Stade Francais showed it has the stomach for a relegation fight by beating Toulon 17-11 in its first game since a player strike, while Brive snatched a 28-25 Top 14 win over Montpellier.

Gonzalo Quesada praised the unity of his Stade players after they downed tools on the back of a sensational announcement that the club planned to merge with Racing 92.

A proposal to join forces with its Paris rival was soon scrapped and Stade turned its attention back to a bid to avoid the drop, claiming a tense win in a contest which included six yellow cards to go 11 points clear of second-bottom Grenoble.

Both sides had three players sent to the bin, the first of which was Toulon wing Bryan Habana, on a night in which the three-time European champion - which started with Guilhem Guirado and Ma'a Nonu on the bench - was unable to claim its first away victory since last October.

Four Jules Plisson penalties put Stade 12-3 up at half-time and it had a 14-point advantage when Waisea Nayacalevu charged over for the opening try eight minutes into the second half.

Toulon's powerhouse centre Mathieu Bastareaud ploughed his way over for a try which Francois Trinh-Duc converted midway through the second half, but Stade saw out a much-needed win to spark jubilant scenes.

Third-placed Montpellier slipped up, with a last-gasp try from Sevanaia Galala giving Brive a dramatic win.

Brive was also indebted to Gaetan Germain, who scored 23 points with the boot to deny Montpellier after a Bismarck du Plessis try - the visitor's third of the match - five minutes from time looked set to be decisive.