Struggling French Top 14 rugby club Bayonne is hoping former Wallabies coach Eddie Jones can turn around their season.

Jones has been offered a consultancy role with the club, who suffered their 11th defeat of the campaign against surprise packets Racing Metro on Wednesday to remain in the relegation zone.

The Parisian club extended its winning run to 11 successive matches in all competitions with the 23-19 win.

Bayonne are 13th in the 14-team competition, with just four wins from their 15 matches and are waiting to see if Jones, who also coached the ACT Brumbies and Queensland Reds in the Super 14, will take up an offer to be a consultant for the club.

Racing lock and former France captain Lionel Nallet said that it had been a good run-out after the holiday break for the third-placed Metro.

"That really does us good because we had some concerns after the success we have enjoyed so far," said Nallet.

"We had the break, so we didn't know how we were going to react after returning. It is a nice victory."

Mark Gasnier's Stade Francais lost more ground as their disappointing season continued apace with a 25-23 reverse away at Montpellier which leaves them outside the positions to qualify for next season's European Cup.

They only had themselves to blame as they led with 25 minutes remaining thanks largely to two tries by Geoffroy Messina - both converted by Lionel Beauxis - but Montpellier fullback Federico Todeschini was in masterful form with the boot and kicked 20 points.

Stade coach Jacques Delmas will be even less content, after expressing his anger at certain of the players returning sick or injured after the holiday break, at the fact that his side failed to score a point in the final 25 minutes while Montpellier scored 16.

Indeed Delmas - who was brought in earlier in the season to replace Australian Ewen McKenzie - was fuming.

"Our kicking game was non-existent, instead of continually kicking up and unders we should have been more perspicacious and effective in driving the opponents back into their territory.

"I cannot see how with a 14 point lead we could lose this match."

Stade Francais' position worsened as other teams above them in the European Cup positions won, Toulon walloping bottom-placed Albi 41-13 with England five-eighth Jonny Wilkinson landing 21 points.

Surprise competition leaders Castres also started well after the break, maintaining their position at the top with a 30-7 win over Montauban.

The stellar clash of the night saw Toulouse leapfrog Perpignan into fourth place as they beat them 22-11 to frustrate the visitors hopes of winning there for the first time since the 1981-82 season.

Mercurial French five-eighth Frederic Michalak kicked 11 points while fullback Clement Poitrenaud scored a decisive try eight minutes from time.

Clermont thrashed Brive 52-10 to move them into second place and face a mouthwatering clash with Toulon on Sunday.

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