Racing claimed a coveted top two spot while Castres and Lyon finished in the top six at the expense of La Rochelle after Saturday’s final Top 14 round.
In the other important news from the day, Stade Francais avoid the relegation play-off spot which is taken by Oyonnax.
La Rochelle 31-7 Stade Francais
La Rochelle came agonisingly close to sealing a top six place but ultimately came up short after both Castres and Lyon won their matches.
The hosts did all they could but a 31-7 maximum win was not enough as they miss the top six by two points, with a poor run costing them.
Mathieu Tanguy, Pierre Boudehent, Arthur Retiere and Lekso Kaulashvili scored La Rochelle’s tries, with Paul Alo-Emile crossing for Stade Francais, who finish the Top 14 season in 12th position, three points above the relegation play-off place that is taken by Oyonnax.
The scorers:
For La Rochelle:
Tries: Tanguy, Boudehent, Retiere, Kaulashvili
Cons: James 3, Noble
Pen: James
Yellow Card: Alldritt
For Stade Francais:
Try: Alo-Emile
Con: Plisson
Yellow Card: Camara
La Rochelle: 15 Arthur Retiere, 14 Pierre Boudehent, 13 Jeremy Sinzelle, 12 Geoffrey Doumayrou, 11 Elliot Roudil, 10 Brock James, 9 Tawera Kerr-Barlow, 8 Victor Vito, 7 Kevin Gourdon, 6 Afaesetiti Amosa, 5 Mathieu Tanguy, 4 Romain Sazy, 3 Uini Atonio, 2 Pierre Bourgarit, 1 Dany Priso
Replacements: 16 Hikairo Forbes, 17 Lekso Kaulashvili, 18 Gregory Lamboley, 19 Gregory Alldritt, 20 Alexis Balès, 21 Benjamin Noble, 22 Steeve Barry, 23 Mohamed Boughanmi
Stade Francais: 15 Djibril Camara, 14 Julien Arias, 13 Waisea Nayacalevu, 12 Jonathan Danty, 11 Marvin O’Connor, 10 Morne Steyn, 9 Arthur Coville, 8 Sergio Parisse, 7 Willem Alberts, 6 Antoine Burban, 5 Alexandre Flanquart, 4 Paul Gabrillagues, 3 Ramiro Herrera, 2 Laurent Sempere, 1 Heinke van der Merwe
Replacements: 16 Remy Bonfils, 17 Elias El Ansari, 18 Mathieu De Giovanni, 19 Charlie Francoz, 20 Clement Daguin, 21 Jules Plisson, 22 Jimmy Yobo, 23 Paul Alo-Emile
Referee: Adrien Descottes
Assistant referees: Julien Castaignede, Arnaud Blondel
TMO: Laurent Sclafer
Lyon 32-24 Montpellier
Lyon booked their place in the knockout stage and a trip to Toulon as a late surge saw them past regular-season winners Montellier 32-24.
Montpellier did look like claiming the win when leading 24-22 with 10 minutes remaining, but Lyon then scored a penalty and converted try.
Xavier Mignot scored the important late try which added to crossings from Toby Arnold, Liam Gill and Taiasina Tuifua, while Lionel Beauxis and Frederic Michalak added points. Montpellier’s three tries came via Nemani Nadolo and Nicolaas Janse van Rensburg and Mohammed Haouas.
The scorers:
For Lyon:
Tries: Arnold, Tuifua, Gill, Mignot
Cons: Beauxis, Michalak 2
Pens: Beauxis, Michalak
Yellow Card: Armitage
For Montpellier:
Tries: Nadolo, Janse van Rensburg, Haouas
Cons: Pienaar 2, Cruden
Pen: Pienaar
Yellow Card: Serfontein
Lyon: 15 Delon Armitage, 14 Toby Arnold, 13 Rudi Wulf, 12 Thibault Regard, 11 Xavier Mignot, 10 Lionel Beauxis, 9 Baptiste Couilloud, 8 Taiasina Tuifua, 7 Liam Gill, 6 Julien Puricelli, 5 Hendrik Roodt, 4 Felix Lambey, 3 Francisco Gomez Kodela, 2 Mickael Ivaldi, 1 Stephane Clement
Replacements: 16 Virgile Lacombe, 17 Alexandre Menini, 18 Etienne Oosthuizen, 19 Toa Halafihi, 20 Jonathan Pélissié, 21 Frédéric Michalak, 22 Mike Harris, 23 Richard Choirat
Montpellier: 15 Henry Immelman, 14 Vincent Martin, 13 Alexandre Dumoulin, 12 Jan Serfontein, 11 Nemani Nadolo, 10 Aaron Cruden, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Louis Picamoles, 7 Julien Bardy, 6 Kelian Galletier, 5 Jarrad Hoeata, 4 Nicolaas Janse van Rensburg, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Romain Ruffenach, 1 Gregory Fichten
Replacements: 16 Vincent Giudicelli, 17 Yvan Watremez, 18 Jimi Maximin, 19 Martin Devergie, 20 Enzo Sanga, 21 Francois Steyn, 22 Benjamin Fall, 23 Mohammed Haouas
Referee: Mathieu Raynal
Assistant referees: Jonathan Gasnier, Jean-Luc Rebollal
TMO: Eric Gauzins
Pau 38-26 Toulon
Pau claimed a hard-fought 38-26 victory over Toulon at Stade du Hameau.
The result means Toulon finish in fourth place and secure a home quarter-final against Lyon, who beat Montpellier to finish in fifth position.
Pau fly-half Tom Taylor got his side off to an excellent start with three early penalties while tries from Baptiste Pesenti and Ben Mowen ensured the home side took a 23-7 lead into the interval, as only Vincent Clerc got himself on the try column for Toulon in the first period.
Malik Hamadache and Paddy Butler dotted down for Pau after the break to extend the lead to 38-14 after Toulon centre Malakai Fekitoa was sin-binned.
Toulon scored two tries at the death through Eneriko Buliruarua and Josua Tuisova but it was a little too late as they succumbed to a 38-26 defeat.
The scorers:
For Pau:
Tries: Pesenti, Mowen, Hamadache, Butler
Cons: Taylor 3
Pens: Taylor 4
Yellow Card: Pierre
For Toulon:
Tries: Clerc, Buliruarua 2, Tuisova
Cons: Carbonel 2, Wisniewski
Yellow Card: Fekitoa
Pau: 15 Charly Malie, 14 Julien Fumat, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Jale Vatubua, 11 Watisoni Votu, 10 Tom Taylor, 9 Thibault Daubagna, 8 Paddy Butler, 7 Baptiste Pesenti, 6 Ben Mowen, 5 Julien Pierre, 4 Daniel Ramsay, 3 Malik Hamadache, 2 Quentin Lespiaucq, 1 Thomas Domingo
Replacements: 16 Laurent Bouchet, 17 Jamie Mackintosh, 18 Dave Foley, 19 Martin Puech, 20 Julien Tomas, 21 Brandon Fajardo, 22 Florian Nicot, 23 Lourens Adriaanse
Toulon: 15 Hugo Bonneval, 14 Vincent Clerc, 13 Josua Tuisova, 12 Malakai Fekitoa, 11 Eneriko Buliruarua, 10 Louis Carbonel, 9 Alby Mathewson, 8 Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe, 7 Jean Monribot, 6 Mamuka Gorgodze, 5 Romain Taofifenua, 4 Swan Rebbadj, 3 Levan Chilachava, 2 Guilhem Guirado, 1 Xavier Chiocci
Replacements: 16 Bastien Soury, 17 Laurent DelBoulbes, 18 Samu Manoa, 19 Rudy Gahetau, 20 Jonathan Wisniewski, 21 Corentin Vernet, 22 Sebastien Tillous-Borde, 23 Emerick Setiano
Referee: Laurent Cardona
Assistant referees: Thomas Charabas, Sebastien Hebert
TMO: Maxime Chalon
Racing 92 42-13 Agen
Racing 92 secured automatic qualification to the Top 14 semi-finals with a comprehensive 42-13 victory over Agen at U Arena.
By virtue of finishing in second spot, they will have a bye in the quarter-final round.
Tries from Ole Avei, Manuel Carizza, Edwin Maka, So’otala Fa’aso’o and a Juan Imhoff brace proved too much for Agen who scored through a sole Mathie Lamoulie try.
Despite this loss, Agen finish the season in 11th place having already secured top flight survival.
The scorers:
For Racing 92:
Tries: Avei, Carizza, Imhoff 2, Maka, Fa’aso’o
Cons: Dambielle 6
For Agen:
Try: Lamoulie
Con: Russell
Pens: Russell 2
Racing 92: 15 Benjamin Dambielle, 14 Joe Rokocoko, 13 Leonard Paris, 12 Anthony Tuitavake, 11 Juan Imhoff, 10 Rémi Tales, 9 Antoine Gibert, 8 Antonie Claassen, 7 Baptiste Chouzenoux, 6 Boris Palu, 5 Edwin Maka, 4 Manuel Carizza, 3 Census Johnston, 2 Ole Avei, 1 Vasil Kakovin
Replacements: 16 Camille Chat, 17 Viliamu Afatia, 18 Adrian Motoc, 19 So’otala Fa’aso’o, 20 Marc Andreu, 21 Simon Bienvenu, 22 Anatole Pauvert, 23 Ben Tameifuna
Agen: 15 Mathieu Lamoulie, 14 Loris Tolot, 13 Julien Heriteau, 12 Tamaz Mchedlidze, 11 Nicolas Metge, 10 Jeremy Russell, 9 Lucas Rubio, 8 Antoine Miquel, 7 Yoan Tanga, 6 Leo Ghirard, 5 Corentin Braendlin, 4 Denis Marchois, 3 Vakhtangi Akhobadze, 2 Marc Barthomeuf, 1 Morgan Phelipponneau
Replacements: 16 Meddih Ahaouche, 17 Quentin Bethune, 18 Mickael De Marco, 19 Pierre Fouyssac, 20 Paul Abadie, 21 Valentin Saurs, 22 Lucas Tolot, 23 Arthur Joly
Referee: Pierre Brousset
Assistant referees: Cedric Marchat, Eric Soulan
TMO: Patrick Dellac
Clermont 36-26 Toulouse
Clermont claimed a hard-fought 36-26 victory over Toulouse in a topsy-turvy encounter Parc des Sports Marcel Michelin.
Although Toulouse outscored their hosts by four tries to three, they ended up on the losing side largely thanks to Clermont scrum-half Morgan Parra’s deadly accurate boot.
Toulouse end the day as they started it – in third position – and will play Castres at home in the quarter-finals.
Parra kicked three conversions and four penalties for a total of 17 points while tries were scored by Flip van der Merwe, Judicael Cancoriet and Wesley Fofana. Toulouse scored through Joe Tekori, Yoann Huget, Semi Kunatani and Cyril Baille.
The scorers:
For Clermont:
Tries: Van der Merwe, Cancoriet, Fofana
Cons: Parra 3
Pens: Parra 4, Laidlaw
For Toulouse:
Tries: Tekori, Huget, Kunatani, Baille
Cons: Doussain 3
Clermont: 15 Setariki Tuicuvu, 14 Peter Betham, 13 Aurelien Rougerie, 12 Wesley Fofana, 11 Remy Grosso, 10 Camille Lopez, 9 Morgan Parra, 8 Fritz Lee, 7 Alexandre Lapandry, 6 Judicael Cancoriet, 5 Arthur Iturria, 4 Sebastien Vahaamahina, 3 Davit Zirakashvili, 2 Benjamin Kayser, 1 Raphael Chaume
Replacements: 16 John Ulugia, 17 Loni Uhila, 18 Paul Jedrasiak, 19 Damien Chouly, 20 Greig Laidlaw, 21 Patricio Fernandez, 22 Damian Penaud, 23 Rabah Slimani
Toulouse: 15 Maxime Medard, 14 Yoann Huget, 13 Wandile Mjekevu, 12 Yann David, 11 Sofiane Guitoune, 10 Romain Ntamack, 9 Jean-Marc Doussain, 8 Semi Kunatani, 7 Louis-Benoit Madaule, 6 Talalelei Gray, 5 Joe Tekori, 4 Florian Verhaeghe, 3 Maks van Dyk, 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 1 Lucas Pointud
Replacements: 16 David Roumieu, 17 Cyril Baille, 18 Piula Faasalele, 19 Selevasio Tolofua, 20 Carl Axtens, 21 Anthony Meric, 22 Lucas Tauzin, 23 Dorian Aldegheri
Referee: Tual Trainini
Assistant referees: Laurent Millotte, Jean-Claude Labarbe
TMO: Eric Briquet-Campin
Castres 54-3 Oyonnax
Castres booked themselves a knockout spot after they cruised past Oyonnax, winning 54-3 in a result that also sends their opponents into a relegation play-off.
They crossed twice through David Smith and Mathieu Babillot in the first-half, with Rory Kockott and Benjamin Urdapilleta kicking points.
But after the break they clicked into gear to confirm their barrage spot in emphatic fashion as Afusipa Taumoepeau and Armand Batlle got over before Steve Mafi’s brace and one from Tudor Stroe added the gloss to an impressive victory that leaves them with a trip to Toulouse.
The scorers:
For Castres:
Tries: Smith, Babillot, Taumoepeau, Battle, Mafi 2, Stroe
Cons: Urdapilleta 3, Kockott, Radosavljevic
Pens: Kockott, Urdapilleta 2
For Oyonnax:
Pen: Botica
Yellow Card: Raynaud
Castres: 15 Julien Dumora, 14 Armand Batlle, 13 Thomas Combezou, 12 Florian Vialelle, 11 David Smith, 10 Benjamin Urdapilleta, 9 Rory Kockott, 8 Maama Vaipulu, 7 Mathieu Babillot, 6 Yannick Caballero, 5 Loic Jacquet, 4 Thibault Lassalle, 3 Daniel Kotze, 2 Jody Jenneker, 1 Antoine Tichit
Replacements: 16 Marc-Antoine Rallier, 17 Tudor Stroe, 18 Rodrigo Capo Ortega, 19 Alex Tulou, 20 Ludovic Radosavljevic, 21 Afusipa Taumoepeau, 22 Steve Mafi, 23 Paea Fa’anunu
Oyonnax: 15 Quentin Etienne Lecoq, 14 Dug Codjo, 13 Mitch Inman, 12 Ulupano Seuteni, 11 Daniel Ikpefan, 10 Ben Botica, 9 James Hall, 8 Hikawera Elliot, 7 Bilel Taieb, 6 Patrick Sobela, 5 Valentin Ursache, 4 Phoenix Battye, 3 Irakli Mirtskhulava, 2 Quentin MacDonald, 1 Tommy Raynaud
Replacements: 16 Benjamin Geledan, 17 Vincent Debaty, 18 Steven Sykes, 19 Vili Ma’afu, 20 Jeremy Gondrand, 21 Maxime Veau, 22 Silvere Tian, 23 Pietro Ceccarelli
Referee: Romain Poite
Assistant referees: Ludovic Cayre, Akim Hadj-Bachir
TMO: Mourad Zitouni
Brive 22-20 Bordeaux-Begles
Relegated Brive gave their fans something to cheer in the season finale as they beat Bordeaux-Begles 22-20 thanks to a late penalty try.
UBB were leading 20-5 with an hour gone but then prop Jefferson Poirot was red carded and thus began an incredible fightback from Brive.
The hosts’ crossings came through Benjamin Lapeyre (2), Benito Masilevu and that late penalty try, while Blair Connor and Iban Etcheverry scored for Bordeaux, who wrap up the season in 10th spot. Brive, in the end, finish three points behind 13th-placed Oyonnax on the table.
The scorers:
For Brive:
Tries: Lapeyre 2, Masilevu, Penalty try
Yellow Cards: Da Ros
For Bordeaux-Begles:
Tries: Connor, Etcheverry
Cons: Serin 2
Pens: Serin 2<
Red Card: Poirot
Brive: 15 Thomas Laranjeira, 14 Benjamin Lapeyre, 13 Sevenaia Galala, 12 Seremaia Burotu, 11 Benito Masilevu, 10 Matthieu Ugalde, 9 Florian Cazenave, 8 Sisa Koyamaibole, 7 Fabien Sanconnie, 6 Poutasi Luafutu, 5 Jan Uys, 4 Damien Lagrange, 3 Damien Jourdain, 2 Thomas Acquier, 1 Julien Brugnaut
Replacements: 16 Francois Da Ros, 17 Karlen Asieshvili, 18 Peet Marais, 19 Dominiko Waqaniburotu, 20 Samuel Marques, 21 Arnaud Mignardi, 22 Gaetan Germain, 23 Soso Bekoshvili
Bordeaux-Begles: 15 Nans Ducuing, 14 Ed Fidow, 13 Jean-Baptiste Dubié, 12 Julien Rey, 11 Blair Connor, 10 Tiaan Schoeman, 9 Baptiste Serin, 8 Leroy Houston, 7 Cameron Woki, 6 Luke Braid, 5 Cyril Cazeaux, 4 Jandré Marais, 3 Peni Ravai, 2 Adrien Pelissie, 1 Jefferson Poirot
Replacements: 16 Florian Dufour, 17 Thierry Paiva, 18 Johan Aliouat, 19 Maxime Lamothe, 20 Nick Frisby, 21 Ben Volavola, 22 Iban Etcheverry, 23 Jean-Baptiste Poux
Referee: Jonathan Dufort
Assistant referees: Cedric Clave, Thierry Guilloton
TMO: Eric Gonthier
The post Lyon and Castres progress, Racing 92 finish second appeared first on Planet Rugby.