The boot of Zack Holmes had a major say on the outcome of the contest at Stade Marcel-Deflandre, where the Australian converted wing Gabriel Lacroix's 49th-minute try and kicked six penalties, two in the last seven minutes, as La Rochelle held off a second-half charge from the visitor.

Scrum-half Samuel Marques sent over five penalties and converted Semi Kunatani's try, but it was not enough for the sixth-placed away team.

In the other match, Toulonnais in third kept pace with the leader courtesy of a comfortable 31-12 triumph at home to Stade Francais.

Tries from Mathieu Bastareaud, Xavier Chiocci and Liam Gill in the first half and Ma'a Nonu in the second sealed the demise of third-bottom Stade Francais, which could only muster tries from Jules Plisson and Alipate Ratini in reply and it was held scoreless after the break at Stade Mayol.