Mark Gasnier grabbed two tries as Stade Francais confidently defeated Brive 44-16 in the French Top 14 on Friday.
Gasnier, playing on the wing, scored twice in the space of four second-half minutes as Stade moved into fifth place in the table, three points behind leaders and champions Perpignan.
Victory was also the ideal warm-up for next Saturday’s European Cup opener at home to Edinburgh.
Stade ran in five tries in total with Antoine Burban, Geoffroy Messina and English flanker James Haskell all on the scoresheet.
With France and England national coaches Marc Lievremont and Martin Johnson looking on from the stands, and with the autumn internationals fast approaching, they could prove crucial scores.
Brive fly-half Andy Goode, also hoping to figure in Johnson’s plans, kicked two penalties and a drop goal before he was withdrawn just before the hour mark as his side kept one eye on their European Cup trip to Llanelli next weekend.
ThelmaWrites
Guest
Uh, I mean "The referee yellow-carded the Toulousse No 1".
ThelmaWrites
Guest
Is this the same Stade Francais that I watched against Toulousse? It was the worst game I've watched in years. SF kept attempting drop goals. Hardly any backline moves. The referee sent off the Toulouse No 1 at the start of the game for what looked like a spear tackle. Actually the latter tackled low at the legs and the SF player fell over on his head. SF did not release the ball in rucks and they weren't penaluzed. The game ended 9-9. If Michalak hadn'tkept missing his penalty kicks, Toulousse would have won. The Toulousse crowd kept booing him. Elissalde took over kicking duties, and slotted one. But much too late. I wondered if the woman featured on the front of the SF jersey was Simnone de Beauvior, but my daughter told me it was Queen Blanche de Castille, wife of Louis VIII.