Montpellier claimed a 29-17 victory against 14-man Toulon, while there were also wins for La Rochelle, Pau, Lyon, Grenoble, Toulouse and Stade Français in the French Top 14.
The win takes Montpellier up to fourth in the standings. But there’s just no end to Toulon’s troubles. They have now lost five of their opening seven games; only minnows Agen and Perpignan have worse records.
Springbok centre Jan Serfontein scored one of the winning team’s four tries, while compatriot Ruan Pienaar contributed three conversions and a penalty for a nine-point haul.
Two tries and a penalty ensured that Montpellier went into the break leading 15-7. Toulon scrumhalf Eric Escande was yellow-carded on the stroke of half-time.
Montpellier continued to apply pressure on the visitors, which led to scores by Serfontein and Louis Picamoles. With 30 minutes remaining, Toulon added a penalty and a converted try but they were soon reduced to 14 men again, this time after Liam Messam received a straight red card for foul play. From there, Montpellier had enough muscle to see out the game.
Elsewhere, Stade Français edged Castres 14-9 to move up to second on the log. Castres are now fifth.
In other results, La Rochelle ground out a 16-12 win against Clermont in an ill-disciplined clash that produced three yellow cards and a red, Pau beat Perpignan 12-9 in a tryless affair, Lyon stunned hosts Racing 19-13 in Paris, Grenoble defeated Bordeaux 28-25 and Toulouse downed Agen 10-0.
Round 7 results:
Montpellier 29 Toulon 17
Castres 9 Stade Français 14
La Rochelle 16 Clermont 12
Pau 12 Perpignan 9
Racing 13 Lyon 19
Grenoble 28 Bordeaux 25
Toulouse 10 Agen 0
Photo: www.lequipe.fr
