Toulon shrug off Kolbe absence to down Toulouse

Toulon shrugged off the absence of injured South African star Cheslin Kolbe to beat champions Toulouse 19-15 and boost their push for a Top 14 play-off spot on Saturday.

World Cup winger Kolbe will be sidelined for several weeks with a broken thumb.

It was fellow winger and French international Gabin Villiere who grabbed the headlines at a sold-out Stade Velodrome in Marseille with the only try of the match nine minutes from time after beating four defenders.

Toulouse, without their Six Nations half-back stars Antoine Dupont and Romain Ntamack, scored all their points courtesy of the boot of Thomas Ramos.

The win pushed Toulon into eighth place in the table, three points behind Toulouse in race for the play-offs.

#TOP14 #RCTSTAprès un match à suspens les joueurs du @RCTofficiel ont bien mérité leur tour d’honneur dans le Stade Vélodrome Bravo aux deux équipes pour ce match dans un stade bouillant ?? pic.twitter.com/kXYvRjC07w

Racing92 ran in five tries to defeat Biarritz 40-7 to go fifth.

Two of the tries came from international winger Teddy Thomas who said he wants to deliver the Top 14 title to the Paris club before moving to La Rochelle in the summer.

"I've been here for eight years but unfortunately, I didn't win a title," he said.

"There are a lot of players leaving Racing. We are all committed to winning something, whether it's the European Cup or the Top 14. We give 200 percent to be able to leave this club with our heads held high and make it proud."

Castres boosted their hopes of a place in the play-offs with a grinding 12-0 win at home to Clermont.

In filthy conditions with driving rain, Castres, who have yet to lose at home this season, were unable to cross the paint, but four penalties from Argentinian flyhalf Benjamin