By Jason Harris
October 9 2006

SKG GrAN Parma and the rest of the Groupama Super 10 teams took the weekend off as Italy played their RWC 2007 qualifier against Portugal. Glasgow saw off bottom-placed Borders at home and Narbonne ran Toulouse close at Stade Ernest Wallon, leaving with a losing bonus point. Carlo Festuccia was the sole representative from GrAN in Pierre Berbizier's 22, but the replacement hooker came on seven minutes into the second half to take over from Sarries hooker Fabio Ongaro to win his 21st cap for the Azzuri. Italy won the match played at L'aquila 83-0 with Bristol wing Marco Stanojevic scoring a try hat-trick on debut.

GrAN, currently sixth in the table, are back in Super 10 action next weekend when they play their Round 5 match at Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi against second placed Viadana, and could be boosted by the arrival of New Zealander Aaron Kimura, who has been playing at inside centre for Tasman in the Air New Zealand Cup alongside England 7s specialist Ben Gollings.

In France, Narbonne travelled to Stade Toulousain more in hope than expectation given the two teams' postitions in the Top 14, but they turned in a good peformance running the three-time European Champions close in a high-scoring affair, going down 40-34. Outside half Cedric Rosalen's conversion of wing Adrien Plante's 79th minute try giving RCNM a deserved bonus point as they had kept their illustrious hosts in check for most of the game.

Narbonne started well with "La Perle du Congo", prop Guylain Bonzolé Mololo crossing for the first try of the match after just two minutes, but in a game that finished with each side scoring three tries apiece, Jean-Baptiste Ellisalde kept Toulouse just ahead with seven penalties and two conversions. Rosalen converted the first and third RCNM tries and also booted four penalties and dropped a goal for a personal haul of 19 points. Narbonne's other try, their second, came on 39 minutes and was scored by the other wing, Vincent Noutary.

Narbonne, still in 12th place in the table on 18 points, are back at home at Parc des Sports et de l'Amitié in Round 11 against Heineken Cup-bound Bourgoin who are four places and four points ahead of them in the table.

Glasgow Warriors played their second all-Scottish Magners League game in a week as they welcomed basement-dwellers Border Reivers to Hughenden, and they duly delivered a performance according to the form book, running out easy 25-0 winners.

Although the scoreline was convincing, Glasgow managed to score just the one try from former Wasps wing Thom Evans, while fly half Colin gregor converted and added six penalty goals.

The Warriors are now in 9th place in the Magners league, one of three teams on 10 points, although they have played two more games than the two sides above them - Cardiff Blues and Newport-Gwent Dragons - and one more than 11th placed Munster. This Friday they travel to the Liberty Stadium to take on the Ospreys who lie in fifth place in the table.

BBC2W, Sky Channel 991, will give Sarries fans an early opporutnity to take a look at the team that will be the Men in Black's first European test on 22 October, as the game in Swansea will be televised live, kick-off at 7.10pm.