Toulouse win at Lyon to go sixth

Defending champions Toulouse, beaten last week by Bayonne, bounced back with a 19-9 win at newly promoted Lyon to go sixth in the French Top 14 on Sunday. With 30,000 fans watching in driving rain Toulouse inflicted Lyon's second successive defeat leaving the hosts second from bottom. With New Zealander Luke McAlister back, Toulouse took an early lead with two penalties from McAlister. Yves Donguy then crossed the line with McAlister converting to put the visitors 13-3 up at the break. McAlister added two more penalties in the second half with Lyon's points all coming from the boot of Mark Van Gisbergen. On Saturday, Racing-Metro crushed Perpignan 47-23 to record their second victory in two games and provisionally assume top spot. A third-minute Jonathan Wisniewski penalty put hosts Racing in front but three successful kicks from Jerome Porical enabled Perpignan to open up a six-point lead. However, another Wisniewski penalty cut Perpignan's advantage before a pair of tries from centre Henry Chavancy, both converted by Wisniewski, allowed Racing to reach the half-time interval with a 23-9 lead. Wisniewski crossed for a try early in the second half, which he converted, and a further score by Virimi Vakatawa put Racing 28 points clear. Perpignan reduced the arrears through tries from Rudi Coetzee and Gavin Hume but Racing replacement Thomas Bianchin went over with five minutes remaining to seal the win and secure the bonus point. Clermont are a point shy of Racing in second place thanks to an unexpected 17-0 victory at Toulon. Two Brock James penalties put the visitors 6-0 to the good before full-back Jean-Marcel Buttin scored the game's only try shortly before the break. In the absence of any response from Toulon, James put the game beyond the hosts with two further penalties in the second half. Toulon are seeking a new coach after it was confirmed Philippe Saint-Andre will succeed Marc Lievremont as France coach after the World Cup. Another surprise result saw Castres respond to their thrashing by Perpignan last weekend with a 35-10 win over Stade Francais. A yellow card for Stade lock Gerhard Mostert inside the first minute gave Castres a numerical advantage that they exploited through two penalties from Romain Teulet. Converted tries from wingers Mathieu Nicolas and Marc Andreu saw Castres extend their advantage, with Teulet matching Paul Warwick's penalty for Stade and thereby giving Castres a 20-point half-time lead. Further tries from Andreu and Chris Masoe secured a bonus point for the hosts, with Alexander Rokobaro claiming a consolation try for the side from the capital. Last season's runners-up Montpellier remain without a point after two games, after sinking to a disappointing 28-12 loss at home to Brive that owed much to the absence of 11 of their internationals due to the impending World Cup. Agen, meanwhile, snatched a 9-9 draw at Biarritz thanks to a penalty from Valentin Courrent with seven minutes remaining. Bordeaux Begles beat Bayonne 18-6n Saturday's late game to move up to seventh.