In a way it was a disappointing round with top teams putting weakened teams into the field, for national call-ups in the case of Clermont and Toulouse, by tactical choice in some other cases. The Clermont-Toulouse score is silly.

Results, Round 19

The surprise results are Lyon's draw, the size of Clermont's win and Brive's win.

Castres vs Lyon, 6-6
Clermont vs Toulouse, 35-5
Agen vs Perpignan, 22-17
Biarritz vs Bordeaux-Bègles, 38-13
Brive vs Stade Français, 25-9
Racing Métro vs Bayonne, 22-21
Toulon vs Montpellier, 19-6

Log after Round 19

Stade Français have dropped two players and are now, with six rounds left, looking in danger of missing out on the play-offs. Biarritz have nudged up from the relegation zone but are in no way safe. Despite their draw with strong Castres Lyon stay rooted to the bottom and have a gallows look.

1 Toulouse 69
2 Clermont 65
3 Toulon 56
4 Castres 50
5 Montpellier 48
6 Racing Métro 45
7 Agen 44
8 Stade Français 42
9 Bordeaux-Bègles 37
10 Brive 37
11 Perpignan 32
12 Biarritz 30
13 Bayonne 30
14 Lyon 26

Match Details

Agen vs Perpignan at Stade Armandie

A last-minute penalty by James Hook got Perpignan a defensive bonus point.

Each side scored a try.

Scorers:

For Agen:
Try: Palesasa
Con: Barnard
Pens: Barnard 5

For Perpignan:
Try: Chouly
Pens: Hook 2
Drops: Hook, Mélé

The teams

Agen: 15 Silvère Tian, 14 Saimoni Vaka, 13 Miguel Avramovic, 12 Junior Palesasa, 11 Brice Dulin, 10 Conrad Barnard, 9 Maxime Machenaud, 8 Opeti Fonua, 7 Ueleni Fono, 6 Jean-Joseph Monribot, 5 Lisiate Fa'aoso, 4 Dewald Senekal, 3 Gert Muller, 2 Jalil Narjissi, 1  Bernard N'Nomo.
Replacements: 16 Julien Janaudy, 17 Semisi Telefoni, 18 Adri Badenhorst, 19 Marc Giraud, 20 Sylvain Dupuy, 21 Manu Ahotaeiloa, 22 Romain Samuel, 23 Beka Sheklashvili

Perpignan: 15 Joffrey Michel, 14 Adrien Planté, 13 David Marty, 12 Gavin Hume, 11 Julien Candelon, 10 James Hook, 9 Florian Cazenave, 8 Henri Tuilagi, 7 Bertrand Guiry, 6 Damien Chouly, 5 Gerrie Britz, 4 Romain Taofifenua, 3 Danie Theart, 2 Guilhem Guirado, 1 Jérôme Schuster
Replacements: 16 Charles Geli, 17 Kisi Pulu, 18 Olivier Olibeau, 19 Ovidiu Tonita, 20 David Mélé, 21 Jérôme Porical, 22 Jean-Pierre Perez, 23 Benoît Bourrust. 

Referee: Laurent Cardona
Assistant referees: Laurent Millotte, René Bordeneuve
Television match official: Daniel Dartigeas

Biarritz vs Bordeaux-Bègles at Stade Maurice Boyau

Biarritz, who led 17-3 at the break, won a bonus point for tries.

Scorers:

For Biarritz:
Tries: Heguy, Yachvili 2, Ngwenya
Cons: Yachvili 3
Pens: Yachvili 3, Baby

For Bordeaux-Bègles:
Try: Madaule
Con: Lopez
Pens: Lopez 2

Teams
 
Biarritz: 15 Iain Balshaw, 14 Takudzwa Ngwenya, 13 Marcelo Bosch, 12 Damien Traille, 11 Dane Haylett-Petty, 10 Julien Peyrelongue, 9 Dimitri Yachvili, 8 Talalelei Gray, 7 Benoît Guyot, 6 Wenceslas Lauret, 5 Pelu Taele, 4 Jérôme Thion, 3 Francisco Gomez Kodela, 2 Arnaud Heguy, 1 Yvan Watremez.
Replacements: 16 Benoît August, 17 Eugene van Staden, 18 Manuel Carizza, 19 Florian Faure, 20 Jean-Pascal Barraque, 21 Benoît Baby, 22 Ilikena Bolakoro, 23 Fabien Barcella

Bordeaux-Bègles: 15 Bruce Reihana, 14 Blair Connor, 13 Félix Le Bourhis, 12  Julien Rey, 11 Rafael Carballo, 10 Camille Lopez, 9 Heini Adams, 8 Matthew Clarkin, 7 Hugh Chalmers, 6 Justin Purll, 5 Adam Jaulhac, 4 Cameron Treloar, 3 Bees Roux, 2 Wayne Avei, 1 Laurent Delboulbes
Replacements: 16 Fabien Rofes, 17 Hikairo Forbes, 18 Daniel Leo, 19 Louis Madaule,  20 Julien Seron, 21 Gerard Fraser, 22 Vungakoto Lilo, 23 Albert Toetu

Referee: Franck Maciello
Assistant referees: Akim Hadj Bachir, Régis Gabard
Television match official: Gilles Cogne

Brive vs Stade Français at Stade Mayol

Down 11-9 at the break Stade Français did not score in the second half of this their fourth successive defeat.

Scorers:

For Brive:
Tries: Dubarry, Natriashvili
Pens: Caminati 3, Belie 2

For Stade Français:
Pens: Contepomi 3

Teams:

Brive: 15 Scott Spedding, 14 Julien Caminati, 13 Arnaud Mignardi, 12 Jamie Noon, 11 Guillaume Namy, 10 Shane Geraghty, 9 Mathieu Belie, 8 Antonie Claassen, 7 Simon Azoulai, 6 Thibault Dubarry, 5 Arnaud Méla, 4 Retief Uys, 3 Alexandre Barozzi, 2 Guillaume Ribes, 1 Vasil Kakovin.
Replacements: 16 Iuri Natriashvili, 17 Davit Kinchagishvili, 18 Olivier Caisso, 19  Poutasi Luafutu, 20 Agustin Figuerola, 21  Vincent Forgues, 22 Jacques Boussuge, 23 Patrick Barnard

Stade Français: 15 Paul Williams, 14 Paul Sackey, 13 Morgan Turinui, 12 Martin Rodriguez, 11 Julien Arias, 10 Felipe Contepomi, 9 Byron Kelleher, 8 David Lyons, 7 Pierre Rabadan, 6 Arthur Chollon, 5 Gerhard Mostert, 4 Tom Palmer, 3 Francisco Tetaz, 2 Aled De Malmanche, 1 Rodrigo Roncero
Replacements: 16 Laurent Sempéré, 17 Rabah Slimani, 18 Scott Lavalla, 19 Anton van Zyl, 20 Jérôme Fillol, 21 Jonathan Danty, 22 Paul Warwick, 23 Stanley Wright.

Referee: Romain Poite
Assistant referees: Patrick Pechambert, Jean-Michel Schutz
Television match official: Jean-Claude Levrier

Racing-Métro vs Bayonne at Stade Yves du Manoir (Colombes)

It was an important match in Paris for Racing and a crucial match for Bayonne. Bayonne were leading till, with just 10 minutes left, Sireli Bobo scored the only try of the match.

Scorers:

For Racing-Métro:
Try: Bobo
Con: Bergamasco
Pens: Germain 3, Bergamasco
Drop:  Hernández

For Bayonne:
Pens: Potgieter 6, Garcia

Teams

Racing-Métro: 15 Gaëtan Germain, 14 Sireli Bobo, 13 Henry Chavancy, 12 Fabrice Estebanez, 11 Mirco Bergamasco, 10 Juan Martín Hernández, 9 Sébastien Descons, 8 Jacques Cronjé, 7  Antoine Battut, 6 John Leo'o, 5 François van der Merwe, 4 Santiago Dellapè, 3 Mikaele Tu'ugahala, 2 Thomas Bianchin, 1 Julien Brugnaut.
Replacements: 16 Benjamin Noirot, 17 Andrea Lo Cicero, 18 Karim Ghezal, 19 Álvaro Galindo, 20 Mathieu Lorée, 21 Juan Imhoff, 22 François Steyn, 23 Salemane Sa 

Bayonne: 15 Jacques-Louis Potgieter, 14 Yoann Huget, 13 Lionel Mazars, 12 Sam Gerber, 11 Joe Rokocoko, 10 Benjamin Boyet, 9 Mike Phillips, 8 Dwayne Haare, 7 Julien Puricelli, 6 Guillaume Bernad, 5 Mark Chisholm, 4 Abdellatif Boutaty, 3 Renaud Boyoud, 2 David Roumieu, 1 Aretz Iguiniz
Replacements: 16 François Da Ros, 17 Nemiah Tialata, 18 Troy Flavell, 19 Rob Linde, 20 Cédric Garcia, 21 Marvin O'Connor, 22 Thibault Lacroix, 23 Vitolio Manukula

Referee: Sébastien Minery
Assistant referees: Pascal Gauzere, Benoît Escoubet
Television match official: Jean-Claude Levrier

Clermont vs Toulouse at Parc des Sports Marcel Michelin

This was such an anti-climax. What promised to be a top-flight match ended being played by two weakened teams with weakened Clermont running away from weakened, disheartened Toulouse.

Aurélien Impérial was a late replacement for Maxime Payen.

Scorers:

For Clermont:
Tries: Canale, Russell
Cons: Skrela, James
Pens: Skrela 7

For Toulouse:
Try: Impérial

Teams:

Clermont: 15 Lee Byrne, 14 Noa Nakaitaci, 13 Regan King, 12 Gonzalo Canale, 11 Jean-Marcellin Buttin, 10 David Skrela, 9 Ludovic Radosavljevic, 8 Elvis Vermeulen (captain), 7 Alexandre Lapandry, 6 Gerhard Vosloo, 5 Julien Pierre, 4 Jamie Cudmore, 3 Clément Ric, 2 Ti'i Paulo, 1 Lionel Faure.
Replacements: 16 Benjamin Kayser, 17 Raphaël Chaume, 18  Nathan Hines, 19 Julien Bardy, 20  Kevin Senio, 21 Brock James, 22 Brent Russell, 23 Danie Kotze.

Toulouse: 15 Nicolas Bézy, 14 Aurélien Impérial, 13 Florian Fritz, 12 Yannick Jauzion, 11 Yves Donguy, 10 Jean-Marc Doussain, 9 Nicolas Vergallo, 8 Gillian Galan, 7 Sylvain Nicolas, 6 Jean Bouilhou, 5 Romain Millo Chlusky, 4 Gregory Lamboley, 3 Johnson Falefa, 2 Christopher Toleafoa, 1 Daan Human
Replacements: 16 Jaba Bregvadze, 17 Yassin Boutemane, 18 Patricio Albacete, 19 Yannick Nyanga, 20 Luke McAlister, 21 Shaun Sowerby, 22 Yann David, 23 Census Johnston

Referee: Mathieu Raynal
Assistant referees: Christophe Berdos, Thomas Dejean
Television match official: Philippe Bonhoure

Castres vs Lyon at Stade Pierre Antoine

Scorers:

For Castres:
Pens: Teulet 2

For Lyon:
Pens: Lespinas 2

Castres: 15 Romain Teulet 14 Romain Martial, 13 Paul Bonnefond, 12 Romain Cabannes, 11 Marc Andreu, 10 Seremaia Bai, 9 Rory Kockott, 8  Joe Tekori, 7 Chris Masoe, 6 Yannick Caballero, 5 Rodrigo Capo Ortega, 4 Matthias Rolland, 3 Karena Wihongi, 2 Mathieu Bonello, 1 Yannick Forestier.
Replacements: 16 Brice Mach, 17 Saimone Taumoepeau, 18 Scott Murray, 19 Jannie Bornman, 20 Ibrahim Diarra, 21 Thomas Sanchou, 22 Pierre Bernard, 23 Michael Coetzee

Lyon: 15 Régis Lespinas, 14 Franck Romanet, 13 Vinaya Wakanivuga, 12 Nicolas Raffault, 11 Mosese Ratuvou, 10 Laurent Tranier, 9 Enrico Januarie, 8 Nicolas Bontinck, 7 Vincent Clément, 6 Eugene N Zi, 5 Coenie Basson, 4 Arnaud Marchois, 3 Anthony Roux, 2 Jody Jenneker, 1 Xavier Fiard
Replacements: 16 Sébastien Petit, 17 Guram Kavtidze, 18 Arnaud Dorier, 19 Luke Abraham, 20 Brice Salobert, 21 Thibauld Suchier, 22 Rémy Grosso, 23 Antoine Guillamon

Referee: Patrick Pechambert
Assistant referees: David Rosich, Philippe Gorbenko
Television match official: Hervé Dubes

Toulon vs Montpellier at Stade Mayol

It did not help Montpellier that they took a weakened team east.

Scorers:

For Toulon:
Try: penalty try
Con: Wilkinson
Pens: Wilkinson 4

For Montpellier:
Pens: Paillaugue, Bustos

Teams:

Toulon: 15 Benjamin Lapeyre, 14 Alexis Palisson, 13 Mathieu Bastareaud, 12 Matt Giteau, 11 David Smith, 10 Jonny Wilkinson, 9 Sébastien Tillous-Borde, 8 Joe van Niekerk, 7 Steffon Armitage, 6 Olivier Missoup, 5 Christophe Samson, 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 Carl Hayman, 2 Sébastien Bruno, 1 Eifion Lewis-Roberts.
Replacements: 16 Mickaël Ivaldi, 17 Laurent Emmanuelli, 18 Simon Shaw, 19 Joe El Abd, 20 Geoffroy Messina, 21 Luke Rooney, 22 Fabien Cibray, 23 Davit Kubriashvili

Montpellier: 15 Lucas Amorosino, 14 Timoci Nagusa, 13 Geoffrey Doumayrou, 12 Thomas Combezou, 11 Yoan Audrin, 10 Santiago Fernandez, 9 Benoît Paillaugue, 8 Mamuka Gorgodze, 7 Rémy Martin, 6 Fulgence Ouedraogo, 5 Thibaut Privat, 4 Alikisio Fakate, 3 George Jgenti, 2 Erasmus Jansen van Vuuren, 1 Na'ama Leleimalefaga
Replacements: 16 Agustin Creevy, 17 Juan Figallo, 18 Drikus Hancke, 19 Masini Matadigo, 20 Julien Tomas, 21 Paul Bosch, 22 Martin Bustos Moyano, 23 Maximiliano Bustos 

Referee: Romain Poite
Assistant referees: Patrick Pechambert, Jean-Michel Schutz
Television match official: Jean-Claude Levrier