Clermont made it nine wins out of nine in the Top 14 after defeating close rivals Toulouse 23-11 on their own patch to extend their lead at the summit of the table to five points.

The home side's star wing Vincent Clerc was carried off with a knee injury that has ruled him out for nine months as Toulouse were also denied a bonus point because of the large gap in scores.

Clermont captain Aurelien Rougerie scored two tries, both converted by Brock James, as the leaders pressed home their advantage at the top.

James also added three penalties while Toulouse's only try came courtesy of Yannick Nyanga after good work by Cedric Heymans and Maxime Medard.

France scrum-half Jean-Baptiste Elissalde sent over two penalties for Toulouse but missed other attempts. His international team-mate Clerc spilled the ball while twisting his knee and the home fans were forced to watch agonisingly as another France wide man Rougerie collected and ran 60 metres to score.

He added another later to secure the win, putting Clermont one win away from Stade Français's record of ten consecutive victories in the league.

Clerc will miss the last-four clashes at Twickenham.

In the night's other matches Perpignan beat Bayonne 38-13, Brive hammered Dax 30-0, Stade Français beat Montauban 25-18, Albi triumphed 25-12 over Montpellier and Biarritz had too much for Auch, running out 26-3 winners.

Jonathan Symcox / Eurosport