1
La Rochelle go top with sixth consecutive Top 14 win
By Omnisport
La Rochelle's stunning form saw them pull clear of Clermont Auvergne at the Top 14 summit on Sunday, winning 27-21 at Toulouse.
Les Corsaires have stormed into contention for a maiden top-flight crown with a run of six consecutive victories stretching back to December 23. In all competitions, the winning sequence stands at nine matches.
Having headed into the weekend level on points with Clermont, defeat for the 2010 champions at Castres on Saturday opened the door for La Rochelle to establish a cushion at the top.
And the visitors edged a tight affair at the home of the 19-time French champions, with four Zack Holmes penalties laying the foundation as La Rochelle ended the first half 12-6 in front.
Joe Tekori closed the gap with a try 12 minutes into the second period, but Jone Qovu and Pierre Aguillon touched down for La Rochelle to open up a 27-14 lead.
Julien Marchand crossed the whitewash seven minutes from time to set up a tense finish, but the visitors held on for their fifth away win of the season.
Montpellier missed a chance to go third as they were beaten 16-3 at lowly Lyon - Willie du Plessis' penalty just short of the hour proving the visitors' only consolation and the last points-scoring action of the match.
In the day's remaining fixture, Stade Francais ended a three-match losing run by easing to a 32-9 home win against Bordeaux Begles.
Trending on RugbyPass
2
All Blacks XV player ratings vs Munster
3
Suaalii strikes awe as Wallabies lose midfielder
4
Scott Robertson responds about handling errors
5
Latest Comments
I think we need to get innovative with the new laws.
Now red cards are only 20 minutes, Razor should send Finau on a head hunting mission to hospitalise their 10 with a shoulder to the chops.
Give the conspiracy theorists a win.
Go to commentsEngland played well enough to win but couldnt score when they needed to and couldnt defend a couple of X-Factor moments from Telea which was ultimately the difference. They needed to hold the ball more and make the AB's make more tackles. Territorially they were good for the first 60. Defending their lead and playing pragmatic rugby in the last 20 was silly. The AB's always had the potential to come back. England still have a long way to go, definite progress would have been shown had they won but it seems they are still stuck where they were shortly after the six nations and their tour to NZ
Go to comments