Biarritz's flanker Samiu Vahafolau tackles Toulouse's Maxime Medard during their clash at Parc des Sports Aguilera © Getty Images

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Matches: Stade Français 13 - 13 Perpignan | Biarritz 17 - 13 Toulouse | Castres 11 - 11 Brive | Clermont Auvergne 44 - 10 Bayonne | Montpellier 23 - 14 Dax | Toulon 38 - 22 Mont-de-Marsan

Players/Officials: Philippe Saint-Andre | Tana Umaga

Tournaments/Tours: French Top 14 | French Top 14

Teams: France

Top 14 leaders Toulouse suffered only their third league defeat of the season on Saturday but managed to cling onto top spot as their nearest rivals failed to capitalise.

Guy Noves side were beaten 17-13 by Biarritz at the Parc des Sports Aguilera in a result that also brought their record run of 11 consecutive league victories to an end. A try from fly-half Julien Peyrelongue and 12 points from the boot of scrum-half Dimitri Yachvili saw Biarritz ease their own relegation fears.

Toulouse had led 13-8 at the break thanks to a try from Maxime Medard, a conversion and penalty from David Skrela and a drop goal from Cedric Heymans but they were unable to hold off the Basque side in the second half.

However, Toulouse retained top spot after their title rivals Stade Francais were held to an 11-11 draw by Perpignan in front of a 80,000 capacity crowd at the Stade de France. The Parisians were denied victory by a last-gasp penalty from Perpignan fly-half Dan Carter that capped a dramatic comeback.

The hosts had led 7-0 at half-time thanks to a try from fullback Lionel Beauxis who also added the conversion. The second period began with the sin-binning of Stade centre Mathieu Bastareaud and Perpignan flanker Ovidiu Tonita following an altercation and the visitors were soon down to 13-men when prop Marius Tincu was yellow carded.

Stade fly-half Juan-Martin Hernandez hammered home his side's advantagewith a penalty before Carter got Perpignan on the scoreboard with a penalty of his own. But Hernandez cancelled out that score just short of the hour mark.

Perpignan rallied once more with a try from Maxime Mermoz as the game entered the closing stages which Carter also converted. As the pressure mounted on the hosts, Bastareaud was given his marching orders for his second yellow card offence that offered Carter the chance to level things up - which he duly took.

As a result Toulouse continue to lead the table with Stade two points adrift and Perpignan a further two points back.

Elsewhere on Saturday, Clermont Auvergne powered past Bayonne 44-10 at Stade Marcel Michelin where fly-half Brock James celebrated signing a new deal with a 24-point haul courtesy of a try, five conversions and three penalties. Julien Malzieu, Alexandre Lapandry, David Zirakashvili and John Senio also grabbed tries for the hosts who cemented fourth place in the table with their latest success.

Meanwhile, lowly Castres were denied only their fourth win of the season as Brive snatched an 11-11 draw at Stade Pierre-Antoine and Montpellier heaped pressure on Dax with a 23-14 win at Stade Yves du Manoir. In the day's other game, Bourgoin upset Montauban with a 25-15 win at Stade Pierre Rajon.

In the first game of the weekend on Friday night, Toulon eased their relegation fears with a 38-22 victory over bottom-placed Mont-de-Marsan at Stade Mayol.

Toulon coach Tana Umaga was widely expected to make his playing return in the game after announcing his intention to come out of retirement earlier this week, however the 35-year-old failed to gain clearance in time and had to watch from the sidelines as another New Zealander provided a telling contribution.

The victory, Toulon's first league success since November, was largely orchestrated by former rugby league star Sonny Bill Williams who scored one try and created another. Martin Jagr and Sinoti Sinoti both grabbed a brace with fly-half Tusi Pisi kicking two conversions and three penalties to seal the bonus point win.

The home side had to rally from a 19-13 half-time deficit after a try from Mont-de-Marsan winger Jean-Marc Mazonetto and 11 points from the boot of Yannick Lafforgue and another penalty from Damien Cler had offered hope of an upset. But a further penalty from Laffordgue was all they could muster in the second half.

Umaga, whose last appearance as a player came in August 2007 for Wellington, should receive his registration next week. The win also caps a good week for the club with former French winger and current Sale coach Philippe Saint-Andre confirmed as the club's new sporting director for next season.