Montpellier and Brive produce shocks

Montpellier and Brive were the big winners of the Top 14's second day on Friday, beating Racing Metro and Perpignan respectively.

Montpellier got their first win under the guidance of Fabien Galthié with a stylish 36-19 thumping of Racing Metro, while Brive stunned Perpignan 26-11 at the Stade Amedée-Domenech.

Elsewhere, Clermont laboured to a 25-12 win in Bourgoin, Stade Français turned on the style with a 41-26 win over La Rochelle and Bayonne continued their sparkling opening with a 27-point nilling of Agen.

Biarritz crashed at home to Toulon in the late game.

Results:

Bourgoin 12-25 Clermont
Brive 26-11 Perpignan
Stade Français 41-26 La Rochelle
Montpellier 36-19 Racing Métro
Bayonne 27-0 Agen
Biarritz 3-13 Toulon

Standings

1 Stade Francais 9
2 Bayonne 9
3 Toulouse 5
4 Brive 5
5 Montpellier 5
6 Toulon 5
7 Clermont 5
8 Biarritz 4
9 Perpignan 4
10 La Rochelle 4
11 Racing Metro 4
12 Castres 1
13 Bourgoin 0
14 Agen 0

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CS Bourgoin-Jallieu 12-25 ASM Clermont Auvergne

A bonus-point win for Clermont, piling the misery on their opponents who led this derby match 12-6 with eight minutes to go, only to watch Clermont tear the stout defence apart and run away with a bonus point.

In the space of seven final minutes, Napolioni Nalaga, Alexandre Lapandry and Wesley Fofana all scored tries, with Morgan Parra converting two of them.

Alberto di Bernado kicked all of Bourgoin's points, scant consolation for a win that got away from a team looking like relegation fodder.

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CA Brive Corrèze 26-11 USA Perpignan

An early blitz from Brive, coupled with resolute defence, saw them to their first win of the season.

Tries in minutes 16 and 18 from Damien Browne and Gerhard Vosloo respectively, converted byt Mathieu Belie and added to by four penalties from the same, gave them the win which was never really in doubt.

Perpignan offered little, with young fly-half Gilles Bosch learning his trade the hard way in the absence of any number of senior options.

Julien Candelon scored a late try for the visitors.

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Stade Français 41-26 Stade Rochelais Atlantique

An eight-try thriller at Stade Charlety, with the visitors continuing their enthusiastic entrance into the top flight but downed by a Parisian side determined to show its class.

La Rochelle led 14-10 at half-time, with wing Florian Ninard's try added to by three penalties from full-back Maxime Lebourhis. Stade had a try from Mathieu Bastareaud and a conversion and penalty from Julien Dupuy to show for their efforts.

But the hosts were looking the better side, and after Ollie Phillips and Thomas Combezou had traded tries, with Dupuy adding a conversion and penalty for a two-point lead in the 52nd minute, the floodgates opened.

In one devastating five-minute spell, Dimitri Szarzewski, Hugo Southwell and Julien Arias all scored, all converted, to leave Stade five tries to two ahead and nursing a bonus point.

Combezou at least took that away from them with a late try for La Rochelle, who fought gamely against a better team, but one wonders how long that fight can last.

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Montpellier HR 36-19 Racing-Métro 92

A bonus point for Montpellier in about as perfect a home debut as Fabien Galthie could have hoped for.

Outside centre Geoffroy Doumayrou was the hero with a hat-trick of tries, including the bonus-point clincher in the final minute, completing a thrashing in which Montpol had come from 13-0 down!

Julien Saubade's early try, along with a conversion and two penalties from Jonathan Wisniewski, had given Racing the perfect start, but once Doumayrou had his first on the quarter-hour mark in an enthralling game, there was no looking back.

By the time Wisniewski landed his third penalty, it was 25-13 to the hosts, courtesy of a further try from Doumayrou and one from Tim Nagusa as well as able kicking from Francois Trinh-Duc.

At 29-19 with a minute to go, Racing still had hopes of at least taking a bonus point, but an intercept, followed by a thrilling ten-pass move, saw Doumayrou in for the killer try.

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Aviron Bayonnais 27-0 SU Agen

Utter misery for Agen, but Bayonne continue to raise eyebrows with another thoroughly polished performance.

Agen let themselves down, making far too many basic errors and Bayonne, although limited in intent, picked them off clinically.

Tries from Rob Linde at the start, Craig Gower on the half-hour and Lionel Mazars right at the end - beating off three tackles - gave Bayonne the bonus point win and made it two from two for a team widely tipped to be fighting rrelegation this season.

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Biarritz Olympique 3-13 RC Toulon

A dreadful game and a poor home defeat for Biarritz, who were roundly booed by their fans at the end, but it was the start Toulon had been looking for last week.

The visitors shut up shop, helped by some pretty ineffectual refereeing, and took their lone chance - a spilled high ball from Iain Balshaw - late in the first half, Kris Chesney eventually scoring.

Other than that, it was all kicks, with Jonny Wilkinson missing three drops at goal as well as landing one and one penalty.

Dimitri Yachvili landed one from two, but his team was a distinct second best on the night