First-half try doubles from Mathis Castro Ferreira and Fijian Setareki Bituniyata, allied with nine points from the boot of Baptiste Germain, were enough to see Toulouse pull away and hold their lead over the club placed 13th in the league.

Cobus Reinach, a member of South Africa's World Cup-winning squads in 2019 and 2023, notched up his own brace of tries after former All Black George Bridge had crossed for the first of Montpellier's three tries, all also coming in a frantic opening 40 minutes.

The result leaves Montpellier wallowing at the wrong end of the table with just two matches of the regular season to contest.

Should Lyon beat Racing 92 later Saturday, Montpellier would likely be condemned to a relegation play-off against the losing finalists from the second-tier Pro D2.

Defending two-time Champions Cup winners La Rochelle play Pau as they seek to make the play-offs and avoid a trophy-less year

Other crunch matches on the weekend see second-placed Stade Francais (67pts) host Bordeaux-Begles, in third on 63pts, on Sunday.

The top two in the final standings go directly into the semi-finals with teams placed third to sixth going into the play-offs.

Fourth-placed Toulon (59pts) travel to bottom club Oyonnax and Racing, in fifth, are away at Lyon. Castres face a crucial away trip to Clermont while Bayonne host Perpignan.