A try by former NRL star Sonny Bill Williams has helped big-spending Toulon secure a French Top 14 semi-final spot on Saturday.

The former Bulldog scored one of two tries for Toulon in their 26-23 win over Brive which secured second place in France's premier rugby union competition.

Defending champions Perpignan also secured a semi-final berth with a 44-0 thrashing of relegated Albi, while triple European Cup winners Toulouse claimed home advantage for the play-offs with a 25-17 win over Castres.

The pair will meet again in the first weekend of the finals with the winner to meet Perpignan on May 14 for a place in the final, while Toulon will face either Clermont or Racing-Metro in their semi-final.

Perpignan ran in six tries against hapless Albi through Gregory Le Corvec (2), Rimas Alavarez-Kairelis, Jerome Porical, Jean-Philippe Grandlcaude and Philip Burger.

For Toulon, Argentine star Felipe Contepomi kicked three penalties and converted his side's two tries which came through Fijian centre Gabirieli Lovobalavu and Williams.

Perpignan lock forward Olivier Olibeau said his team had even surprised themselves by finishing top of the table.

"It was a great performance after last year's title. If you had said at the start of the season that we would finish top, it would have been hard to believe," he said.

"It's good to have three weeks to prepare for the semi-finals."

Clermont wrapped up third place with a 26-19 win at Biarritz who just missed the play-offs but will face Munster in the European Cup semi-finals next weekend.

Racing-Metro slumped to a 41-17 loss against Paris rivals Stade Francais, but their place in the play-offs was already assured.

The final day of the regular season also witnessed retirements.

Former France international back Nicolas Brusque ended his professional career in front of his home fans at Biarritz, admitting defeat to a series of knee injuries.

Stade Francais hooker Mathieu Blin also called it a day after 13 seasons with the club.

Brought to you by AAP © 2024 AAP