Johan Goosen kicked 11 points as Racing beat Montpellier 21-9, while there were also Top 14 wins for Bordeaux, Toulouse, Brive, Clermont, La Rochelle and Lyon.

The most anticipated game of the weekend failed live up to its billing, as Racing and Montpellier unsuccessfully wrestled for ascendancy in the opening 60 minutes, before two late tries sealed it for the hosts.

Goosen, playing at fullback, slotted three penalties as the sides remained deadlocked at 9-9 heading into the final 10 minutes. Montpellier’s backline uncharacteristically featured no South Africans, but Pierre Spies, Wiaan Liebenberg, Nicolaas Janse van Rensburg and Jannie du Plessis started in the pack.

With the scores tied, a lapse in concentration saw Racing breach Montpellier’s defence twice in the space of five minutes to gain the lead. Goosen converted one of two tries to finish the game as the top point-scorer.

Meanwhile, Bordeaux scored four tries to claim a comfortable 37-19 win over Stade Français. Scrumhalf Rory Kockott kicked five penalties, but his effort was only enough to earn Castres a losing bonus point as they lost 16-15 to Toulouse.

Competition pacesetters Clermont ground out a 21-20 victory against a brave Grenoble outfit. Wing Gio Aplon scored Grenoble’s opening try. Brive recorded an easy 26-9 win at home over the struggling Bayonne.

On Sunday, star-studded Toulon hit another bump in the road when they lost 27-13 to Lyon. Toulon rejects Delon Armitage and Frederick Michalak scored 17 points between them to lift Lyon against their former club. In the only other encounter, La Rochelle recorded a 27-6 bonus-point victory over Pau.

Round 10 results:

Racing 21 Montpellier 9
Bordeaux 37 Stade Français 19
Toulouse 16 Castres 15
Clermont 21 Grenoble 20
Brive 26 Bayonne 9
Lyon 27 Toulon 13
La Rochelle 27 Pau 6

Photo: Dave Winter/Getty Images