ARGENTINA WINGER SANTIAGO Cordero scored two tries as Bordeaux-Begles regained first place in the French Top 14 with a 27-23 victory at Pau.
Bordeaux-Begles had temporarily dropped to second spot following Lyon’s convincing victory over Bayonne on Saturday but they are now two points clear.
Pau, who were without suspended ex-All Blacks fullback Ben Smith, move up to 10th thanks to a late bonus point.
“Obviously being the leaders in December is good but what we want is to be top at the end of the season,” Bordeaux-Begles coach Christophe Urios said.
“The game went as I imagined, apart from the last 10 minutes, which we could have managed better,” he added.
Australia back-rower Scott Higginbotham crossed for the visitors on 23 minutes after Antoine Hastoy had slotted an early penalty for the home side at the Stade du Hameau.
Pau, without a league win since 9 November, were back in the lead less than 10 minutes later with Vincent Pinto’s effort.
But Cordero, 24, touched down twice in a 10-minute spell either side of the break after two clever kicks from one-time France international Mathieu Jalibert.
Bordeaux-Begles were awarded a penalty try with 20 minutes to go after pressure inside the Pau half but the home side closed the gap to 27-20 on 67 minutes as New Zealander Daniel Ramsay dotted down.
Despite Pau’s late efforts, including a Hastoy penalty which clinched a defensive bonus point, the travelling side held on to go back to the top and stretched their unbeaten run to eight matches in all competitions.
Elsewhere, La Rochelle — coached by Ronan O’Gara — scored six tries as they hammered Agen 40-8 to move up to fourth in the table and Clermont survived a valiant Castres second-half fightback to win 39-22.
Later, title holders Toulouse host Toulon with France scrum-half Antoine Dupont set to make his first appearance for the home side since suffering a back injury at the World Cup in October.
On Saturday, South Africa World Cup winner Handre Pollard scored his first try for Montpellier in a 20-20 draw with bottom side Stade Francais.
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