Racing 92 close the gap as Top 14 leaders Clermont Auvergne lose again
As Dan Carter watched on, Racing 92 ran in three tries to beat Toulouse 28-13 and move into second place in the Top 14.
Racing 92 turned on the style to welcome Dan Carter to the Top 14 as they scored three tries in their 28-13 victory over Toulouse on Saturday.
Carter arrived in Paris on Friday and was introduced to the expectant Racing 92 faithful prior to kick-off, before watching on as they moved into second place in the table with a seventh win of the season.
A converted Henry Chavancy try just before the break gave Racing a 10-point advantage in a tight first half, before they turned the screw after the restart.
After Yoann Maestri was sent to the sin bin just before the hour, with Dimitri Szarzewski and Chris Masoe taking full advantage of Racing's extra man to move them clear in the final 10 minutes.
Maxime Machenaud – who shone throughout from scrum-half – kicked his 13th point of the match with a late penalty to complete victory for the hosts.
The win leaves Racing only one point behind Clermont Auvergne as the latter fell to a second successive defeat in the league, Toulon sending the leaders to a comprehensive 35-9 defeat.
Delon Armitage put Toulon ahead with a 15th-minute try after Morgan Parra had kicked Clermont in front early on.
And Toulon ruthlessly took apart the last season's runners-up, with Armitage and Eric Escande building their lead before a late Drew Mitchell try completed a superb win.
Brive climbed up to fourth as they crushed Oyonnax 34-9 with full-back Gaetan Germain accumulating 24 points in their bonus-point victory.
The defeat sees Oyonnax slip to the bottom of the table after Agen earned themselves a losing bonus point in a 23-18 defeat at the hands of Castres.
Meanwhile, Yann Lesgourgues scored a hat-trick for Bordeaux Begles as they cruised past Section Paloise 46-10.