomas Charabas, Richard Duhau
TMO: Denis Grenouillet
Bordeaux-Bègles 41-19 Pau
Stade Chaban-Delmas
A seesaw encounter in French wine territory eventually saw the home side run away with it thanks to three tries in the final quarter.
Romain Lonca scored twice as did Nans Ducuing to earn Bordeaux a 41-19 win that wasn’t always as comprehensive as it looked.
Baptiste Serin kicked five penalties and two conversions to keep the scoreboard ticking over whilst Pau used three different kickers throughout the match as they constantly looked to stay in touch.
Tom Taylor kicked their opening two penalties before Thibault Daubagna also added his own effort to cancel out Serin’s opening two attempts. Taylor’s fellow All Black Colin Slade kicked himself a penalty to close the gap to 13-12 after Ducuing scored the first of his two tries.
Serin added another three before Daubagna crossed the whitewash to put Pau in the lead. Serin then kicked a further two three pointers before Ducuing’s second try opened up an eight point gap.
Pau had nothing left to respond with and Lonca’s two tries in the final minutes, both converted by Serin, gave the hosts a rewarding first win.
The scorers:
For Bordeaux-Bègles:
Tries: Ducuing 2, Lonca 2
Cons: Serin 3
Pens: Serin 5
For Pau:
Try: Daubagna
Con: Slade
Pens: Taylor 2, Daubagna, Slade
Bordeaux: 15 Nans Ducuing, 14 George Tilsley, 13 Romain Lonca, 12 Ulupano Seuteni, 11 Blair Connor, 10 Brock James, 9 Baptiste Serin, 8 Afa Amosa, 7 Alexandre Roumat, 6 Mahamadou Diaby, 5 Cyril Cazeaux, 4 Kane Douglas, 3 Vadim Cobilas, 2 Florian Dufour, 1 Lekso Kaulashvili
Replacements: 16 Maxime Lamothe, 17 Thierry Paiva, 18 Jandre Marais, 19 Cameron Woki, 20 Jules Gimbert, 21 Semi Radradra, 22 Eto Nabuli, 23 Lasha Tabidze
Pau: 15 Charly Malie, 14 Adrien Plante, 13 Julien Fumat, 12 Jale Vatubua, 11 Watisoni Votu, 10 Colin Slade, 9 Thibault Daubagna, 8 Antoine Erbani, 7 Sean Dougall, 6 Benjamin Mowen, 5 Fabrice Metz, 4 Daniel Ramsay, 3 Lourens Adriaanse, 2 Quentin Lespiaucq, 1 Geoffrey Moise
Replacements: 16 Laurent Bouchet, 17 Jamie Mackintosh, 18 David Foley, 19 Baptiste Pesenti, 20 Martin Puech, 21 Julien Blanc, 22 Tom Taylor, 23 Nicolas Corato
Referee: Pierre Brousset
Assistant referees: Ludovic Cayre, Arnaud Blondel
TMO: Philippe Bonhoure
Clermont Auvergne 67-23 Agen
Parc des Sports Marcel Michelin
Two tries in the space of five second-half minutes turned a nervous contest in Clermont’s favour as they began their campaign with a win.
Keen to abolish any memories of last year’s woeful campaign by their high standards; Samuel Ezeala and Sipili Falatea both crossed to turn a one point half-time deficit into a 29-16 lead and the home side never looked back.
11 points from the boot of Jake McIntyre coupled with Tamaz Mchedildze’s try had usurped Isaia Toeava’s first-half brace and five points from Greig Laidlaw to send the visitors in 16-15 up at the break.
Ezeala and Falatea then turned the game on its head and Alivereti Raka’s quick double ended the contest as he scored Clermont’s fifth and sixth try to make the score 41-16.
A further four tries in 12 minutes of the final quarter sealed a ten try rout for the hosts as Ezeala sealed his brace, Peter Betham entered to grab a quick fire brace of his own and Apisai Naqlevu also got in the act.
Sandwiched in Clermont’s late rally was a further consolation for Agen but there’s no doubting who got the better of this contest on opening day.
The scorers:
For Clermont:
Tries: Toeava 2, Ezeala 2, Falatea, Raka 2, Betham 2, Naqalevu
Cons: Laidlaw 7
Pen: Laidlaw
For Agen:
Tries: Mchedlidze, Tanga
Cons: McIntyre, Vincent
Pens: McIntyre 3
Clermont: 15 Setariki Tuicuvu, 14 Alivereti Raka, 13 Isaia Toeava, 12 Apisai Naqalevu, 11 Samuel Ezeala, 10 Camille Lopez, 9 Greig Laidlaw, 8 Fritz Lee, 7 Damien Chouly, 6 Peceli Yato, 5 Sebastien Vahaamahina, 4 Sitaleki Timani, 3 Davit Zirakashvili, 2 John Ulugia, 1 Etienne Falgoux
Replacements: 16 Benjamin Kayser, 17 Loni Uhila, 18 Arthur Iturria, 19 Alexandre Fischer 20 Charlie Cassang, 21 Patricio Fernandez, 22 Peter Betham, 23 Sipili Falatea
Agen: 15 Mathieu Lamolie, 14 Loris Tolot, 13 Sam Vaka, 12 Tamaz Mchedlidze, 11 Valentin Saurs, 10 Jake McIntyre, 9 Paul Abadie, 8 Yoan Mangene, 7 Antoine Miquel, 6 Romain Briatte, 5 Thomas Murday, 4 Denis Marchois, 3 David Ryan, 2 Marc Barthomeuf, 1 Giorgi Tetrashvili
Replacements: 16 Paula Ngauamo, 17 Quentin Bethune, 18 Mickael de Marco, 19 Andres Tarazone, 20 Lucas Rubio, 21 Thomas Vincent, 22 Clement Laporte, 23 Yohan Montes
Referee: Maxime Chalon
Assistant referees: Vincent Blasco-Baque, Laurent Breil
TMO: Eric Gauzins
La Rochelle 28-21 Grenoble
Stade Marcel-Deflandre
Newly promoted Grenoble reintroduced themselves to the Top 14 and gave a strong account of themselves as they narrowly went down at La Rochelle.
Trailing 18-8 at the break, Grenoble staged somewhat of a comeback when Leva Fifita’s try made it 23-21 with a quarter of an hour to play but Jean-Charles Orioli’s try on 75 minutes sealed the contest.
Eight points from Alexi Bales’ boot coupled with a try from new man Marc Andreu and Brieuc Plessis-Couillaud had given the home side a commanding lead with Grenoble only having a solitary Lolagi Visinia try and a penalty from Franck Pourteau to show for their efforts.
He kicked a further two penalties in the second 40 before Greg Alldritt had scored La Rochelle’s third try to once again extend the gap. But Fifita’s late try bore hope to sealing a memorable win before the home side showed their experience to see out their opening game.
The scorers:
For La Rochelle:
Tries: Andreu, Plessis-Couillaud, Alldritt, Orioli
Con: Bales
Pens: Bales 2
For Grenoble:
Tries: Visinia, Fifita
Con: Pourteau
Pens: Pourteau 3
La Rochelle: 15 Arthur Retiere, 14 Vincent Rattez, 13 Brieuc Plessis-Couillaud, 12 Pierre Aguillon, 11 Marc Andreu, 10 Jeremy Sinzelle, 9 Alexi Bales, 8 Victor Vito, 7 Remi Bourdeau, 6 Zeno Kieft, 5 Lopeti Timani, 4 Romain Sazy, 3 Arthur Joly, 2 Pierre Bourgarit, 1 Vincent Pelo
Replacements: 16 Jean-Charles Orioli, 17 Mike Corbel, 18 Mathieu Tanguy, 19 Gregory Alldritt, 20 Jean-Victor Goillot, 21 Ryan Lamb, 22 Jules Favre, 23 Leo Aouf
Grenoble: 15 Lolagi Visinia, 14 Raymond Rhule, 13 Pablo Uberti, 12 Alaska Taufa, 11 Lucas Dupont, 10 Franck Pourteau, 9 Lilian Saseras, 8 Loic Godener, 7 Stephen Setephano, 6 Francois Uys, 5 Salesi Fifita, 4 Mickael Capelli, 3 Davit Kubriashvili, 2 Etienne Fourcade, 1 JC Janse van Rensburg
Replacements: 16 Mike Tadjer, 17 Dylan Jacquot, 18 Hans Nkinsi, 19 Clement Ancely, 20 Jeremy Valencot, 21 Ben Lucas, 22 Taleta Tupuola, 23 Halani Aulika
Referee: Jonathan Dufort
Assistant referees: Julien Castaignede, Jean-Luc Rebollal
TMO: Bruno Bressot
Lyon 16-16 Toulouse
Matmut Stadium de Gerland
Lyon’s draw at Toulon last year was a memorable one in the Top 14 quarters, this however was one that got away.
Thomas Ramos’ drop-goal with five minutes left sealed a 16-16 draw for Toulouse in Lyon after their former player Jean-Marc Doussain had almost kicked Lyon to victory.
He and Ramos both kicked 11 points in a contest than had Toulouse trailing for much of it. Etienne Oosthuizen’s first-half try had Lyon leading 10-6 at the break but Yoann Huget notched a try for Toulouse to make it 13-10 to the visitors.
Two penalties from Doussain then pushed Lyon back in front but Ramos remained cool under pressure to earn his side a draw.
The scorers:
For Lyon:
Try: Oosthuizen
Con: Doussain
Pens: Doussain 3
For Toulouse:
Try: Huget
Con: Ramos
Pens: Ramos 2
Drop-Goal: Ramos
Lyon: 15 Delon Armitage, 14 Toby Arnold, 13 Rudi Wulf, 12 Charlie Ngatai, 11 Noa Nakaitaci, 10 Jean-Marc Doussain, 9 Baptiste Couilloud, 8 Loann Goujon, 7 Liam Gill, 6 Julien Puricelli, 5 Francois van der Merwe, 4 Etienne Oosthuizen, 3 Francisco Gomez Kodela, 2 Jeremie Maurouard, 1 Raphael Chaume
Replacements: 16 Virgile Lacombe, 17 Alexandre Menini, 18 Hendrik Roodt, 19 Patrick Sobela, 20 Jonathan Pelissie, 21 Jean-Marcellin Buttin, 22 Thibaut Regard, 23 Clement Ric
Toulouse: 15 Thomas Ramos, 14 Yoann Huget, 13 Pierre Fouyssac, 12 Romain Ntamack, 11 Cheslin Kolbe, 10 Zack Holmes, 9 Sebastien Bezy, 8 Jerome Kaino, 7 Rynhardt Elstadt, 6 Francois Cros, 5 Piula Fa’asalele, 4 Florian Verhaeghe, 3 Charlie Faumuina, 2 Julien Marchand, 1 Lucas Pointud
Replacements: 16 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 17 Rodrigue Neti, 18 Joe Tekori, 19 Selevasio Tolofua, 20 Pierre Pages, 21 Maxime Mermoz, 22 Sofiane Guitoune, 23 Dorian Aldegheri
Referee: Alexandre Ruiz
Assistant referees: Luc Ramos, Sebastien Hebert
TMO: Eric Briquet-Campin
Toulon 9-25 Racing 92
Stade Mayol
The mercurial – and immensely well paid – Finn Russell began justifying both his talent and salary within his first competitive 80 minutes at the Parisian side.
Scorer of two tries as well as 10 points from his boot; the Scotsman single handedly turned what looked to be a kicking contest into a one man show.
Patrice Collazo’s debut at his new Stade Mayol home was an unsuccessful one but his Toulon outfit were made to pay for a 10 minute period in which Racing scored 12 points whilst Malakai Fekitoa was in the sin bin.
Louis Carbonel initially kicked the first points of the game; kicking two first-half penalties to Russell’s one to give the hosts a 6-3 lead at the interval.
Racing then turned the game with their quick burst of 12 points in less than five minutes to make it 15-6 before Carobnel kicked his third penalty to cut the gap.
Racing’s advantage though was hammered home minutes later when the irresistibly quick Juan Imhoff notched his first try of the year. Russell kicked the conversion and a further penalty to make it 25-9 taking his personal haul for the night to 20 points.
No doubting who the star of the show was on opening night, his employers will be hoping it continues. Those on the Cote d’Azur however will be hoping to turn the tables as the season progresses.
The scorers:
For Toulon:
Pens: Carbonel 3
For Racing 92:
Tries: Russell 2, Imhoff
Cons: Russell 2
Pens: Russell 2
Toulon: 15 Hugo Bonneval, 14 Filipo Nakosi, 13 Josua Tuisova, 12 Malakai Fekitoa, 11 Daniel Ikpefan, 10 Louis Carbonel, 9 Rhys Webb, 8 Charles Ollivon, 7 Raphael Lakafia, 6 Swan Rebbadj, 5 Romain Taofifenua, 4 Mamuka Gorgodze, 3 Marcel van der Merwe, 2 Guilhem Guirado, 1 Florian Fresia
Replacements: 16 Anthony Etrillard, 17 Sebastien Taofifenua, 18 Juandre Kruger, 19 Stephane Onambele, 20 Mathieu Smaili, 21 Jacques Potgieter, 22 Anthony Meric, 23 Emerick Setiano
Racing: 15 Simon Zebo, 14 Joe Rokocoko, 13 Virimi Vakatawa, 12 Henry Chavancy, 11 Juan Imhoff, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Teddy Iribaren, 8 Antonie Claassen, 7 Baptiste Chouzenoux, 6 Wenceslas Lauret, 5 Donnacha Ryan, 4 Boris Palu, 3 Ben Tameifuna, 2 Ole Avei, 1 Eddy Ben Arous
Replacements: 16 Teddy Baubigny, 17 Vasil Kakovin, 18 Edwin Maka, 19 Jordan Joseph, 20 Xavier Chauveau, 21 Olivier Klemenczak, 22 Ben Volavola, 23 Census Johnston
Referee: Romain Poite
Assistant referees: Cyril Lafon, Bruno Gabaldon
TMO: Laurent Sclafer