Paris (AFP)

Toulon, one of the favorites of the European Challenge this season, beat the Scarlets after nearly ten extra minutes (17-16) and Bordeaux-Bègles brought a good draw from Edinburgh (16-16) on Friday for the first matches of the 2nd day.

The Varois believed in it and they were right. Almost ten minutes after the siren, Anthony Belleau scored - on pole returning! - the transformation of the victory after a test of Charles Ollivon. Toulon struggled against the Welsh, yet came without their international rested, and who played all the second period outnumbered.

A success that changes everything in Pool 2: instead of giving the lead to their main rivals, the Toulonnais take the lead (9 points) and take a step towards qualifying.

This was also done by UBB bringing back two points of the Scottish capital. There too, the Bordeaux had the last word against the poles, equalizing two minutes of the term on a penalty of Matthew Jalibert. New Caledonians and Girondins share the head of Pool 3 with 7 points each.

In Pool 5, Pau crushed without surprise the modest Italians of Calvisano (61-10). In Pool 4, Brive, more motivated by the challenge of maintaining the top 14 than the second European competition, failed to score any point against Bristol, surprise leader of the championship of England. The Bears performed a demonstration in Corrèze (36-0).

© 2019 AFP