Rattled by Bayonne for an hour, Toulouse took back the top spot Pau had held overnight, thanks to three tries in twelve minutes.

The closing game lived up to its billing: eleven tries, seven for Toulouse and four for Bayonne, in another sold-out Ernest-Wallon. Toulouse have now won five in a row since their opening-day defeat in La Rochelle, and three from three at home.

Toulouse 45-34 Bayonne

Cyril Baille, who joins Bayonne next season, opened the scoring in the second minute. Sireli Maqala, two Joris Segonds penalties and a Tom Spring try then put Bayonne 12-20 up, despite a solo try from Antoine Dupont. Toulouse turned to their driving maul, finished twice by Julien Marchand (24′, 33′), to lead 24-20 at the break. Lucas Martin’s try just before half-time was ruled out by the TMO.

Tommaso Menoncello’s yellow card (49′) gave Bayonne a lift: Guillaume Cramont, the hooker on loan from Toulouse, scored straight away (24-27). Joshua Brennan put Toulouse back in front from another maul (58′), then Romain Ntamack, from a Dupont grubber (66′), and Dupont himself (72′) secured the bonus point. Mateo Carreras scored Bayonne’s last try after the hooter. Ntamack kicked five conversions, Segonds four plus two penalties.

Bayonne made 178 tackles to Toulouse’s 133, with Toulouse having 56% of possession.

Round 6 results

Match Score
Stade Francais v Montpellier 30-22
Perpignan v Vannes 21-12
Lyon v La Rochelle 16-28
Pau v Castres 35-26
Toulon v Racing 92 29-15
Clermont v Bordeaux-Begles 22-23
Toulouse v Bayonne 45-34

Pau win after the hooter

Trailing 13-17 at half-time after tries from Christian Ambadiang and Teddy Durand, Pau went back in front through Emilien Gailleton straight after the break, then Facundo Isa (28-20, 59′). Three Theo Vidal penalties brought Castres within two (28-26, 70′), and they had the ball for the win on the final play. A turnover from Hugo Auradou launched the counter finished by Aaron Grandidier-Nkanang after the hooter (35-26). With 22 points, Pau match their record after six rounds, according to Rugbyrama.

Bordeaux-Begles finally win away

Beaten in Toulouse and Perpignan, Bordeaux-Begles won 23-22 in Clermont, Clermont’s first home defeat of the season. Maxime Lucu scored 15 points, including a try, and Hugo Reus kicked the decisive penalty in the 65th minute. Tom Willis won the last Clermont ball.

Bonus point for La Rochelle in Lyon

La Rochelle scored four tries to one at Gerland (16-28), through Antoine Hastoy, Valentin Bouju, Dillyn Leyds and Watisoni Waqanisaravi, and take a try bonus. Lyon have now lost three in a row, the first of them at home.

Toulon breathe again

Five days after Pierre Mignoni’s resignation, Toulon beat Racing 92 29-15 at Mayol. Tomas Albornoz scored 19 points, with five second-half penalties. Racing have lost four of their six games.

Stade Francais win but lose Peyresblanques

Stade Francais beat Montpellier 30-22 at Jean-Bouin after leading 16-15 at the break. Alvereti Duguivalu (53′) and Leo Barre, with an interception (77′), made the difference. Hooker Lucas Peyresblanques, stretchered off, has a broken fibula and had surgery on Sunday.

Vannes still without a win

Perpignan and Vannes went in at 0-0. Replacement Peceli Yato broke the deadlock after the break, before tries from Theo Forner and Luke McGrath (21-12). Vannes stay bottom with one point from six rounds.

Standings after six rounds

# Team P W L Diff Pts
1 Stade Toulousain 6 5 1 +73 24
2 Pau 6 5 1 +58 22
3 Bordeaux-Begles 6 4 2 +64 19
4 La Rochelle 6 4 2 +9 18
5 Bayonne 6 4 2 -24 17
6 Stade Francais 6 3 3 -11 14
7 Montpellier 6 3 3 +41 14
8 Lyon 6 3 3 -9 14
9 Perpignan 6 3 3 -33 13
10 Toulon 6 2 4 0 12
11 Clermont 6 2 4 -29 11
12 Racing 92 6 2 4 -53 10
13 Castres 6 2 4 -27 9
14 Vannes 6 0 6 -59 1

Key figures

24 points for Toulouse, still top ahead of Pau (22)

11 tries in Toulouse v Bayonne, seven for Toulouse and four for Bayonne

5 wins in a row for Toulouse, including three from three at home

0-0 half-time score in Perpignan v Vannes

1 point for Vannes after six rounds