Stade beat Racing in Paris derby, Clermont overcome Agen
Waisea Nayacalevu scored a first-half double as Stade Francais consigned Racing 92 to a 27-17 derby defeat and Clermont Auvergne beat Agen despite a George Tilsley hat-trick.
Racing, without fly-half Pat Lambie due to an injury sustained in the warm-up, faced their Paris rivals full of confidence following a run of four consecutive wins, but came unstuck at Stade Jean Bouin on Sunday and trail leaders La Rochelle by six points.
Stade opened up a 24-7 lead at half-time and the 2016 champions were unable to recover, Nayacalevu crossing twice in the space of 10 minutes after an early Sekou Macalou try.
Jules Plisson converted all three scores and landed a penalty in each half, as tries from So’otala Fa’aso’o and Brice Dulin were unable to prevent Racing from slumping to a defeat to their struggling hosts.
Victory for 11th-placed Stade was only their fifth in the Top 14 this season, though Racing remain fourth.
#TOP14, J12 | #SFPR92
? Vous avez élu @MacSekou Homme du Match entre le @SFParisRugby et le @racing92 !cc @Paramourdurugby pic.twitter.com/iPBaFIvnBH
— TOP 14 Rugby (@top14rugby) December 3, 2017
Clermont are still eighth following a 35-26 win over second-bottom Agen.
Sebastien Vahaamahina, Peceli Yato, Benjamin Kayser, Remi Lamerat and David Strettle went over for Clermont, with Tilsley’s treble proving to be in vain.