Stade Francais beat Toulouse 18-17 in Top 14

Toulouse missed the chance to climb above Racing 92 and Clermont Auvergne as a controversial late Paul Williams try gave Stade Francais an 18-17 Top 14 victory.

Williams crossed the line with two minutes to play in Paris under pressure from three Toulouse defenders, but referee Laurent Cardona was unable to judge whether he had grounded the ball cleanly.

Initial replays appeared inconclusive, but the television official gave the go-ahead to award the try, with the five points enough to get Stade Francais back to winning ways and deny Toulouse a third victory in a row.

A tight game had been controlled by Toulouse for the opening 50 minutes with a try from Alexis Palisson and two Sebastien Bezy penalties, but Stade Francais came roaring back just before the hour.

Hugo Bonneval crossed for their first try just after a Jules Plisson penalty, the latter adding the conversion to Bonneval's score to move them ahead 13-11.

A further two penalties from Bezy looked to have sealed Toulouse's win until Williams found a way through, the wing capping a flowing move by scoring in the corner.

Victory sees Stade Francais move eight clear of the bottom two, while the losing bonus point ensures Toulouse remain third, level with their two rivals at the top.

Meanwhile, a James O'Connor double helped Toulon climb into fourth place as they bounced back from their recent defeat to Toulouse with a 21-17 win over Pau.

Australian wing O'Connor touched down either side of a Konstantin Mikautadze try as Toulon went 21-3 ahead, but they had to cling on as Pau finished well with Conrad Smith scoring late on.