Brive snatch victory with late Galala try
A last gasp try from Fijian centre Sevanaia Galala after the final buzzer gave Brive a dramatic 28-25 win over Montpellier in the French Top 14 on Sunday.
The victory, thanks mostly to 22 points from the boot of full-back Gaetan Germain, just about kept Brive in the race for a top six play-off finish, leaving them four points off Pau.
But the late try cost third-placed Montpellier dearly as they had looked set to earn a bonus point victory after tries from Alexandre Dumoulin, Timoci Nagusa and Bismarck Du Plessis had given them a 25-21 lead.
Instead they came away with just a losing bonus point and remain in the thick of the battle for play-off spots.
Montpellier would even lose third place later on Sunday if Toulon win away to Stade Francais.
An even first half finished 12-11 in Brive's favour as Germain kicked four penalties while Montpellier scored the only try through Dumoulin.
Fijian wing Nagusa crossed early in the second half, with South African Francois Steyn converting, to give Montpellier the lead for the first time in the match.
But the faultless Germain kicked three more penalties to put Brive 21-18 ahead with 15 minutes to play.
Du Plessis 76th minute try, driven over from close range after the powerful Montpellier forwards got on a roll, looked to have won the match as replacement fly-half Willie du Plessis converted.
But Galala and Brive had the final say as the Fijian twisted his way over the line to win the game.
On Saturday, leaders La Rochelle became the first side to book a play-off spot with a 23-13 victory at Pau that put them 11 points clear at the top and 26 points ahead of seventh place.
Champions Racing 92 kept their hopes of reaching the play-offs alive after holding off a stirring late Clermont fightback to win 27-24 in a match relocated to Lille and played in front of more than 31,000 fans.
Racing are just three points off the top six and with a game in hand.
Bordeaux-Begles also kept in the mix, and stayed level on points with Racing, by beating Toulouse 22-11.
It left record four-time European champions Toulouse five points off the top six in 10th and facing the prospect of missing out on the play-offs for the first time in the professional era.
Bayonne's imminent return to the second division inched closer as they were thrashed 52-7 at Lyon to remain 14 points from safety.