Perpignan's Hook puts Bayonne to the sword

Perpignan's Welsh star James Hook masterminded a crucial 47-9 hammering of Top 14 relegation rivals Bayonne on Saturday to give the 2009 champions some much-needed breathing space. The 26-year-old was faultless with the boot, kicking four penalties and four conversions and adding a try for good measure for a haul of 25 points that saw the seven-time champions to victory. Perpignan's managing director Sylvain Deroeux welcomed the win and the fact they got an offensive bonus point while he questioned whether Bayonne had really been up for the fight. "Even if I am not sure that Bayonne came to die here the job has been done and well done," he said. "It is the fifth successive match where we have got points that is the essential thing. As for James Hook when he plays like that he is definitely the best in his position in France." Perpignan's fellow giants Biarritz, who have also battled against relegation this season, grabbed a vital win as five Dimitri Yachvili penalties saw them to a creditable 15-14 win over 2010 champions Clermont. Elsewhere, Agen's hopes of making the top six were all but extinguished as last year's finalists Montpellier humbled them 44-18, while bottom-placed Lyon kept alive their slim hopes of escaping an immediate return to the second tier by beating Bordeaux 24-13. The results leave Lyon still bottom, four points adrift of Bayonne, who are six points behind third-from-bottom Perpignan with four matches remaining of the league season. The bottom two go down. Perpignan got off to the start they wanted, storming into a 10-0 lead after just 10 minutes of the game. Hook contributed five of those points, a penalty and a conversion following the opening try by scrum-half Florian Cazenave, who picked the ball up 20 metres out and squeezed through a narrow gap to cross the line and touch down. Hook, who was reduced to being a replacement during Wales's Six Nations Grand Slam campaign after a disappointing World Cup, was running the show and went close to scoring a try himself soon after. Having just pulled off a try-saving tackle on Bayonne's lively wing Marvin O'Connor, he chipped ahead and outstripped both compatriot Mike Phillips and former France international Cedric Heymans but the ball just eluded him and trickled over the dead-ball line. The Welsh fly-half then added two more penalties -- either side of a penalty by Bayonne's Jean-Jacques Potgieter -- to put the hosts comfortably ahead against a side lacking several stars, including Australian lock Mark Chisholm. Potgieter reduced the deficit to 16-6 near the half hour as he slotted over a penalty, which needed the aid of the post to go over, and added another shortly before the break to leave them only a converted try behind. However, Hook made it five out of five successful kicks four minutes into the second half to make it 19-9. The match swung inexorably Perpignan's way in the 54th minute when flanker Jean-Joseph Marmouyet was sin-binned and a minute later Damien Chouly burrowed over for their second try. Hook converted for 26-9. Hook crowned a superlative performance by then going over himself and adding the conversion for 33-9. Perpignan did not let up and a minute after Marmouyet had returned to the action the hosts added another try as Bertrand Guiry touched down -- Hook converting -- and then South African wing Rudi Coetzee added their sixth try, which was converted by David Mele.