5 November 2009: Perpignan open up a four-point lead with bonus win over Toulon as try-shy Castres play out bore draw with Clermont

Castres 9 Clermont 9; Perpignan 25 Toulon 9; Montpellier 19 Montauban 0; Brive 19 Bayonne 14; Stade Francais 23 Albi 18; Toulouse 41 Bourgoin 3; Biarritz vs Racing-Metro postponed Latest league table

The top of the table clash failed to live up to expectations, Clermont securing their second draw of the week with a 9-all tie at Castres. Seremaia Bai kicked the decisive penalty for les Jaunards nine minutes from time afer Romain Teulet had kicked three penalties for the hosts and Anthony Floch had added a drop goal to Bai's opening score.

But Castres - as methodical as ever in a run that took them briefly to the top of the table even though they have now gone six domestic and European matches without scoring a try - should have sealed all four points. Cameron McIntyre missed a sixth minute penalty and a 55th minute drop goal, and lock Rodrigo Capo Ortega wasted a golden chance of an early try for the hosts when, after a 30-metre charge, he ran into Clermont Anthony Floch rather than passing to the unmarked Marc Andreu out on the wing.

After a narrow defeat at Perpignan and now this draw, Castres' run doesn't get any easier, with Toulouse and Biarritz visiting Stade Pierre-Antoine in the space of seven days in a fortnight's time.

Perpignan took advantage of the stalemate to open up a four-point lead at the top, Christophe Manas adding a bonus point with a try three minutes from time in their 25-9 win over Toulon.

Toulon played 30 minutes of the match with 14 men as three players received yellow cards, and it was during the first of these suspensions - Matt Henjak taking a 10-minute break from his last match for Toulon before making way for Felipe Contepomi on the club's non-EU roster - that Perpignan turned the match.

With the scores at 3-3 after Jerome Porical and Sebastien Fauqué had exchanged early penalties, a scrum on the Toulon five-metre line had to be reset five times before referee M. Gauzere awarded a penalty try to the hosts.

On the half-hour mark, the USAP scrum again flexed its muscles, taking a Toulon scrum against the head on the visitors' five-metre line and spinning it wide for winger Farid Sid to score.

Fauqué closed the gap to 15-6 with a drop goal just before the break, and it was 15-9 when he added a 48th minute penalty. But David Mélé made it a two-score game with a 72nd minute penalty, and the scrum-half set up the game's final try, feeding Sid with quick ball before Maxime Mermoz and Olivier Olibeau made the space for Manas to pop up on the left wing and race over for the bonus point try.

Biarritz's match with Racing-Metro was cancelled due to the heavy rains on the Basque coast. Racing manager Pierre Berbizier is hoping that the match will be played next Wednesday November 11, but a date has yet to be confirmed.

The postponement gave Montauban a chance to move up the table at the expense of Montpellier, but they couldn't have done worse at Stade Yves-du-Manoir, losing 19-0 and seeing their hosts overhaul them into ninth place.

Francois Trinh-Duc scored the only try of the match after 15 minutes, centre Sylvain Mirande breaking through the Montauban defence, winger Benjamin Thiery following up and feeding the international outside-half, who pulled off an outrageous sidestep round centre Rida Jahouer to score the try that Frederico Todeschini converted.

The Argentinian full-back had already kicked two penalties, and added two more in the second half as the Pellier sealed three wins in a row for the first time since December 2007.

In contrast, Bayonne lost their fifth match in a row to stay mired in the relegation zone. The solitary bonus point from their 14-19 defeat at Brive will be scant consolation, as will the fact that they almost pulled off an unlikely win after trailing 16-0 early in the second half.

Shaun Perry scored the first try on 31 minutes, No.8 Antonie Claassen popping the ball up to the English scrum-half, who pinned his ears back and raced 40 metres to score the try that Fabrice Estebanez converted.

Estebanez kicked two penalties around the interval for the 16-point lead before the Basques struck back. First hooker David Roumieu was given the benefit of the video ref's decision when the Bayonne pack charged over for a 44th minute try, then centre Craig Gower fed winger Sam Gerber on the blindside, for the South African to break the Brive line and feed flanker Jean-Jo Marmouyet who scored under the posts.

Gower converted both tries to pull Bayonne back to within five points, but although they dominated the ball for 10 minutes around the hour, Brive held firm, and although they were given one final scare when Gower caught his own chip over the defence only to knock the ball on in the tackle.

Albi only have one win to show for their 12 outings, but they'll take some heart from their visit to Stade Francais' Stade Jean-Bouin, picking up a bonus point with a flurry of late goals in their 18-23 defeat.

The Parisians scored the only two tries of the match, Pascal Papé giving Stade the lead for the first time after two early Kevin Boulogne penalties had given Albi a 6-3 advantage. The visitors' Romanian full back Iulian Dumitras had made it 9-10 with a penalty on the half-time whistle, but Mark Gasnier touch down under the posts just two minutes into the second period to extend the lead to a more comfortable 17-9.

Noel Oelschig made it 20-9 with a 61st minute penalty, but Albi, whose only win this season was over fellow drop-zone-dwellers Bayonne, clawed back six swift points to come within five of Paris (Dumitras kicking a 35-metre drop goal after another Boulogne penalty), and although Oelschig kicked a 50-metre penalty eight minutes from time, Sylvain Marconnet conceded a penalty for Boulogne to earn a bonus point with a 40-metre goal.

Toulouse romped to a five-try, 41-3 victory over Bourgoin, Florian Fritz bagging two tries and Cedric Heymans, Louis Picamoles and Argentine hooker Alberto Vernet Basualdo scoring one each. Jean-Baptiste Elissalde converted all five tries and added two penalties to give Toulouse their biggest win of the season.

Gregory Lamboley, Yann David and Clement Poitrenaud all went close to adding to Toulouse's try tally, as Alberto di Bernardo kicked Bourgoin's three points a few minutes into the second half.