A week before the season starts, defence was clearly not the priority on the night.
Seven matches were played on Friday, the final stretch before the championship kicks off on 5 September. Six French clubs won, Clermont and Toulon cancelled each other out, and 518 points were scored in total.
The results
| Match | Score |
|---|---|
| Bayonne v Stade Toulousain | 47-54 |
| Castres v Montpellier | 50-33 |
| Union Bordeaux-Bègles v Pau | 47-27 |
| La Rochelle v Munster | 47-26 |
| RC Vannes v Connacht | 36-35 |
| Lyon v Leinster | 31-29 |
| Clermont v Toulon | 28-28 |
That is an average of 74 points per match. Toulouse’s trip to Jean-Dauger was the highest-scoring game of the night, with 101 points on its own, and it was also the only French win on the road.
Two Irish provinces beaten
This was the standout story of the night. Vannes, promoted to the Top 14, beat Connacht 36-35 at La Rabine after the hooter, having trailed by sixteen points. Kick-off had been delayed by half an hour because of an accident. The Brittany club, narrowly beaten by Pau a week earlier, head to Castres with a first win under their belt.
Lyon beat Leinster 31-29 at the Matmut Stadium. The two sides had met only twice in competitive matches, and Leinster had won both times. LOU open their season at home to Clermont.
Attacks firing, defences still warming up
La Rochelle dominated Munster 47-26 at Marcel-Deflandre. Following their 40-38 win over UBB in their first outing, they finish pre-season with two wins and 87 points scored.
Castres came from behind to beat Montpellier 50-33 in Lacaune, in the Challenge Vaquerin. CO, who had already beaten Montauban, end the summer with 81 points in two matches.
Bordeaux-Bègles comfortably beat Pau 47-27 at Chaban-Delmas. Pau stayed in touch for a half, which ended 21-17, before the home side pulled away: seven tries in total, and a final quarter of an hour in which Louis Bielle-Biarrey was tried at fly-half.
The only draw of the night
In Issoire, Clermont and Toulon drew 28-28 after each dominating one half. RCT led 21-7 before being pegged back. It was Toulon’s only pre-season match of the whole summer.
Familiar fixtures
In competitive matches, most of these meetings are championship classics. Castres and Montpellier had already met 107 times, with 55 wins for Castres, 49 for Montpellier and 3 draws. Toulon and Clermont 102 times, with Clermont ahead (57 to 43). Bayonne and Toulouse 97 times, with 64 Toulouse wins to 31. Pau and Bordeaux-Bègles have the tightest record of the lot: 33 wins for Pau to 31 for Bordeaux in 65 meetings.
Visits from Irish sides remain rare. La Rochelle had faced Munster only once before, and Lyon had met Leinster twice without ever winning.
The Top 14 returns on Saturday 5 September, with fixtures including Stade Français v Perpignan at 7pm and Bordeaux-Bègles v Racing 92. La Rochelle host Stade Toulousain on Sunday 6 September.
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