Romain Ntamack scored an early try for Toulouse but the French champions had to scrap hard to secure a narrow 17-15 win at Montpellier in round three of the Top 14 on Saturday which maintains their perfect start to the season and their place at the top of the table.

Leading 17-10, Toulouse had to play the last five minutes with just 13 men on the field because of a yellow card and a lack of props. Vincent Rattez pulled back a try for the home side but Paolo Garbisi missed the touchline conversion which would have levelled the scores.