PARIS - Stade Francais dug in for a 29-25 win over Castres as the early match of round four of the French Top 14 rugby championship went down to the wire on Saturday. The win puts Stade Francais provisionally top of the standings a point ahead of La Rochelle who host Lyon later Sturday, and Brive, who travel to Grenoble on Sunday. Lacking the dramatic edge from their 30-30 draw at Clermont, Stade Francais nevertheless gave a good show against a direct rival for the final phase and ahead of two tricky trips south to Pau and Toulouse. But then as Plisson let six points go abegging, Argentine flyhalf Benjamín Urdapilleta kept Castres in touch 13-9 at half-time. They would never relinquish it, claiming a second win of the season after a 54-20 opening win over Grenoble.

Source: Bangkok Post September 10, 2016 16:52 UTC