Both Lyon and Bordeaux went into Sunday's (AEST) fixtures on the back of three straight wins and duly extended their streaks in some style.

Full-back Toby Arnold scored three of Lyon's nine tries in a 59-3 thumping of Brive while Bordeaux put Stade Francais to the sword 52-3.

Toulouse, meanwhile, finished with 14 men in a 28-13 loss at La Rochelle, which made it three defeats from four to start its title defence.

It trailed only 9-6 at the break but Wiaan Liebenberg and Arthur Retiere went over for La Rochelle before Werner Kok's red card on his Toulouse full debut for striking Jules Favre with his forearm effectively put the match beyond doubt.

Last season's runner-up Clermont Auvergne was boosted by the presence of Morgan Parra for the first time since May but suffered its second consecutive defeat, losing 37-28 at home to Pau, for which Colin Slade tallied 20 points.

Promoted Bayonne saw off Castres 27-17 thanks predominantly to the boot of Brandon Fajardo, who kicked four penalties and a conversion for the Basque side.