Bordeaux-Begles hammer Stade Francais despite Jalibert injury

Bordeaux-Begles eased past Stade Francais 40-10 on Sunday in the French Top 14 but the result was overshadowed by the hosts' France fly-half Matthieu Jalibert suffering a thigh injury.

Debutant teenage winger Hugo Avogadro was one of six try-scorers for the home side, who moved to third place in the table and four points behind league leaders Lyon, who thrashed Pau 51-25 on Saturday.

Stade Francais made Bordeaux work hard in the first half, trailing by only two points at the break before the hosts ran away with it in the second half.

"We weren't happy with the first half but happy with how we found solutions in the second half," Bordeaux forwards coach Shaun Sowerby said.

Jalibert's injury could be bad news for France head coach Fabien Galthie as it comes just seven weeks out from hosting Fiji in the Nations Championship.

Jalibert has suffered injuries to his goal-kicking right leg in the past and would offer fierce competition to Romain Ntamack for the starting number 10 international shirt if fit.

Local broadcasters Canal+ said that 27-year-old Jalibert had told them he had suffered a thigh tear having earlier claimed it seemed like a dead leg.

"We gave them a hard time," Stade Francais fly-half Louis Foursans-Bourdette told reporters.

"One of their X-factors (Jalibert) suffered an injury and had to be replaced.

"Maybe it threw them off a bit," he added, before admitting that they were "swamped" in the second half.

"We didn't exist in the second half."

Bordeaux-Begles head coach Yannick Bru handed 19-year-old Avogadro his first club appearance with France flyer Louis Bielle-Biarrey rested in the stands.

The Parisians opened the scoring with a Foursans-Bourdette penalty before youngster Avogadro marked his bow with a fine finish on just his fifth appearance in senior rugby.

Avogadro, who joined Champions Cup holders Bordeaux-Begles from Grenoble, like Bielle-Biarrey, over the summer, dived over in the corner after evading three defenders.

Jalibert was then helped off the field after 14 minutes and was seen with an ice pack on his right thigh and crutches while sitting on the substitutes' bench.

Things went from bad to worse as Mathis Ibo crossed to give the visitors the lead but Bru's side moved back in front before the break despite wing Damian Penaud's yellow card after Jalibert's replacement Hugo Reus scored to make it 12-10.

Bordeaux dominated a one-sided second-half as France hooker Maxime Lamothe, English No.8 Tom Willis and wingers Arthur Retiere and Penaud crossed to secure a bonus point.

Elsewhere this weekend, Toulouse held on to edge promoted Vannes 29-23 in front of a sold-out Roazhon Park in Rennes to go second in the table.