10 January 2010: Leava try puts Clermont on top at Toulouse as Castres draw a blank at Montpellier

Toulouse 15 Clermont 16; Montpellier 15 Castres 0; Toulon 18 Montauban 7; Stade Francais 25 Biarritz 15; Albi 15 Brive 17; Bourgoin vs Bayonne postponed - Latest league table

Clermont climbed to the top of the Top 14 with a 16-15 win at Toulouse, fly-half Tasesa Lavea scoring the only try of the second half 14 minutes from time to steal the points. Frederic Michalak had a chance to snatch victory at the death, but his 30-metre penalty from outside drifted wide and Clermont celebrated a famous win.

The victory was all the more stunning for the fact that the visitors, with an eye on next week's Heineken Cup tie, rested four first-teamers in Aurelien Rougerie, Julien Malzieu, Jamie Cudmore and Thomas Domingo, and had five other regulars including Mario Ledesma and Elvis Vermeulen on the bench.

The match appeared to be going with script in a first half that saw Toulouse score two tries to none, centre Seremaia Bai kicking two penalties and a drop goal to keep Clermont in the match. Shaun Sowerby opened the scoring on 11 minutes, hooker William Servat emerging from a midfield scramble to dash 35 metres towards the tryline. He was caught yards short of the line, but Michalak spun the ball out wide right and Toulouse No.8 Sowerby was on hand to dive over for the score.

Bai's first penalty closed the gap to 5-3, but Jean-Baptiste Elissalde made it 8-3 with a 22-metre drop goal, and on 23 minutes Vincent Clerc put Toulouse in the driving seat with a stunning try. Elissalde threw a high pass to his winger, who burst into the line and rounded injured Clermont full back Benoit Baby to score. Elissalde convered for a 15-6 scoreline, Bai making it 15-9 with a 30-metre penalty on 26 after Jean Bouilhou had played the ball on the ground. Anthony Floch and Michalak both missed long-range penalties as the half petered out, and the teams changed round 15-9 to Toulouse.

Floch was to miss two drop goal attempts and a 40-metre penalty before the hour mark, but Toulouse had their chances too. A brilliant break from centre Yann David looked certain to end in a five-pointer, but David missed Elissalde supporting him on the outside and after a 50-metre run was pulled down short. On the hour mark, Elissalde missed a 35-metre drop goal, and it was Clermont who broke the second-half stalemate.

The visitors' forwards won a turnover in their own half and made a dozen yards to cross the halfway line. From the ruck, replacement scrum-half Morgan Parra threw a short, flat pass to Lavea, the Samoan bursting between first-up defenders Census Johnston and Patricio Albacete, and racing away to score in the corner. Parra converted superbly from the touchline to give Clermont the lead for the first time.

Clermont were put imediately on the back foot, but their defence held firm in the face of Toulouse's attacks, Clerc going close to scoring but conceding a penalty to allow Parra to relieve the pressure. As Toulouse piled on the pressure, Cedric Heymans making one threatening break deep into the Clermont 22, the visitors refused to yield and more importantly refused to concede a penalty until, with seconds left on the clock, Vermeulen was caught offside and Toulouse awarded a penalty 30 metres out but to the right of the posts. Michalak stepped up, but his kick drifted left and Clermont leapfrogged Castres to the top spot.

Toulouse move up to third thanks to the bonus point, but that'll be scant comfort for coach Guy Noves after their first home defeat of the season.

Castres lost pole position after their 15-0 defeat at Montpellier. The surprise league leaders never turned up at Stade Yves-du-Manoir, Montpellier relying on the boots of Federico Todeschini and Francois Trinh-Duc for all their points, but going close to scoring a try after just nine minutes when winger Sebastien Kuzbik raced over in the corner only to be called back for a forward pass.

The visitors' indiscipline cost them dearly, Todeschini kicking four penalties before half time for a 12-0 lead. They were just as unambitious in a second half that saw little action apart from an early failed drop goal attempt by Trinh-Duc, until Montpellier had two good try chances in the last minutes. First No.8 Sakiusa Matadigo appear to win a chip-and-chase, but although he thought he had touched the ball down when in contact with the left-hand post, the referee decided he had touched it down short. Matadigo was behind the other scoring chance when he raced down the touchline and passed to flanker Michel Macurdy, whose own grubber bounced over the dead ball line.

Trinh-Duc eventually kicked the only points of the second period with a penalty from 20 metres out, and Montpellier celebrated their ninth win of the season. Castres coach Laurent Travers admitted he was disappointed that his team hadn't shown their true colours, but wasn't getting carried away.

"Montpellier have already beaten big teams like USAP and Stade Francais. This defeat puts a slight brake on our progress but it doesn't make us the worst team around, any more than we were getting carried away as leaders of the championship," he said.

Toulon rejoin the top six after their 18-7 victory over Montauban. Jonny Wilkinson missed an early touchline penalty for Toulon, but the hosts were completely on top until Montauban took an early lead with an outrageous interception try by Vilimoni Delasau. As Toulon passed the ball comfortably along the back line and seemingly towards the tryline, Mafileo Kefu's long pass for Joe van Niekerk was read well by the Fijian, who intercepted and raced 90 metres unhindered for the shock lead.

Wilkinson closed the gap with a penalty on 16 minutes, and scrum-half Fabien Cibray gave Toulon the lead on 19 minutes, flipping the ball up to blindside runner Gabrielle Lovobalavu from a ruck five metres out, and racing round the back of the winger to take the return pass and dive over in the corner. Wilkinson converted for a 10-3 lead that lasted until two minutes beore half-time, when the England outside half dropped a goal from 30 metres.

Toulon kept the pressure on in the second half, extending their lead on 47 minutes when forward pressure on the Montauban line finally paid off and lock Joselito Suta merely had to take a pass and fall over to establish the 18-7 lead that lasted until the final whistle.

Montauban did have a chance of earning a bonus point in the last 10 minutes when a charge from hooker Mirko Lozupone sucked in the Toulon defence and freed the threequarters for an attack. Delasau drew Wilkinson and gave centre Andrew Henderson a try-scoring pass, only for the Scotsman to drop the ball as he crossed the line.

Stade Francais sit a point and a place behind Toulon following their 25-15 victory over Biarritz at Stade de France. After five matches with no wins at the national stadium, the Parisians seem at home in St Denis again as they followed up their recent win over Bayonne with this convincing victory over the red side of the Pays Basque.

Mathieu Bastareaud got Stade Francais off to a flying start after just two minutes, outside half Ignacio Mieres sending out a perfectly timed pass to the centre, who had to use his considerable size and weight - not to mention that of his pack - to charge over for the try from 20 metres out. Lionel Beauxis converted, but Biarritz soon hit back, Dimitri Yachvili kicking two penalties, the second awarded against flanker Juan Manuel Leguizamon, who was also sent to the sinbin for preventing Yachvili from taking a quick penalty five metres out.

Paris had been lucky not to concede a penalty try, but extended their lead to 10-6 when Beauxis kicked a 40-metre penalty on 24 minutes, Biarritz lock Pavihi Taele infringing. Four minutes later Beauxis converted an easier 22-metre effort, and five minutes before half time the Paris full back made it 16-6, Jerome Thion being the guilty party this time.

It was 19-6 three minutes after the restart, Beauxis kicking his second 40-yarder, but Biarritz came back, Yachvili missing a 40-metre shot of his own and Julien Peyrelongue attempting a drop goal from the same distance before Yachvili kicked two penalties in four minutes to drag the Basques into bonus point range. It didn't take long for Beauxis to strike back, Benoit August playing the ball on the ground to give him and easy shot at goal before Peyrolonge finally succeeded with a drop from 30 metres to make it 22-15 to Paris.

But it was Beauxis who fired the last shot - and the 15th point - of a mad 12 minutes when flanker Magnus Lund played the ball on the ground and Beauxis converted.

Peyrelongue had another pop at a drop goal, but missed from 30 metres and Biarritz headed south without a bonus point and having dropped out of the top six.

They are on 42 points, the same tally as Brive who beat Albi 17-15 in an exciting match which saw the teams score two tries each. At a snowy Stade Municipal, Albi winger Pierre-Gilles Lakafia went close to scoring early on, but Brive broke the deadlock, capitalising on the yellow card handed out to hooker Pierre Saby to force Albi to concede a 26th minute penalty try at a scrum five.

It stayed 7-0 until the match approached the hour mark, when Albi took the lead with two tries in three minutes. With Brive flanker Gerard Vosloo in the sinbin, it was Albi's forwards' chance to take advantage of the extra man, driving into the Brive 22 for No.8 Vincent Clement to take a pass from scrum-half Kevin Boulogne and race 10 metres to score.

Three minute later Boulogne scored a try of his own, charging down a kick by fly-half Luciano Orquera to gather the loose ball and run 35 metres to score. Stewart Blair converted to give Albi a 12-7 lead, but it only lasted three minutes before Jamie Noon regained the lead for Brive, the visitors powerful scrum driving to within two metres of the line and Orquera feeding the English centre for the try. Full back Alexis Palisson converted, but Boulogne put Albi back in front on 71 minutes, surprising everyone by kicking a drop goal through the driving snow from the base of the scrum 22 metres out.

Sadly, hopes of a fourth win of the season were dashed five minutes from time when Boulogne was caught offside at a scrum and Palisson kicked the winning penalty, and they missed a golden chance to close the gap on Bourgoin and Bayonne, whose relegation scrap was postponed due to the bad weather.