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Toulouse's Jaminet set to miss Champions Cup semi after Stade Francais loss

Stretchered off: Melvyn Jaminet. ©AFP

Paris (AFP) - Toulouse head coach Ugo Mola said full-back Melvyn Jaminet is likely to miss next weekend's Champions Cup semi-final after suffering an ankle injury in the 19-10 French Top 14 loss at Stade Francais on Saturday.

French international Jaminet, 23, left the field in the first half on a stretcher, a week before next Saturday's trip to Leinster in the last four.

"I'm not a doctor but apparently everything cracked," Mola told reporters.

"We'll take the time to do the necessary tests.It looks bad for the coming two, three weeks," he added.

Mola made eight changes from last weekend's win over Lyon, including resting the likes of half-backs Antoine Dupont and Romain Ntamack, highlighting the importance of the Champions Cup to record five-time winners.

Toulouse remain top of the table despite defeat as the third-placed Parisians move six points behind La Rochelle, in second, with three rounds of the regular season remaining.

French rugby's two most decorated sides were equal at 10-10 after half an hour as the visitors' Pierre Fouyssac responded to Lester Etien's early try.

Jaminet and the Parisians' Joris Segonds slotted penalty goals in front of a sold-out crowd at Stade Jean-Bouin, a first full-house since 2015.

With four minutes of the half to play, however, Jaminet was carried off the field after a tackle on the touchline, and was walking on crutches at full-time.

Fly-half Segonds, the league's top points scorer this season, made sure of the victory with three further penalties after the break.

Leyds on form

La Rochelle's South Africa winger Dillyn Leyds scored as they beat Clermont 26-13 before next Sunday's Champions Cup last four tie with Exeter.

Champions Cup holders La Rochelle welcome the English side to a sold-out Matmut Atlantique, which holds 42,000 people.

Leyds claimed a 78th-minute bonus point with his try as his club moved within a point of Toulouse.

"It would be a lie to say that no-one is thinking about the semi-final, but today we needed points in the Top 14," La Rochelle full-back Brice Dulin told reporters.

"There were moments when they made things difficult for us so it's the perfect preparation for next week," he added.

Bayonne, in eighth, are still in the hunt for the play-offs as ex-France fly-half Camille Lopez slotted his seventh drop goal of the season with four minutes left in the 33-30 victory over champions Montpellier.

Earlier in the day, French media reported Montpellier were set to pull out of a deal to sign Exeter's Luke Cowan-Dickie after the England hooker failed to turn up to a second of two days of medical examinations.

"I have no comment to make," Montpellier head coach Saint-Andre said."There will be a statement from the club," he added.

On Sunday, Lyon visit Bordeaux-Begles in the fight for the play-offs, with 20-year-old Mateo Garcia making just his fifth senior start for the home side.

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