James kicks Clermont to top spot

Australian fly-half Brock James kicked all of Clermont's points as the 2010 champions took pole position in the French Top 14 on Friday with a 9-6 win at Brive. James gave Clermont a 6-0 lead inside the first 13 minutes before Mahtieu Belie, who had missed two attempts, finally found the target in the 19th minute. In a scrappy affair, made harder by wet conditions underfoot, James extended Clermont's lead in the 53rd minute. Brive coach Ugo Mola was furious when his South African skipper Petrus Hauman opted to give replacement fly-half Julien Caminati a kick at the posts instead of a touch-finder in the last five minutes which could have set up a victory drive. Caminati was successful in cutting the deficit to 9-6, but Clermont held on to take victory. Toulouse can reclaim top spot later Friday if they defeat Montpellier in a repeat of last year's final.