Clermont crush Racing, Toulon lose

Clermont hammered Racing 40-17, while there were also wins for Pau, Montpellier, Castres, Stade Français, Toulouse and Agen in the French Top 14.

Greig Laidlaw was the star of the show for Clermont, scoring 17 points via five penalties and a conversion.

The hosts raced out to a 19-3 lead at the break, courtesy of a converted try by centre Wesley Fofana, three Laidlaw penalties and a drop goal by Camille Lopez.

Racing came out firing in the second half as centre Virimi Vakatawa crossed the line in the first minute after the resumption to cut the deficit to nine points. But that would be their last points for some time as Clermont ran riot.

Two further tries and three penalties, including one from veteran Morgan Parra, propelled Clermont to a 40-10 advantage.

Racing scored a consolation try when new signing Simon Zebo dotted down in the 80th minute.

Elsewhere, Castres edged Lyon 19-16 and Stade Français downed Bordeaux 20-8. Castres and Stade, together with Clermont, are now the only undefeated teams left in the competition. They are separated by points difference at the top of the standings.

In other notable results, Montpellier beat La Rochelle 36-14, Pau inflicted a shock 20-10 defeat on Toulon, who are now rooted to the bottom of the log after a winless start to their campaign.

Toulouse edged Grenoble 23-20 and Agen beat Perpignan 25-23.

Round 2 results:

Clermont 40 Racing 17
Castres 19 Lyon 16
Stade Français 20 Bordeaux 8
Montpellier 36 La Rochelle 14
Pau 20 Toulon 10
Agen 25 Perpignan 23
Toulouse 23 Grenoble 20

Top 14 log

Photo: Getty Images

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