Toulouse (AFP)

Racing 92 suffered on Saturday to beat Lyon, on the 16th day of the Top 14, and keep pace with the leader Toulouse, winner the day before;

UBB confirmed its good momentum and Montpellier relapsed, weighed down by a record Urdapilleta with Castres.

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Deja vu for Racing

As against La Rochelle last week, Racing 92 got off to a flying start against Lyon, in the softness of its Arena, with two tries and an 18-0 in the first quarter of an hour.

As against La Rochelle, Racing 92 also lowered its tone then to give hope to its opponent, revived by a hat-trick from international winger Noa Nakaitaci.

But as against La Rochelle, Racing 92, deprived of its internationals, held out to the end to clinch the victory (34-26), after a saving interception from François Trinh-Duc, and stay in contact with the leader Toulouse, now three points ahead.

With this fourth setback in five matches, the LOU, in the hard for several weeks, remains unsuccessful at the door of the Top 6.

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The Urdapilleta festival

Two tries, an insolent success against the poles, a caviar at the foot ... The Castres opener Benjamin Urdapilleta has shown all the colors in Montpellier (48-17).

With 33 points all by himself, he broke the record for points scored in a Top 14 match, until then jointly held, with 32 points, by Cédric Rosalen (with Narbonne) and Benjamin Boyer (with Bayonne).

In the wake of the 34-year-old Argentinian, who recently extended his tenure in the Tarn by one season, the Castres took with this enhanced victory a very serious option on maintenance.

Opposite, the improvement will have been short-lived for Montpellier.

The MHR, 12th, quickly fell back into its pitfalls after ending last weekend, against Stade Français, a series of seven consecutive defeats.

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UBB on its way

What if the tide had turned in 2021 for the UBB?

Undisputed leader of the Top 14 when the championship was brought to a halt by the Covid last year, the Gironde club seemed, at first, to have trouble digesting this misfortune.

But he resumed his march forward since the beginning of January, with five wins (and one draw) in six matches against as many direct competitors for the final phase, including the French Stadium swept 44-6 on Saturday in Chaban-Delmas.

This improved success, at the end of a very quickly one-sided meeting, allows Christophe Urios' men to climb to fourth place in the standings.

The Parisians will have to them very quickly correct the shooting away if they want to keep any hope of catching the Top 6. Problem: they will move next week to La Rochelle, intractable on its ground.

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The other matches

The 16th day will continue on Saturday evening with Toulon-La Rochelle (9:05 pm) and will end on Sunday with Bayonne-Brive (7:05 pm).

The match between Agen and Clermont was postponed to February 27 due to several positive cases for Covid-19 in the ranks of Auvergne.

© 2021 AFP