28 November 2009: International call-ups leave Montpellier struggling, Toulouse beat brave Montauban and Bourgoin's woes continue at Clermont

Montpellier 3 Brive 25; Toulouse 17 Montauban 12; Clermont 32 Bourgoin 3 - Latest league table

Brive picked up their first away win of the season in style at Montpellier, picking up a bonus point with three tries in their 25-3 win to climb to ninth in the table.

A tight first half was on the verge of ending scoreless after Brive outside half Fabrice Estebanez missed two straightforward penalties and opposite number Benoit Paillaugue failed with two trickier attempts.

Georgian flanker Mamuka Gorgodze stood out for Montpellier his work in the loose, but it was Brive's Alexis Palisson who broke the deadlock in the final seconds of the half. The visitors' maul drove Montpellier back 20 metres, Estebanez put up a cross-field kick for Nicolas Jeanjean, who drew Pellier full back Olivier Sarramea and slipped a pass to Palisson who scored.

Estebanez missed the conversion, and in the second half Palisson took over kicking duties with an instant return, making it 8-0 after 50 minutes. Brive's pack was completely on top and another big maul set up a second successful penalty attempt for Palisson.

The hosts had a shout for a try turned down by the video ref on the hour, winger Benjamin Thiery breaking through the Brive cover and seemingly touching down despite the attentions of Brive No.8 Antonie Claasen. But the score was rejected and Montpellier had to be happy with three points from the boot of Sarramea.

The hosts kept the pressure on and were camped in the Brive 22 for five minutes, but failed to make the breakthrough and when Montpellier lost the ball on the halfway line, kiwi winger Viliame Waqaseduadua picked up and jogged in unchallenged to score under the posts.

Undeterred, Montpellier went looking for the defensive bonus point but Brive had the last word and the extra point, Palisson intercepting a Thiery pass for a carbon copy of Waqaseduadua's try.

The loss of Fulgence Ouedrago and Francois Trinh-Duc to international duty clearly effected Montpellier as Brive dominated in the loose and lacked direction at fly-half. Brive's unexpected five points lifts them away from the drop zone and ahead of this week's opposition.

Toulouse were missing seven first-teamers for the visit of Montauban, and were far from convincing as a result. Trailing 7-6 at half time and 12-6 down two minutes into the second half, they were outscored by the Sapiac crew by two tries to one, and were only saved by late penalties from Freddie Michalak and replacement scrum-half Nicolas Bezy.

Michalak's sixth minute penalty had given Toulouse an early lead, but Montauban shocked their hosts when South African outside-half Leonard Olivier - making his debut for les verts - followed up a 90-metre counter-attack by threequarters Shannon Paku and Andrew Henderson to touch down and convert himself.

It was almost two tries to none a minute later when, in a repeat of Olivier's score, Vilimoni Delasau raced downfield only to be pulled up 10 metres from the line. Instead, Michalak reduced the margin to a single point on 34 minutes, and Toulouse must have gone into half time hopeful of a second-half rout when two thirds of Montauban's back row were sent off in the space of four minute, Emmanuel Etien seeing yellow for playing the ball on the ground before Matthew Clarkin delayed a defensive scrum and followed him into the sinbin.

Surprisingly then it was 13-man Montauban who scored next, Olivier breaking upfield to set up a lineout from which full-back Julien Laharrague shrugged off Maleli Kunavore to touch down.

Gamely, Toulouse waited until Montauban were back to 14 men before finally crossing the tryline, 19-year-old centre Remi Lamerat scoring after the visitor's Clarkin-less scrum had been shoved back and Shaun Sowerby took the ball on before setting up Lamerat for the score.

Michalak kicked Toulouse into a 14-12 lead on the hour, shortly before David Skrela made his first appearance in six months. A minute later fellow replacement Bezy made it 17-12, and Lamerat came close to a second score after a superb break from Clement Poitrenaud but was pulled up metres short.

Toulouse dominated the last stages - even opting to take a scrum when a 22-metre penalty would have robbed the visitors of a bonus point - and held on for an unconvincing victory.

Clermont reclaimed third place with a 32-3 home win over an increasingly struggling Bourgoin. In a tight opening quarter, Brock James uncharacteristically missed two early penalties, but set up the opening try for Wesley Fofana after 22 minutes, scrum-half Ludovic Radosavljevic taking a tap penalty, feeding James who timed a perfect pass for centre Fofana to burst into the line and score.

James, obviously with his eye in, kicked a penalty and a drop goal before Jamie Cudmore made it 18-0 with a 33rd minute try, Elvis Vermeulen gathering loose ball and supplying Julien Malzieu who drew the last defender and put Cudmore over.

The bonus point was claimed on the stroke of half-time, Georgian prop Davit Zirakashvili taking line-out ball and racing in for a 25-3 interval lead. Bourgoin might have hoped for a better second half with the wind in their favour, but their hopes were dashed two minutes in when lock Wessel Jooste was shown a yellow card.

Clermont continued to dominate without adding to the score, and although Jooste went close to a try for the visitors on his return to the field, fly-half Alberto di Bernardo also saw yellow on 63 minutes, and with the man advantage, Julien Malzieu raced down the touchline to add a fourth try 10 minutes from time.