20 February 2010: Bayonne climb out of the drop zone with win at Montpellier as Toulon shock Toulouse and Castres go top after thrilling draw in Paris

Montpellier 16 Bayonne 22; Bourgoin 16 Stade Francais 22; Montauban 16 Perpignan 13; Toulouse 3 Toulon 6; Racing-Metro 24 Castres 24; Clermont 45 Albi 18 - Latest league table

Bayonne climbed out of the Top 14 relegation zone for the first time since November with a 22-16 win at Montpellier. It could have been even better for the Basques - they were in posession of a bonus point until the hosts scored a late try - but Bourgoin's home defeat to Paris, by the same 22-16 scoreline, was enough to lift Bayonne up to the safety of 12th place.

Captain Rob Linde led the sky blues by example, scoring the first try after 14 minutes. Bayonne's forwards took the ball on in their own half and fed centre Sam Gerber, who beat his opposite number before switching cleverly with Lionel Mazars, who put lock Linde in for the try.

Cedric Garcia converted, and although Federico Todeschini closed the gap with a 45-metre penalty and added another three points on 31 minutes, Bayonne made it 12-6 five minutes before the interval when Benjamin Fall, back on club duty after leaving the French squad, received the ball on the halfway line, found the gap and chipped over Todeschini to beat the last defender to the touchdown.

Bayonne lost Linde to a knee injury at half-time, but their positive play yielded a third try five minutes after the restart. Mazars was the architect, breaking through the Montpellier defence, drawing his man and slinging a pass for Gerber to score and Garcia to convert.

It was 22-6 on 53 minutes when outside-half Sebastien Fauqué kicked a drop goal on his first appearance for Bayonne since joining from Toulon, and with one hand on the bonus point, the visitors put their energies into defending their line. And Montpellier's powerful pack drove them right back to that line, lock Alistair Campbell closing the margin with his first try for les Heraultais from short range.

With nine minutes to go Todeschini's second penalty made it 22-16 and Montpellier went all out for the win, and from the restart decamped on the Bayonne tryline. But a repeat of Campbell's try was denied by the solid Basque defence, and Bayonne held on for a vital win.

Things got worse for Montpellier when, midway through the first half, VIP guests to the pre-match dinner including Bayonne mayor Jean Grenet started to succumb to a case of food poisoning. According to reports, some 50 guests were affected, with 15 being taken to hospital.

Bayonne's next match is the delayed eight-pointer at Bourgoin next Saturday afternoon. That has become a must-win for the Easterners, who lost 22-16 to Stade Francais this afternoon.

Bourgoin raced into a 13-0 lead after 30 minutes, referee M. Reboball awarding a penalty try on nine minutes when Paris had no option but to pull down a powerful Bourgoin forward drive, and Benjamin Boyet adding the conversion and two penalties.

But the hosts hadn't banked on an instant response to Boyet's second penalty, awarded when undisciplined hooker Mathieu Blin was yellow carded for playing the ball on the ground. From the restart, scrum-half Noel Oelschig orchestrated a superb flowing movement which ended with winger Julien Arias racing over in the corner.

The half ended with Bourgoin still 13-5 ahead, but five minutes into the second period, another superb team move ended with Arias crossing for his second try, and the Parisians' push for victory succeeded on 58 minutes when replacement prop Rayno Gerber continued his torture of opposite number Arnauld Tchougong in the scrums and won a penalty which Lionel Beauxis converted.

Paris piled on the pressure but the win was only sealed with five minutes to go, that man Arias latching onto a long looping Oelschig pass and racing in for his third try. Alberto di Bernardo salvaged a bonus point with a penalty two minutes from time but all minds will soon have turned to next Saturday's showdown with Bayonne.

For the Parisians, the win marks their first away victory of the season, and lifts them into seventh place, above both Brive and Biarritz, who played out a poor contest on Friday night.

The third team in the relegation fight, Montauban, achieved a 16-13 win over champions and league leaders Perpignan. The ding-dong battle was settled by ex-Usapiste Cedric Rosalen 20 minutes from time, the Sapiac outside-half kicking his third penalty to add to his conversion of Rida Jahouer's 14th minute try. Following a strong charge by the home pack, scrum half Julien Audy slipped a blindside pass to Jahouer and the hosts were 7-3 up, USAP outside half Nicolas Laharrague having kicked an earlier penalty.

Two Rosalen penalties made it 13-3, but Perpignan closed the gap minutes before half time, an enormous shove from the USAP pack on the Montauban line seeing Henry Tuilagi score, but referee M. Maciello awarding a penalty try for good measure.

USAP spent much of the second half with 14 men as first Perry Freshwater (stamping) and then centre Gavin Hume (shoulder charge) were sent to the sinbin. Laharrague still had the territory to kick a 30-metre drop goal in between the dismissals, and although Rosalen's penalty was the ultimate match-winner, his only miss of the afternoon - a 43-metre effort eight minutes from time - set up a finale that saw Perpignan pick-and-go their way to within 10 metres of the Montauban line, only for the home defence to keep them out for their first win in five.

The third away win at the day came, surprisingly, at Toulouse, where Toulon came away 6-3 winners after Felipe Contepomi, Florian Fritz and David Skrela gave a lesson in how not to kick goals.

They did manage three goals between them, of course, Skrela opening the scoring six minutes into the second half with a penalty after he and Fritz had put a penalty and a drop goal each wide.

Toulon's Argentinian fly-half took even longer to break his duck, finally kicking a penalty on 58 minutes after two early misses and 10 first-half minutes spent in the sinbin for being caught offside. He'd also missed two kickable drop goal attempts, and a 50-metre, 73rd minute penalty which would have put the game beyond doubt dipped just short, but Toulouse offered little in the last quarter and Toulon held on for an unlikely win.

To be fair Toulouse had the only try chance of the dire 80 minutes, winger Yves Donguy racing towards the line just before the interval, but Joe van Niekerk was on hand to force a Donguy foot into touch. Coach Guy Noves may bemoan the loss of his seven French internationals for this match, but any team that can be below par and still field the likes of Louis Picamoles, Byron Kelleher, Cedric Heymans, Florian Fritz, Yann David and Maxime Medard really should put the visitors away.

Castres were two minutes from claiming another away win at Stade Colombes, only for Racing-Metronome Jonathan Wisniewski's late penalty to force a 24-all draw.

Racing had made the running in the first half, scoring two tries through centres Francois Steyn and Henry Chavancy. Steyn's 19th minute score was the best of the day, a superb solo effort that saw him bamboozle opposite number Pierre-Emmanuel Garcia to break the line before pinning his ears back and beating full back Romain Teulet for pace.

Chavancy's try was no less impressive, Wisniewski releasing the backs and Chavancy and Julien Saubade playing the perfect one-two to send the centre over in the corner.

With Racing leading 18-9, Castres' comeback began with the first whistle of the second half. The Parisians were caught offside from the first move of the half, allowing Teulet to pop over a 22-metre penalty. The Castres full-back, making the most of Jonny Wilkinson's absence to kick his way to top spot in the Top 14 points table, added another on 51 minutes, and tied the scores with his fourth kick of the afternoon when Racing lock Johnny Leo'o was yellow carded for a late tackle on Cameron McIntyre.

Teulet gave Castres the lead on 62 minutes with a drop goal from all of 50 metres, the 18-21 deficit enough for Racing to wake up and make some headway. The result was immediate, Wisniewski levelling the scores from 22 metres. With seven minutes to go, Teulet's seventh kick of the day restored Castres' lead, and another shot at a 50-metre drop would have settled the match, but it fell short, leaving Wisniewski to punish an infringement from Yannick Diarra and land his late equaliser.

The two points are good enough to take Castres back to the top of the table, a point ahead of Perpignan. The Catalans are ahead of Clermont on their head-to-head result alone, and all three are a full five points clear of Toulouse.

Clermont's latest victory was a 45-18 defeat of Albi. It's their fourth bonus-point win in a row at Stade Michelin, the first of their seven tries being scored by the returning Marius Joubert after just three minutes. Alexandre Lapandry, Loic Jacquet, Alexandre Audebert and Kevin Senio added tries before the break, with Vincent Debaty and Senio's second completing the rout after the interval. Brock James converted five of the tries, with Anthony Poujol and Iulian Dumitras scoring two consolation efforts for Albi.

Clermont host Perpignan in the pick of the next round's matches, to be played over the weekend of March 6.