Tag: sports

Two Top 14 sides made certain of their places in the post-season race for the Bouclier de Brennus, leaving eight teams chasing four still-open slots. At the other end of the table, relegation matters were decided

After the fireworks of ProD2 final Friday, the French top flight kicked up a storm to remind potential TV rights bidders just what they’ll be paying for between 2027 and 2031, after this week’s tender submission deadline.

READ ALSO TV deal to break €500m barrier

As the Top 14 crashed through the 900-try barrier for the season and screamed ever nearer to the 8,000-point mark, one side claimed a direct pass to a semi-final in Bordeaux; and another staked a certain claim to a top-six play-off spot, leaving up to eight teams fighting for the four remaining post-season knockout places. 

At the other end of the table, automatic relegation and survival play-off teams were confirmed on a decisive day at the business end of the season.

But, if you’re a Leinster fan here looking for news on how Toulouse’s stars got on in their final Top 14 match before Saturday’s Champions Cup final, there’s what could be some bad news in store.

Results

Clermont’s late-season revival and Racing’s late-season slow-death both continue, while Bayonne and Lyon both won big matches at home – while Montpellier and Oyonnax both lost games they really had to win. Here are the results from the 23rd weekend of the Top 14 season. 

Match of the weekend: Stade Francais 22 Bordeaux 18

Second-in-the-table Stade Francais have one hand on a semi-final pass, and both on a play-off place, after a hard-fought pragmatism-first win over third-placed Bordeaux in front of a crowd of more than 19,000 at Stade Jean Bouin. 

As fullback Leo Barre said: “We’ve got a toe in the semi-finals, but we’re not there yet.”

It was a match players and coaches alike had described, in various ways, as a must-win – and a much-needed one after two defeats on the bounce saw them lose their long-held position at the top of the table to reigning Top 14 champions Toulouse.

It was also a match in which 37-year-old scrum-half Rory Kockott – one-time senior-player mentor to both Antoine Dupont and Santiago Arata – rolled back the years, pulled strings, managed players and scored a crucial try as the hosts quickly recovered after shipping an early lead.

He, and fly-half Joris Segonds – who scored his first-ever Top 14 try in his 107th Top 14 match and also broke the 1,000 club points barrier, weeks before he switches club allegiances to Bayonne – had the better of international opposite numbers Maxime Lucu and Matthieu Jalibert.

Bordeaux, for all their off-the-scale attacking flair, found Paul Gustard’s defensive structures difficult to break down. It wasn’t for lack of effort – centre Ben Tapuai opened the scoring in the 8th minute, and Romain Latterrade added a second just before halftime. 

A forward pass ruled out an early second-half score for Louis Bielle-Biarrey; the referee was an unwitting obstacle in another breakout move; Pete Samu was stopped just short of the line; then Toma Taufa was prevented from grounding the ball in the in-goal area eight minutes from time; Leo Barre beat Lucu to the ball in the Stade scoring zone two minutes later.

It’s not the effort that matters, or the chances created, but the chances taken. Stade’s defence mostly held. They outscored their opponents’ vaunted attack three tries to two – Jeremy Ward adding his name to the list in the 55th minute – as they made hay while the visitors’ mounting frustration shone.

Bordeaux manager Yannick Bru called for Jalibert to kick a penalty for the losing bonus point three minutes from time. It was a sensible and pragmatic decision and the one time they played Stade’s game – otherwise they would have left with nothing.

READ ALSO Top 14 Saturday round-up

Individual performance

Mathis Castro-Ferreira. The 20-year-old missed Toulouse training this week because he was revising for a crucial exam – as were two of his team-mates. 

The day after sitting it, he scored twice in the first-half of Toulouse’s win over Montpellier that first ensured a play-off spot and then, thanks to results elsewhere, confirmed a semi-final place in Bordeaux at the back end of June.

Flop 

Racing 92 get this week’s flop nod for longer-term reasons, just slightly ahead – or behind, depending on your viewpoint – of Montpellier. Canal Plus pointed out a surprising stat at the weekend: since the halfway point of the season, Stuart Lancaster’s side have the second-worst record of any side in the Top 14. 

And three defeats on the bounce have left them hanging on to the sixth and final play-off spot. That leaves a proud record in serious danger: Racing have not missed a Top 14 play-off since 2010. But they’re just a point ahead of Pau and Clermont, and two clear of Perpignan and Castres.

They were at Lyon on Saturday, a side admittedly difficult to beat at home, and who secured Top 14 status next season with their 11th win at Stade Gerland. 

But Racing had their chances, notably at the end of the game, with the score at 20-14 in the hosts’ favour. Racing battered away at Lyon’s line, with the clock deep in the red, and Josua Tuisova dived over, only for Felix Lambey to snatch the ball out of his hands just before he got it down. 

This is what the win meant to the home side.

Nolan Le Garrec told broadcaster Canal Plus immediately afterwards: “It was hard for us today. We showed character, but it wasn’t enough. The championship’s not over yet, and we’ve got to keep our heads up.”

He wasn’t kidding: Racing are at home (read at Auxerre) to seventh-placed Pau on June 1, then travel to La Rochelle for the final round of the season a week later. That’s not a final fortnight fixture list for a faint-hearted side that have lost 12 of their 16 matches in 2024.

Coaching call

Clermont’s usually fairly conservative manager Christophe Urios has a reputation for occasionally doing the unexpected. On Saturday, for no immediately apparent reason, he swapped out his entire front row after half an hour of their 36-20 bonus-point win over Castres.

The starting trio didn’t seem to have done much wrong in the first 30 minutes. They weren’t being blown away at the set piece, and Clermont were 17-3 up. 

As a coaching switch-up, it didn’t do any harm, clearly. But it was hard to see during the game what purpose it served. There was no clear uptick in performance. The difference it made was, it seems, in hearts and minds rather than in performance and points.

Urios felt, he said afterwards, that his starting squad ‘lacked freshness’ after a long, unbroken block of games. He described them as ‘mentally exhausted’.

“I sensed it in the warm-up,” he said. “We were sluggish. At the start of the match, you hope it’s going to fade away, but in fact it didn’t … if I could have pulled eight players, I would have.”

Clermont won, picked up a bonus point, and – at the end of a season at Marcel Michelin that’s been more difficult than it perhaps should have been – have an unlikely shot at the top six. Go figure.

Talking point

Toulouse coach Ugo Mola rested almost every one of his ‘executive’ squad for the final Top 14 match – a trip to Montpellier – before the Champions Cup final in London. 

According to Canal, the average age of the Toulouse 23 at the GGL was around 24. And it included Piula Fa’asalele, who’s 36, and Richie Arnold, who’s 33. 

But there was no Antoine Dupont or Romain Ntamack, whose on-pitch appearances this week were limited to a parade around Stade Ernest Wallon with the Olympic flame. There was no Cyril Baille, or Julien Marchand; no Peato Mauvaka, Dorian Aldegheri, Emmanuel Meafou or Thibaud Flament. Francois Cros and Alexandre Roumat stayed at home – as did Thomas Ramos, Paul Graou, Pita Ahki, Mathis Lebel, and Paul Costes. 

Dupont got no gametime last week, either, watching from the subs’ bench as Graou carved Stade Francais apart. That means he’s fresh – and no little frustrated – heading into Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

And, still, Mola’s Babes beat Montpellier 29-22 at the GGL. They were leading 26-7 after half an hour, and played utterly fearless rugby all afternoon. Even after Montpellier roared back at them – two Cobus Reinach tries got the score back to 26-22 at halftime – they showed huge strength of character and defensive nous to nil them in the second half. 

It was, as assistant coach Laurent Thuery said afterwards, “frankly … magnificent.”

He went on: “We had no regrets. We had to play our rugby, and dare to try things. We knew Montpellier were going to be intense…  But in all honesty, bravo! I take my hat off to the players. They showed genuine attacking qualities, a magnificent state of mind, and great solidarity.”

Quote of the week

“We have to tell the lads that in four weeks’ time that we have something to do – a match with a colossal stakes. We won’t be playing for a title, but to maintain an institution in Top 14. We’ve got a month to try and stop playing against ourselves and beating ourselves up.”

Montpellier manager Patrice Collazo after that loss to Toulouse condemned them to a survival play-off against the losing ProD2 finalist on June 16.

Collazo and his crack team of coaches oversaw seven wins in their first 11 Top 14 matches after joining Montpellier in November. But, since they were hammered 54-7 at Toulon on March 23, they’ve picked up just three points out of a possible 30.

Still, it could have been worse: Toulon’s 27-17 win at Oyonnax at least meant the 2022 Top 14 champions cannot finish at the bottom of the table and be automatically relegated.

Small mercies, and all that.

Table

Here’s that Top 14 table after 24 of 26 rounds. 

Toulouse can finish no lower than second, guaranteeing themselves a direct path from the final weekend of the season on June 8 to the semi-finals in Bordeaux a fortnight later. 

Stade Francais have the upper hand in the race for the second semi-final pass, with teams as far down as Castres in 10th having a decreasingly likely shot at the post-season. Bayonne and Lyon, meanwhile made certain of Top 14 rugby next season.

My name is James Harrington. I’m a freelance sports journalist, writing mostly about French club and international rugby. If, after reading this, you feel the urge to commission me for match previews, reviews, articles, news, features, interviews, live blogs, feel free to contact me

And, please read my weekly French rugby column in The Rugby Paper every Sunday. And I also round-up all the weekend’s Top 14 action on the Irish Examiner website.

Toulouse and Clermont both won convincingly in the Top 14, a week ahead of their respective Champions Cup and Challenge Cup semi-finals.

Results

Toulouse, frankly, looked ominously good against Racing 92 – especially when Antoine Dupont came on in the second half. They are the only side unbeaten at home this season, and meet Harlequins in the Champions Cup semi-final at the officially neutral Stadium Toulouse next Sunday. 

Clermont’s match against leaders Stade Francais was brought forward 24 hours to Saturday night, to give them extra time to prepare for their Challenge Cup semi-final against Stormers at The Stoop.

And, with forgotten France winger Alivereti Raka scoring a hat-trick, Christophe Urios’s side played like a side in the running for qualification to the good post-season play-offs rather than one looking to avoid the bad Top 14 survival match against the losing ProD2 championship finalists.

They were helped, no doubt, by Stade back row Tanginoa Halaifonua’s 26th-minute red card. But six tries in a bonus-point 41-18 win, which saw them put eight points between themselves and 13th-placed Montpellier, leaves their domestic future firmly in their own hands, while the back door to next season’s Champions Cup is still very much open.

Elsewhere, Bayonne lost a Top 14 match at Jean Dauger for the first time since they returned to the upper echelon of the French championship, Oyonnax won a domestic match in 2024 for the first time and…

Match of the weekend

Montpellier 20 – Perpignan 25

By Montpellier manager Patrice Collazo’s count, Montpellier – 13th in the table, with four matches left close the five-point gap on Bayonne – were 10 points shy of where they should have been at the end of the first half alone. 

Given Montpellier 10-5 up at the end of a messy opening period in front of the first sell-out crowd at the GGL Stadium since April 2022, and 17-5 ahead after George Bridge’s try in the 46th minute, moments after a Jan Serfontein effort was disallowed, it was easy to believe much-needed league points were theirs for the taking. 

In truth, the tide was already turning. Collazo was right to be concerned that Montpellier hadn’t done enough in the first period. Perpignan’s Lucas Dubois stopped one last attack under the posts with the final play of the first-half, and Perpignan – roared on by some 4,000 visiting fans – believed. The home side, clearly, didn’t.

Confidence matters. Perpignan were looking for their fifth win in a row; Montpellier were desperate to avoid a fourth defeat on the bounce. And, 40 undisciplined minutes later, Montpellier paid the price. 

Baptiste Chalureau and Florian Verhaeghe were both carded, leaving the home side down a player for 20 crucial minutes, in which the Catalans scored two converted tries and a penalty, and take a lead they would never lose.

Franck Azema cannot pretend any more. Perpignan, briefly in the top six this weekend, have the play-offs in their sights. 

Individual performance

Matthieu Jalibert. Bordeaux’s fly-half is, rightly, lauded for his attacking instincts, his ability to turn a match with a break, a chip ahead, a moment of magic. 

And, in fairness, he showed off precisely these skills as Bordeaux emphatically ended Bayonne’s proud 27-month unbeaten Top 14 run at fortress Jean Dauger. He was, for example, key to both Louis Bielle-Biarrey’s tries. 

But sometimes it’s the bread-and-butter stuff that stands out. In a first-half played under prolonged and heavy April rain, Jalibert did the calm game-management stuff that he’s not noted for. His smart, sensible – and, yes, boring – kicking game kept Bayonne at arm’s length. 

You could tell he was doing it right. He earned the ire of the crowd. And, afterwards, the praise of halfback partner Maxime Lucu: “In the first half, we knew that the quality of our kicking would be crucial. [He] … did what was needed.”

Flop 

Castres Olympique. What can you say when, 10 minutes into the second period, you’re 12 points to the good, dominating possession and territory and apparently cruising against the bottom-of-the-table side, who haven’t won a Top 14 game in 2024, then concede two tries in three minutes after your tighthead prop is sent off for elbowing a defender in the throat, before your scrum-half also sees red for a reckless tackle leaving you to play the final quarter with 13, and then – remarkably – you’re somehow still in the game in the closing seconds and a lineout 5m from their line goes awry and your replacement tighthead concedes a crucial penalty allowing your opponents to clear their lines?

Perhaps it’s best to leave it to those involved, rather than put words in their mouths.

Castres’ winger Nathanael Hulleu had to field pitchside questions straight after the match. He said: “You can’t take two reds if you want to play in the top six, especially away from home against a hungry Oyonnax team. We had the game in hand, we let ourselves down. We had a very good first half … when we got into their half, we scored. 

“I don’t know what happened in the second half … We got a card, then a second one … and that puts them back in the game and the game turns at that point.”

Captain Mathieu Babillot had a little more time to think before speaking to reporters in the press room. He said: “We’re not going to make excuses, we’re the only ones responsible. That first red card hurt us. From then on, we found ourselves in a tight spot just when we had the opportunity to take the lead.”

And manager Jeremy Davidson, the day before his 50th birthday, added: “We need to look in the mirror. To win, we should have been more effective in the first half, but also more disciplined.

“We played with intensity but lacked precision … the two red cards totally changed the game. In attack, at the end of the match, we were unable to break through their curtain with 13 against 15. I was also disappointed with our scrum, which conceded the penalty that allowed Oyonnax to take the lead.”

We’ll leave it, there. But it’s probably fair to say the dressing room talk was rather more … blunt.

Coaching call

Toulon coach Pierre Mignoni made extensive changes to his squad for Sunday night’s match at La Rochelle from the one that had beaten Toulouse in Marseille the previous week. 

He insisted the team he put out at Stade Marcel Deflandre may have been very different, but was no weaker than the one that took to the Velodrome pitch. “[The] guys train very well,” he said, “there isn’t a three-class gap, let’s be very clear about that. These players have a real opportunity.

“I know they will fight and defend the jersey at 200%. They’re ready and determined. I have every confidence in this group.”

In the end, Toulon lost 27-17. In truth, the margin could, probably should, have been greater, as La Rochelle made heavy weather of their dominance. The French rugby press, Canal and both clubs will insist it was a close, hard-fought affair.

It was hard-fought, for sure, but it was hardly close. Away from the media, Toulon will admit that they were second best, and flattered somewhat by the scoreboard.

Which adds a little poignant weight on these pre-match Mignoni words: “It’s time for some players to show they’re hungry. We’re doing this because these players deserve it. If they don’t take advantage of this chance, that’s a mistake on my part. But we need this internal competitiveness for our end of season.”

Toulon – looking to reach the play-offs for the first time since 2018 – dropped to sixth in the table after their La Rochelle reverse, two points above seventh-placed Perpignan and five ahead of Pau, in ninth. It remains to be seen whether Mignoni’s decision here will prove costly in the longer term. They have four matches to retain their top six place.

Talking point

It has been an up-and-down season – at best – for two-time Champions Cup winners La Rochelle, whose ambitions of a hat-trick of pan-competition titles disappeared earlier this month in Dublin, a city where the dreams of so many top-flight rugby clubs go to die.

A first-ever Top 14 title, however, remains a possibility. Ronan O’Gara’s side are fifth in the table, carried into the play-off places by the most miserly defence in the league, even if their attack has been hit-and-miss this season under new coach Remi Tales. Attacking philosophies can take time to bed in.

Sunday night’s win over Toulon was another step to the play-off promised land. But it wasn’t all good news. At various times this season, La Rochelle’s infirmary has fairly bustled with activity. 

It had, however, seemed the worst was over, with Pierre Bourgarit, Georges-Henri Colombe, Thierry Paiva and Thomas Berjon all expected to be in the reckoning for the trip to Bordeaux on May 11. 

But Ultan Dillane, Paul Boudehent and Terry Iribaren all picked up injuries against Toulon – and O’Gara and his staff face a nervous wait on medical assessments to see how long they will be unavailable.

O’Gara has repeatedly said that the only time form matters is at the business end of the season. So does fitness, and losing key players in key positions will make it more difficult to reach a second successive Top 14 final.

Quote of the week

“I’m not going to think about a game in June when I’ve still got four games to play, unless we get a fax from the league saying we’ve got to play now. 

“Do you know where you’ll be in seven weeks’ time? I don’t know either. We need to recover, take stock, find the solution and work on what we’ve been missing.”

Montpellier manager Patrice Collazo – on the day of his 50th birthday – refused to consider the possibility of a survival play-off, after the 25-20 defeat at home to Perpignan rooted them in the relegation play-off place, five points adrift of Bayonne, in 12th

Table

Four rounds of the regular season to go, and there’s still plenty to play for. 

Oyonnax’s faint shot at survival is slightly brighter than it was on the other side of the weekend, but they remain strong favourites to finish bottom of the table and return to the ProD2 after just one season in the Top 14. 

Lyon and Clermont made what look like crucial moves away from Montpellier, in the relegation play-off place, leaving Bayonne looking nervously over their shoulder.

At the upper end of the table, Stade Francais and Toulouse all but have the automatic semi-final places sewn-up, while Bordeaux and Racing 92 seem best value for the play-offs. The question is whether they’ll be at home or have to travel. But, Pau, in ninth, aren’t out of the hunt quite yet. 

My name is James Harrington. I’m a freelance sports journalist, writing mostly about French club and international rugby. If, after reading this, you feel the urge to commission me for match previews, reviews, articles, news, features, interviews, live blogs, feel free to contact me

And, please read my weekly French rugby column in The Rugby Paper every Sunday. And I also round-up all the weekend’s Top 14 action on the Irish Examiner website.

James Harrington examines the state of play in French rugby’s Top 14, after the 20th round of the season

Twenty rounds of the Top 14 season completed. Six to go, broken by the return of the Champions and Challenge Cup competitions. Domestic leagues go on hiatus now for two weeks to accommodate the round of 16 and the quarter-finals of the inter-league cup competitions. Then there are further breaks for the semi-finals and finals in May. 

Some clubs have a two-week break here; others may have a week off after next weekend’s cup ties; and a few will hope to run straight through to the return of the Top 14 on April 20.  

How clubs manage this stop-start period of the season will be nerdily interesting to watch. Stade Francais, for example, are out of the Champions Cup running, and have their plans in place to keep their players match-ready through the down periods they know are coming. 

Results

France’s second-tier ProD2 last week produced eight tense matches in which the sides were separated by less than a score. Only two Top 14 meetings at the weekend were as close – Stade Francais’ 12-10 win at Montpellier, and Toulouse’s rather more exciting come-from-behind 31-29 win over Pau. But every scoreline mattered…

Here are all the results from round 20 of the season.

Match of the weekend

Toulouse v Pau. Sebastien Piqueronies’ side became the first this season to head home from Stade Ernest Wallon with a point for their efforts. And – but for Matthis Lebel’s 78th-minute try – they would have left with the winner’s four-point share of the spoils.

Emilien Gailleton and Theo Attisogbe both shone as Pau gave better than they got for a large portion of the match.

Toulouse host Racing 92 next weekend in the Champions Cup round of 16. Antoine Dupont admitted afterwards that they had half-an-eye on that match, as they conspired to make life hard for themselves en route to winning a thoroughly entertaining nine-try encounter against a Pau side that were very much up for the challenge.

Dupont, meanwhile, didn’t provide a definitive answer to the question doing the rounds in French rugby circles: whether he’s better at nine or 10, as he played both roles in a relatively muted match by his standards. On the other hand, Romain Ntamack, returning off the bench after eight months out with injury, proved that Dupont is a better nine when he’s at 10… 

Individual performance

Baptiste Serin. One week after his 50-odd minute return from injury, French rugby’s forgotten petit general issued a reminder of his talents with a masterclass at Estadio Aneota, as Toulon beat Bayonne 46-10 to push their top six challenge. 

What’s absolutely astonishing is that the 29-year-old Serin has never featured in a Top 14 play-off match. Nothing’s still guaranteed but the odds of him breaking that record are shortening rapidly. Toulon suddenly looked like they could be challengers again…

Flop 

Clermont. Yes, Castres conceded seven tries between the 35th and 55th minute of what was a pretty definitively abject 43-12 loss at Perpignan. And Bayonne’s annual one-match relocation to San Sebastien may be good for ticket sales and the bank balance, but they’re not, so far, working on the pitch – they shipped 46 points in defeat to Toulon on Sunday night.

Clermont’s 26-10 loss at Racing seems almost pedestrian in comparison. Midi Olympique six-word description of Clermont’s performance pretty much summed it up: “general clumsiness, obvious fragility, crass helplessness”.  

The fact is, Clermont – with a strong squad at their disposal – wasted a prime opportunity at La Defense Arena. As manager Christophe Urios said: “Once again, the main feeling is frustration and disappointment. We dominated the match. We controlled everything in the first half, and it was more of the same in the second.”

Then, he explained why. “We leaked the first two tries too easily, but despite that, we dominated Racing. The problem is when you go behind the line three times and don’t score. It’s an area of the game that gives us problems.”

Scoring points – the literal goal of rugby – is a problem for Clermont. It’s why they’re down in 11th, level on points with Lyon, and just four points above the relegation play-off spot with six matches of the season remaining. 

The fact is they’re too easy to read. They’ve relied too heavily on Peceli Yato and George Moala for go-forward in attack, and a determined defence will stop even those two. 

Captain Baptiste Jauneau summed it up: “We dominated the match, but we attacked badly. It hurts to not pick up points, especially as we’re running out of time.”

This is the story of Clermont’s season. And it has to change. There’s little wonder fans are beyond frustrated. An open letter has called for changes from the top down, and questioned the management of not just Urios but also president Jean-Claude Pats.

Coaching call

As often as not coaching calls aren’t spectacular and aren’t made in the heat of the moment. While throwing on two up-and-coming players in teenage centre Simeli Daunivucu and 20-year-old backrow Oscar Jegou worked match-winning wonders for La Rochelle against Oyonnax, it’s impossible not to grudgingly admire how Stade Francais choked the life out of Montpellier to rack up their sixth Top 14 win on the road this season and their first at the GGL since 2008. That was a coaching call made on the training ground.

The 10-12 scoreline betrays a match that won’t go down in the annals, but it could easily be used as an object lesson in how to control a game. Because, and despite Laurent Labit’s call for more from his players in attack, it was a muted masterpiece with a scoreline that belies Stade’s dominance of … everything. 

Talking point

The return of Romain Ntamack. Some 231 days after he suffered an ACL injury in Saint-Etienne, Ntamack played 25 minutes against Pau on Saturday evening. 

And, the second time he touched a ball, towards the end of a close game that Toulouse were finding much harder than expected, he beat three defenders with a trademark break through the middle. We’ve missed that, in his absence. And it’s a joy to see that his knee appears to be in excellent nick.

As Lebel said of his team-mate’s return: “It wasn’t bad, was it? He’s a great player. If there’s one thing he’ll never lose, it’s his nose for rugby.”

And opposition coach Piqueronies, who coached Ntamack with France under-20s in 2018 observed, said, a little ruefully: “I would have preferred it if Ugo (Mola) had chosen to keep him back a little longer and give him fewer minutes… 

“Seriously though, I was delighted to see Romain back on the pitch, and that was the first thing I said to him before the match.”

Quote of the week

“It was very emotional … When I got to the stadium, I shed a few tears. To finish this match, was incredible. I know that tomorrow, a year from now, twenty years from now, I’ll talk about this match. I’m leaving this stadium with a lot of love and a lot of stories to tell.”

Juan Imhoff, after his final game for Racing 92 at La Defense Arena. The club will play their last two ‘home’ matches of the Top 14 season in Auxerre, while their usual venue first hosts singer Taylor Swift, and then is transformed to host the swimming competition at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

Table

It was a week in which nine of the 14 positions in the table changed hands. Only Stade Francais, Toulouse, Lyon, Montpellier and Oyonnax remained locked into their positions in the top two and bottom three places respectively.

Here’s the table.

The awesome majesty of maths is keeping bottom-of-the-table Oyonnax’s survival hopes alive. There are six matches left – a possible 30 points up for grabs. It’s not done yet, officially. But they haven’t won a Top 14 match since the turn of the year, and they’re not going to win all of their last six. 

Meanwhile, Stade Francais – fresh from their sixth away win of the season, and with a two-week break in their calendar because of their earlier failure in the Champions Cup – and Toulouse look to have the automatic semi-final spots sewn up.

The battleground is everywhere in between. Every position between third and 13th is pretty much undecided. Crucially, that means five of seven play-off places – including the unwanted relegation play-off spot – are still firmly in play.

My name is James Harrington. I’m a freelance sports journalist, writing mostly about French club and international rugby. If, after reading this, you feel the urge to commission me for match previews, reviews, articles, news, features, interviews, live blogs, feel free to contact me

And, please read my weekly French rugby column in The Rugby Paper every Sunday. And I also round-up all the weekend’s Top 14 action on the Irish Examiner website.