🕊👑 Une 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐠𝐮𝐫𝐞 de notre temps s’en est allée. Nous avions eu la chance de croiser la Reine Elisabeth II autour des terrains durant ses 70 ans de règne.
Viewers in UK and Ireland will be able to see Lyon v La Rochelle, Bayonne v Racing 92, Montpellier v Bordeaux, and Toulouse v Toulon. Saturday’s matches are all on Premier Sports 2, while the Sunday night game is on Freesports.
Hopefully, for fans of French rugby in America, streaming service FloSports has been able to sort its first day streaming issues in time for the Top 14’s big second weekend.
🚨We are currently working with our on-site provider for Top 14 to understand the technical issues at the matches. Again, we apologize for the inconvenience and will keep you updated through the events.
Still missing Demba Bamba, Francisco Gomez Kodela, Lima Sopoaga, Josua Tuisova, Killian Geraci, and Jordan Taufua, Challenge Cup holders Lyon should this week welcome fit-again experienced winger Noa Nakaitaci to their line-up for the challenge of European champions La Rochelle.
The visitors, meanwhile, came through their hard-fought win over Montpellier last week relatively unscathed and will be able to rely on the same group of players for their trip east. Which is good news, as their pre-season injury list is also pretty long.
Levani Botia – who trained with the group for the first time this week – has an outside shot of joining the 23, but it’s arguably still too soon for him to play anything more than a minor bit part, so Ronan O’Gara is much more likely to stick with the tried and successful for this intriguing weekend opener that promises plenty of free-flowing action on the artificial surface at Gerland.
Castres v Stade Francais (kick off 5pm)
Stade Pierre Fabre
The hosts have not lost at home since December 2020, winning 12 and drawing once last season at Pierre Fabre.
That’s not a record they’ll want to lose in front of their first home crowd of the new campaign, on their new hybrid pitch, which was only completed this week after three months’ work over the summer.
On Tuesday, when the club held a meet-the-players event for season ticket holders, the posts were notably absent from images posted to the official website.
📸 Retour en images sur la présentation de l'équipe & et du staff devant nos abonnés et la toute nouvelle pelouse du stade Pierre Fabre ! 😁 Merci la #TeamCO, à samedi ! 😉💙#TeamCO#TousEnsemble
They’ll certainly want to improve on their game-closing plans, after giving up a lead late on at Racing last week, and then missing out on a chance to win the game. Word is that they could name surprise summer signing Leone Nakarawa in their squad for the first time, as head coach Pierre-Henry Broncan continues his successful rotation policy.
Morgan Parra is a notable absentee for the visitors, after suffering knee ligament damage in their win over former club Clermont last week that will keep him out for about a month.
He was hurt in a 51st-minute collision with team-mate Harry Glover but was not replaced – by young gun Arthur Coville – until the 68th. No matter how you cut it, 17 minutes is an awfully long ‘run-it-off’ period.
Bayonne v Racing 92 (kick off 5pm)
Stade Jean Dauger
For more than 40 minutes, Bayonne – a side tipped for heavy involvement in the relegation dogfight at the far end of the season – gave Toulon – a side expected to do rather well this year – something of a rugby lesson last week.
And then, at 25-14 down, Toulon’s season started. The ended up winning 40-25.
It was a similar but decidedly different story for Racing. For nearly 80 minutes, they struggled to break free of Castres, despite winning the try count three-one. Their final – and game-deciding – try in a 25-19 win came just three minutes from time.
Reports – assisted greatly by a Tweet from Biarritz’s president – suggest the club has already found a replacement for Vakatawa in the Basque club’s wantaway midfield player Francis Saili.
Bonne chance à Francis Saïli, Alisa Rose, Frankie et Kyrie dans leur nouvelle étape de vie @racing92 . Vivement le derby parisien contre @lucas_peyres et @Mat_Hirigoyen 💥🔥. Merci à Jacky Lorenzetti et Laurent Travers pour leur réactivité et leur respect à l’égard de @BOPBwebpic.twitter.com/eU0GwUfWWO
Clermont are considering medical joker cover for injured tighthead Rabah Slimani, who ruptured a bicep tendon late in last weekend’s 24-18 loss at Stade Francais, and will be absent until early 2023.
It’s a mixed bag of news out of Clermont this week, who announced they had activated one-year extensions for both Slimani and scrum-half Sebastien Bezy.
🟡🔵Face à Pau, il faudra concrétiser
Déçus après leur première sortie, les Clermontois dressent un bilan lucide sur le dernier match et préparent avec motivation la venue de la Section, samedi au #Michelin
Pau’s lack of finishing power was evident last week as they struggled to overtake Perpignan at Stade du Hameau.
Their problems haven’t been eased by news that wingers Aminiasi Tuimaba and Vincent Pinto, who were injured in the France’s pre-season SuperSevens tournament, will both be out for several weeks.
🏥🙏 On souhaite un bon rétablissement à nos 2 ailiers qui se sont faits opérer aujourd’hui : 𝐀𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐚𝐬𝐢 𝐓𝐮𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐛𝐚 de la cheville (3 mois d’absence) et 𝐕𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐏𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 du pouce (6 semaines d’absence).#HonhaSectionpic.twitter.com/0YAINOMxEV
Perpignan picked up a bonus point on the road at Pau last weekend. But they would have been grossly disappointed at giving up a six-point lead in the closing minutes of a scrappy, disjointed match that they could easily – perhaps even should – have won.
Retour en images sur la rencontre de samedi face à la @SectionPaloise ⚔️
Injury-ravaged Brive, too, picked up a losing bonus after finishing on the wrong end of a 31-27 scoreline at home against Lyon. This match, then, between two of the pre-season favourites for relegation, takes on additional early meaning.
Both sides need a win to kick start their campaigns after opening day defeats – but the hosts are much better placed to claim four points in front of their raucous home support.
Montpellier v Bordeaux (kick off 9.05pm)
GGL Stadium
Madosh Tambwe – following his electric two-try performance on debut against Toulouse last week and news that he paid a sizeable portion of his release fee from Bulls to move to Bordeaux – dominated headlines from the club this week.
And the good news kept on coming, with news that French international Yoram Moefana had signed a new deal to stay at the club until 2025.
The main question for Bordeaux boss Christophe Urios is whether to start Mathieu Jalibert this week.
The fly-half missed two crucial kicks at goal against Toulouse last weekend. Tani Vili, however, is set for his first start since moving from Clermont in the off-season, after Remi Lamerat picked up a chest injury at Chaban-Delmas.
It’s a bit of a sideshow, but matches involving Toulouse have been scheduled for Sunday nights on three of the opening five weekends, with their other two matches in the TV schedule-friendly format booked in for primetime Saturday.
That won’t do anything for French broadcaster Canal Plus’s perceived Toulouse bias.
That aside – and, in Canal’s defence, Toulouse’s first five weeks include the opener against Bordeaux, this match against Toulon, and games against Racing 92 and Montpellier – the hosts will look to consolidate their dramatic 26-25 win at Bordeaux last week with a second win here.
⚾ Hier soir, nos 3/4 frappaient la balle, entraînés par les coachs du 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗧𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗕𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗯𝗮𝗹𝗹 🧢
Toulon, meanwhile, came from 25-14 down after 44 minutes to beat Bayonne 40-25 at home last week. The 2021 double winners 31-21 pre-season win at Felix Mayol on August 25 will be fresh in the memory of both sides.
Matthieu Bastareaud, who suffered freak double-knee injuries while playing for Lyon in December, has been training with his former club all summer. Word is that he completed his first full week of group training this week – raising hopes that he will sign a deal with Toulon in the coming days.
For now, however, coaching dream ticket Pierre Mignoni and Franck Azema have more pressing concerns: Toulouse on their own turf.
Six matches decided by less than a converted try; four late come-from-behind wins; a promoted side 25-14 up after 44 minutes against one of the pre-season favourites for the title; and not one but two new rugby heroes to admire.
It wasn’t a bad first weekend of the new Top 14 season.
#TOP14 – J1 Alors on n'est pas heureux de retrouver le meilleur des championnats ? 😅 Des essais, du suspense et un final de gala… Quelle rentrée de toute beauté ! 👏 pic.twitter.com/d6ISTlmELd
“He got us out of trouble.” That was the verdict of Henry Chavancy, after his 350th appearance for Racing, on 19-year-old Enzo Benmegal’s match-winning performance in just the second start of his career.
The teenage winger made two of Racing’s three tries at La Defense Arena, as they came from behind to beat last season’s losing finalists Castres Olympique 25-19.
Benmegal set up Ibrahim Diallo for the first shortly before the half-hour, then started the move that ended with Olivier Klemenczak going over in the corner for the match-winning score three minutes from time.
In between, prop Cedate Gomes Sa practised his try-scoring moves. Needs work, perhaps.
Laurent Travers, too, was full of praise for the youngster with Teddy Thomas-sized scoring boots to fill. “He has incredible acceleration, he knows how to play rugby,” Racing’s next president said.
“At his age, when you get a chance, he knows it, you have to seize it because you don’t get three. You have to take it – and then do it again.”
Castres head coach Pierre-Henry Broncan regretted heading back to southwest France with nothing to show for his side’s efforts. They had a chance to head home with what would have been a deserved losing bonus point, but opted for a shot at glory – and a first win in 14 attempts at Racing – rather than the posts.
But, he added: “On the performance, the intensity, it would not have been a scandal if we had won this match.”
He’s not wrong.
Stade rookie Parra wins … and loses
Thirty-three-year-old Stade Francais rookie Morgan Parra guided his new-look club to a 24-18 opening-day win over his former club – before leaving the pitch 12 minutes from time with a knee ligament injury that will keep him out of action for up to six weeks.
But it was a close-run thing. “If you have heart problems, you should not come to Jean-Bouin,” captain Paul Gabrillagues admitted afterwards.
When the clock ticked past the 80, Clermont’s pack won a penalty in Stade’s 22. A kick to touch later, they were less than 5m from a win at Stade Jean Bouin. But young scrum-half Kevin Viallard fumbled the ball, and was engulfed by Sekou Macalou, who won the turnover, to the delight of the 11,000 or so crowd.
The win won’t hide from defence coach Paul Gustard the scale of the task still ahead of him.
As Gabrillagues admitted: “Discipline … played tricks on us last season and it could have cost us dearly, today … If we don’t correct these mistakes, we won’t progress.”
Bayonne shock Toulon into action
According to Toulon’s South African backrow Cornell Du Preez, the club’s new sporting director Pierre Mignoni told the players at halftime in their opening day match against Bayonne at Stade Mayol to “keep their heads up, stay calm, and not be negative”.
That’s, no doubt, an entirely truthful comment. How honest it was is another question. There were, arguably, greater volumes in Du Preez’s preceding words – “At halftime, Pierre spoke.”
At the time, Toulon were 18-14 down. Within four minutes of the restart, they were 25-14 down.
Four minutes after that, Toulon’s season started. Du Preez, Teddy Baubigny, Charles Ollivon and Gervais Cordon scored tries in a 15-minute blitz that blew away Bayonne hopes of an awayday shock.
No one is about to pretend that second-half turnaround erases a poor first half performance that was greeted by jeers from the Felix Mayol crowd as the players headed back to the changing rooms at halftime.
Captain Ollivon said: “We knew it would be hard. We showed character and solidity. We have defensive mistakes to correct, but a lot of positives to come out.”
Joseph saves Pau
Jordan Joseph opted for another season on loan at Pau – under the watchful eye of his former international under-20s coach Sebastien Piqueronies – rather than return to Racing 92 in July.
Retour en images sur la rencontre de samedi face à la @SectionPaloise ⚔️
And he proved just how invaluable he is to this young Pau side that’s being moulded in its head coach’s image as they came back to win 16-14 at home against Perpignan. Joseph came on as a replacement early in the second half of a match short on highlights, and bullied his way through three defenders six minutes from time to give the hosts a sniff of a win they scarcely deserved.
Pau were still behind – as they had been since the 49th minute. But a Zack Henry penalty after 78 minutes took them into the lead.
“We wanted to be very disciplined … we were not able to do it,” Piqueronies admitted. “It’s up to us to be much cooler and more precise … Our ambitions, our goals, are absolutely not at that level.”
Four points, though. He’ll take that.
Lyon kick of Garba era with win on road
After seven years of Pierre Mignoni ended with Challenge Cup success, the Xavier Garbajosa era at Lyon kicked off with a 31-27 win on the road at Brive.
Garbajosa, returning to management after his first head coach job ended in January 2021, described his new club’s start as, “a satisfaction”.
𝟭 𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗶, 𝟭 𝗽𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗲 𝗱𝗲́𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 pour la première d’𝗔𝗿𝗻𝗼 𝗕𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗮 avec le LOU 🤩
Célébration 6️⃣9️⃣ 𝑎̀ 𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑣𝑎𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑟 mais on note l’intention #alalyonnaise 👌🤌
“The players were keen to start the season well,” he said. “I knew they were ready.”
He admitted there was still plenty for his side to work on, but added: “It’s only the first day – you don’t have to draw plans on the comet but it’s a satisfaction to start like this.”
It was the very model of a first game of the season. Lyon were more powerful in the scrum, but struggled in touch. The game was played at a feverish pace, but broken by handling errors.
Joel Kpoku’s 52nd-minute interception try pretty much sealed the deal, allowing Lyon to snap clear in a match that neither side could, until then, get hold of. It was entirely appropriate this kind of score should prove so decisive.
⭐️ ⚫️⚪️ Le retour d’une Légende au Stadium.
Plébiscité pour que son nom figure sur le maillot 2022/2023, Titou Lamaison retrouvait hier après-midi son public, son jardin.
Even then, there was still time for the two sides to share three more tries – Brive’s after-the-hooter bonus point-winning penalty try reward for unstinting effort more than cohesion and gameplan.
Advantage European champions
La Rochelle’s new fly-half Antoine Hastoy nailed five out of six at goal, kicked cleverly out of hand, delivered a try-scoring pass, saved what would have been a 50:22, and caused Montpellier problems all evening.
It was, by any metric, a decent first day at the office for the former Pau 10, sweetened by the 26-22 final score in the home side’s favour.
But La Rochelle needed a late comeback to take the points – a penalty try two minutes from time with the visitors down to 14 after prop Mohamed Hoauas took a yellow for the team following repeated infringements at a 5m scrum.
It was the second time Montpellier had been reduced to 14 – and the second time it had cost them. Dillyn Leyds scored five minutes after Montpellier lock Bastien Chalureau was sin-binned for one offside too many.
Defence coach Alexandre Ruiz, a former referee, won’t have been impressed.
The visitors also experimented with right-footed new arrival Louis Carbonel at 10, and left-footed Paolo Garbisi at 12. With Anthony Bouthier also coming into the line, they were able to mix and match their positions on a whim.
The one downside – a certain defensive frailty that straight-running Jonathan Danty exploited joyfully…
Toulouse rain on Tambwe parade
It seems as sure as Jalibert follows Ntamack that new Bordeaux winger Madosh Tambwe is going to enjoy the Top 14.
𝗠𝗮𝗱𝗼𝘀𝗵 𝗧𝗮𝗺𝗯𝘄𝗲 ✨
Notre ailier @madoshtambwe s'est illustré pour sa première à Chaban en inscrivant un doublé 🔥
The former Bulls player needed just 27 minutes to become a local hero with his first try at Chaban Delmas – against Toulouse – and another seven to cement his reputation with his second.
He touched down a third time early in the second half – but his hat-trick score was ruled out for an earlier knock-on. Cue rueful smile.
And the turnaround. Bordeaux were 22-9 ahead at the time. Tambwe’s hypothetical hat-trick score, if converted – and it was under the posts – would have made it 29-9.
As it was, the hosts scored just three more points, while Toulouse scored 15 in the closing 24 minutes to snatch the game 26-25. They were aided and abetted by some uncharacteristic nerves from replacement Mathieu Jalibert, who missed two late penalties, and scrum-half Maxime Lucu, who missed one.
With France team manager Raphael Ibanez watching from the stands, Jalibert – who has made no secret of the fact he covets Ntamack’s 10 international 10 shirt – failed to score a point after coming on for Zack Holmes in the 51st minute.
The Toulouse fly-half, by contrast, scored the try that got them back into the game, before new signing Melvyn Jaminet ended the scoring with a difficult 45m penalty from out wide.
Christophe Urios said afterwards: “Losing is cruel. Today with a not easy preparation we were able to come out with a high level match. I retain the positive, the pride of having made a great match”
My name is James Harrington. I’m a freelance sports journalist based in France, writing mostly about French club and international rugby. If, after reading this, you feel the urge to commission me for some match previews, reviews, features, interviews, live blogs, feel free tocontact me
French rugby’s 2022/23 Top 14 season kicks off this weekend.
Racing 92 and last season’s losing finalists Castres get the whole campaign under way at La Defense Arena.
But there’s no doubting the big matches of the first round. Champions Cup winners La Rochelle host Top 14 title holders Montpellier at a full Stade Marcel Deflandre on Saturday evening, 24 hours before Bordeaux entertain Toulouse at an equally crammed Stade Chaban Delmas.
#TOP14 𝗠𝗲𝘀𝗱𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀, 𝗠𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗲𝘂𝗿𝘀, 𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗶 𝗹𝗮 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲 (quoique un peu décalée) 𝗽𝗵𝗼𝘁𝗼 𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲 𝗱𝗲 𝗹𝗮 𝘀𝗮𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟮/𝟮𝟯 ! 📸 pic.twitter.com/H8YT0A6bD6
For fans in UK and Ireland, Premier Sports has four games on the opening weekend – Racing 92 v Castres, Stade Francais v Clermont, and La Rochelle v Montpellier on Saturday, and Bordeaux v Toulouse on Sunday. All are on Premier Sports 2.
And the Top 14 is heading to America this season – US streaming service Flo Sports has done a deal to show Top 14 rugby, as well as European and URC matches. It lists all the opening weekend’s matches.
Vice-champion is an objectively awful whimsical title bestowed in France, like a millstone, round the neck of losing finalists. Castres are saddled with the Top 14 version of it this season, and – 10 weeks and one day after Montpellier fairly pounded them at Stade de France – they return to the outskirts of Paris to face Racing in the opening match of the 2022/23 campaign.
The hosts are without international centre Gael Fickou, who sprained a knee in a pre-season match at Brive and will be out for about a month.
#TOP14 Voici la carte de France des clubs qui s'affronteront cette saison sur les pelouses du TOP 14 ! 🇫🇷 Quel(s) déplacement(s) vas-tu faire pour suivre ton équipe favorite ? pic.twitter.com/5FuIMzbxHh
Absent, too, are summer arrival Asaeli Tuivuaka, injured in the same match, Baptiste Chouzenoux, and Fabien Sanconnie – who’s about three weeks from a return; while the club is waiting on the arrivals of Juan Imhoff, Trevor Nyakane, Veikoso Poloniati, and Warrick Gelant from the southern hemisphere.
Nolan Le Garrec is likely to start, as is big signing Cameron Woki – though whether he’s in la cage or in the backrow remains to be seen.
Castres, who announced a contract extension for local hero lock Tom Staniforth this week, are close to full strength. Tyler Ardron is missing with injury and Ben Urdapilleta, who’s with Argentina. Summer arrivals Adrien Seguret, Leone Nakarawa – who seems to have recovered from a knock in pre-season – and Aurélien Azar should make their first serious appearances for the club.
Stade Francais v Clermont (kick off 5pm)
Stade Jean Bouin
It had to happen. Morgan Parra joins Stade Francais after 13 years at Clermont, and the fixture setters pull the sides together on the opening day of the new season. Parra is set to bring his much-needed on-pitch experience to the squad, with Joris Segonds expected to make up the other 50 percent of the halfback pairing.
It’s in midfield, in the absence of the departed Ngani Laumape and Waisea Nayacalevu, where the greatest interest will lie. It’s too soon for late signing Jeremy Ward to make a first appearance, leaving Stade with a choice of Harry Glover, Theo Dachary, Alex Arrate and Julien Delbouis – with the possibility also of Sefe Naivalu moving in to 13.
Parra wasn’t the only experienced player to leave Clermont in the summer. Wesley Fofana retired; Camille Lopez and Bastien Pourilly joined Bayonne; JJ Hanrahan left for Dragons; Kotaro Matsushima returned to Japan; Sipili Falatea switched to Bordeaux, along with 21-year-old France prospect Tani Vili.
Expect to see, then, Alex Newsome, Irae Simone, Anthony Belleau, Loic Godener and Jules Plisson in a side that shows numerous changes from last season – but still holds a certain easy familiarity.
Toulon v Bayonne (kick off 5pm)
Stade Felix Mayol
Ihaia West – the only specialist senior 10 on the books at Toulon – has been training separately from the squad as he recovers from a niggling thigh injury.
It’s long been recognised that fly-half could be a problem position for the Pierre Mignoni-Franck Azema dream coaching ticket this season – and it seems certain, now, that self-admitted troubleshooter solution Baptiste Serin will kick off his season on the outside of summer arrival Benoit Paillaugue in patched-up hand-me-down second-to-next-best halfback duo.
Bayonne, however, have troubles of their own heading into their Top 14 return season under new management. Experienced Maxime Machenaud, who joined from Racing 92 in the summer, will miss the opening weekend with a calf injury; another new arrival, Bastien Pourilly, has a hamstring injury and will be absent for up to eight weeks.
Emblematic flanker Jean Monribot has undergone surgery on a thigh injury and won’t be available for several months, while Fijian duo Sireli Maqala and Kaminieli Raisaku are away with the sevens squad in South Africa, prepping for the World Cup.
Could be a tough opener for them at a newly confident Stade Mayol.
Pau v Perpignan (kick off 5pm)
Stade du Hameau
Irish winger Eoghan Barrett could move from the summer SuperSevens competition into the full side for the opener against Perpignan.
But the club’s successful tournament – they reached the final three times and won once – took its toll. Vincent Pinto ruptured a ligament in his thumb and Aminiasi Tuimaba suffered a sprained ankle. Both are therefore unavailable.
🏟 J-4️⃣ avant le grand retour du TOP 14 au Hameau.
Nathan Decron and Daniel Ikpefan are also out, as well as the young third row Josselin Bouhier are also out of the reckoning with injury, while Zack Henry steps up as the side’s senior fly-half following Antoine Hastoy’s departure.
Perpignan, meanwhile, have – where possible – stuck to the tried and tested as they enter their difficult second season back in the top flight, without either Melvyn Jaminet or Bautista Delguy.
Summer signings Kelian Galletier and Victor Moreaux are likely to be on the bench, while Dorian Laborde could start following his arrival from Toulon.
Another summer signing, Exeter’s Will Witty, will miss the first three weeks of the season with injury. Shahn Eru, meanwhile, is suspended following a dangerous tackle in the promotion-relegation match against Mont-de-Marsan in June.
Brive v Lyon (kick off 5pm)
Stade Amedee Domenech
Brive head into the new season with a new main shareholder and the promise of a bright future – but with several key players out injured, notably Mitch Lees, Said Hireche, Hayden Thompson-Stringer and Wesley Douglas.
Ex-Connacht player Abraham Papali’i could get his first Top 14 start since moving from Galway in the summer, while compatriot Sammy Arnold may come off the bench.
Lyon’s entry injury problems are just as serious. Props Demba Bamba and Francisco Gomez-Kodela are both long-term absentees, as is fly-half Lima Sopoaga. Last week, the club confirmed Josua Tuisova would be out for a month, and medical joker prop Feao Fotuaika has yet to arrive.
Internationals Baptiste Couilloud and Dylan Cretin aren’t expected back until next week – so Saturday looks like it could be a difficult one for the visitors against their gnarly hosts.
La Rochelle v Montpellier (kick off 9.05pm)
Stade Marcel Deflandre
Antoine Hastoy should be straight into the fray for new club La Rochelle at a packed Marcel Deflandre, having joined from Pau in the summer, while Yoann Tanga, Georges-Henri Colombe, Quentin Lespiaucq, Thierry Paiva and Ultan Dillane could all make their first Top 14 starts for Ronan O’Gara’s Champions Cup winners against the Top 14 champions.
Other new arrivals, including Teddy Thomas and the injured UJ Seuteni may be kept back, with O’Gara likely to stick to a trusted backs division for the first of the weekend’s two big matches.
Montpellier, who follow this tough opener with a match against Bordeaux next weekend, are also likely to hold back internationals Paul Willemse and Arthur Vincent – but Enzo Forletta could return to the squad having recovered from a neck injury.
Cobus Reinach is away with the Springboks Rugby Championship squad, so Leo Coly could make his Top 14 bow, inside another new arrival, Louis Carbonel. Montpellier played Paolo Garbisi at inside centre during pre-season – he may make his third appearance at 12 in a Top 14 match this weekend, with Ben Lam expected to start at 14. Zach Mercer’s long Montpellier goodbye, meanwhile, should start here…
🚨 𝑪𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒒𝒖é 𝒐𝒇𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒆𝒍 🚨
Le @MHR_officiel officialise le départ du troisième ligne Zach Mercer, à l’issue de la saison 2022/2023.
Toulouse manager Ugo Mola announced on Thursday that Pita Ahki had surgery on a troublesome injury on Wednesday and would miss the first six weeks of the season.
The centre – routinely one of the best players in rouge-et-noir – joins a list of absentees: Cyril Baille, David Ainu’u, Joel Merkler, Yannick Youyoutte, Thibaud Flament, François Cros, Rynhardt Elstadt, Santiago Chocobares, Paul Graou, Lucas Tauzin, and Juan Cruz Mallia.
Even so, with new signings Ange Capuozzo, Melvyn Jaminet, Pierre-Louis Barassi, and Alexandre Roumat all set to feature – the latter against his old team-mates – and Josh Brennan set for his first Top 14 start, Toulouse are expected to field a strong side at Chaban-Delmas as they look to get their season off to a roaring start.
Mola also discussed improving squad rotation this season to ensure the club’s international stars were not overworked in the Top 14 before the long World Cup run next summer.
Hosts Bordeaux are also expected to field a strong squad, with few absences to report. Maxime Lucu and Matthieu Jalibert’s halfback bromance continues, with Toulouse old boy Zack Holmes likely filling a bench slot first-up.
Tani Vili, too, probably won’t start. Manager Christophe Urios is expected to stick to what he knows, with old head Remi Lamerat and young gun Yoram Moefana expected on the pitch for the opening whistle – though he may be in the squad.
Another ex-Toulouse player, Antoine Miquel will have a point to prove if he gets an expected start at eight. Caleb Timu could also feature in the match that rounds off the opening weekend.
It’s southwest semi-finals weekend in the southeast of France, as Occitanie teams Castres, Toulouse, Montpellier and Nouvelle Aquitaine representative Bordeaux face off in Nice for the right to travel north to Saint-Denis for next Friday’s showpiece final.
Nevermind the tense games situation, or the prize that awaits the two winners this weekend. Playing in Nice will be a relief of sorts for all four sets of players. The matches on Friday and Saturday evening will take place in temperatures a degree or so south of 30C.
In Castres and Toulouse, by kick-off time on Friday evening, the temperature is expected to have dipped to 36C, from highs during the day of over 40C.
The departments in which Castres, Toulouse and Bordeaux are among the 12 in the southwest of the country that have been placed on red weather alert – the highest available – for heat on Friday.
Similar temperatures are expected in Bordeaux on Saturday evening, with a 40km/h wind, while the mercury in Montpellier is due to hit a 40C high on Friday, before dipping 10C in 24 hours into the weekend.
So, Nice, in the relatively fresh southeast of the country, will feel relatively comfortable in comparison. Which is nice.
Both matches are live in Ireland and the UK on Premier Sports.
The hype-legend of the Top 14’s opening semi-final sprang instantaneously and fully formed from the firmament on the final whistle of last Saturday’s barrage-round match. A Midi derby rivalry, top of the table versus the defending champions, Castres’ rugby David versus Toulouse’s Goliath.
Meanwhile, Toulouse coach Ugo Mola has spent much of his media time this week trying to sound convincing in claiming that Castres, rather than his star-spangled squad, are favourites. No one who saw their 41-0 thrashing of Friday’s opponents at Stade Ernest Wallon in November, or how close they came to victory in their 19-13 loss at Stade Pierre Fabre in April would make the same argument.
It’s true Castres have been consistent this season. They spent just two weeks outside the top six. Their longest losing run in the Top 14 lasted just two games – and they finished the domestic campaign with 12 wins from 15, including five on the bounce to close out the season. They climbed to first for the first and only time on the final whistle of the final round – which was also the first time they had held a top two position.
Castres hooker Gaetan Barlot put the season past into perspective ahead of Friday evening’s match. “Our first place rewards the fact that we are the only undefeated team at home, with a good record and wins on the road. But that doesn’t mean we are champions.
And he highlighted in two sentences the scale of the challenge and the scale of the ambition for the Tarn side. “In Nice, we are facing the French and former European champions so it will be very difficult but we are ready for the two big games that remain in order to go all the way,” he said. “If we lost in the semi-finals, we would have finished first in the regular season for nothing. That would be a shame.”
🚌 𝑬𝒏 𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒆 𝒑𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒍𝒂 𝒅𝒆𝒎𝒊𝒆 ! 👋
Supporters, jeunes de l'école de rugby, salariés… tout le monde était derrière les 𝗥𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗲 𝗲𝘁 𝗡𝗼𝗶𝗿 au départ du bus 🔥
It’s true, too, Castres had a bye week while Toulouse faced La Rochelle in the barrage round. And that their season has been less affected by Covid-19 or a long European run.
But it’s also true that Toulouse, despite a ropey run from Christmas to the end of March when they were without key internationals, qualified fourth in the table, and beat new European champions La Rochelle in the barrage-round to book their place in the semis. They were top of the table for nine weeks and – like Castres – have been in the top six for all-but two rounds of the campaign.
𝐌𝐨𝐝𝐞 𝐩𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞́ 💪
Nos Stadistes préparent activement la demi-finale face au CO ⚡#COST 🎟️👇
Even so, Mola insists that Castres are in pole position for the final place at stake on Friday. “Castres are favorites and it’s not Ugo Mola who says so, it’s the league ranking.
“It’s hard for them to claim they are the underdog side: the facts are there, they finished first [in the Top 14]. They are also the leaders in terms of character and state of mind.”
— France Bleu Occitanie (@bleuoccitanie) June 15, 2022
It’s true, too, that Toulouse have more injury concerns. Francois Cros is out after picking up a knee injury in the victory over La Rochelle, while Charlie Faumina has completed a safe tackle course and returns after a ban to fill an fitness problem at tighthead. He starts, with Dorian Aldegheri – who’s been nursed through injury niggles recently – on the bench.
Defending #TOP14 champions Toulouse name their squad for their play-off semi-final against regular season league leaders Castres in Nice https://t.co/Mj92ch1Lcq
The truth, despite what Mola would have anyone believe is that Toulouse are, quite rightly, favourites. But he also knows that Castres could easily spring another surprise this season.
— France Bleu Occitanie (@bleuoccitanie) June 16, 2022
Saturday, June 18
Montpellier v Bordeaux (kick off 9.05pm)
Allianz Riviera
#DemiesTOP14 – #AvantMatch 📊 Un @MHR_officiel chirurgical dans les 22 mètres adverses ira se frotter à @UBBrugby qu'ils n'ont pas réussi à battre depuis 5 matches consécutifs en TOP 14… laquelle de ces deux formations décrochera son billet pour Saint-Denis ? pic.twitter.com/h240IMac83
We need to talk about Bordeaux. Something is, if not rotten, not entirely well in the former rugby utopia of Chaban-Delmas.
The comprehensive 36-16 barrage-round win over Racing 92 was played against a tense training ground background. Manager Christophe Urios had called out his players after their defeat at Perpignan a week earlier had seen them drop out of the top two for the first time in months – naming Matthieu Jalibert and Cameron Woki in particular.
Both scored in the barrage-round victory. But Jalibert told Canal Plus immediately after the match: “This week, it was tense. You saw it, there were statements in the press from our manager, that targeted players. I just want to say that we are not playing for Christophe (Urios). We are just on a mission for the players.”
And Woki gestured at the crowd after he scored, saying afterwards: “To whom were these gestures addressed? I think everyone understood.”
It has also been reported this week that Woki – whose contract is up in June 2023 – is hesitating about signing a new deal with the club.
Kane Douglas, meanwhile, told Le French Rugby Podcast how the team prepared for the match against Racing without Urios – who has since insisted “I am the boss, and no one else” – for most of the week.
President Laurent Marti and Urios have both appeared to describe the situation as “over” and liken it to a storm in a teacup. But it’s hardly a health position from which to mount a challenge for the Top 14 title.
In comparison, silence has been golden preparation for opponents Montpellier, who have enjoyed minimal coverage and – as a result – minimal pressure.
News, such as it is, has been limited to contract renewals for Florian Verhaege, and for defence coach Alexandre Ruiz, while Zach Mercer – surely one of the first names on the Top 14’s team of the season – has revealed he thought seriously about jacking rugby in when he was a teenager with Bath, in favour of heading to New Zealand and, according to Rugbyrama, dismissing reports about an imminent move back to the Premiership.
Montpellier, second in the table at the end of the season, despite – like Bordeaux and Toulouse – something of a second-half wobble, should expect to start as favourites. They don’t have the individual flair of Bordeaux, but they are well-organised, and smart, and clinical.
⚪️🔵 𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗭-𝗩𝗢𝗨𝗦 À 𝗡𝗜𝗖𝗘 ! 🔵⚪️
Après2️⃣6️⃣ journées, ils ont gagné le droit de rêver ! Pour aller plus haut ⬆️, ils auront besoin de vous ! 🫵🫵
Even without the injured Paul Willemse and Cobus Reinach, Montpellier have the smarts to play their way into the final.
With Maxime Lamothe an injury concern, Bordeaux, may turn to Springbok international hooker Joseph Dweba, who has only played in nine matches all season – and hasn’t featured at all since the beginning of May. Jandre Marais’ injury, meanwhile, will have Urios scratching his head over second-row options. Guido Petti, Louis Picamoles, or Woki could get the nod.
Usually, by now, at least some play-off places have been decided. This season, for the first time since 2011, all six play-off slots are still open, with nine sides mathematically in the running and eight close enough to consider themselves as having a serious chance.
At the other end of the table, Perpignan could still avoid a relegation play-off match at the home ground of the losing ProD2 finalist if, over the closing two rounds of the season either side of next weekend’s European finals, they overtake Brive in the table.
The heavy ball bearing that is Europe currently weighs on the rubber sheet of French top flight – and not just because three sides with domestic play-off ambitions – Lyon, La Rochelle and Toulon – face difficult squad calculations either side of next weekend’s finals.
It’s also affected scheduling. This is why Sunday’s primetime choice is the eminently worthy but slightly bizarre Castres v Perpignan – the one live match that viewers in UK and Ireland will be able to see on Premier Sports this weekend, with Bordeaux-Lyon up broadcast Saturday night as an as-live match.
The programme for this week was finalised on May 9th, when five French sides were still in contention for European finals weekend. That ruled out five of this week’s round-of-25 games as options for Sunday night, leaving already-relegated Biarritz v almost-out-of-it Clermont, or play-off ambitions v survival dreams at Castres.
Here, then, let’s take a look at all seven matches on the penultimate weekend of the regular 2021/22 Top 14 season. Remember, all kick offs here are set to Paris time. I’ll leave you to make your own adjustments.
One way or another, it’s going to be hot this weekend in the Top 14
A training ground injury this week means Louis Picamoles’ playing career could already be over. He is due to retire at the end of the season – but is now sidelined for at least four weeks, which would mean he may return if Bordeaux reach the final.
Right now, they’re second in the table, and hold a bye to the play-off semis in Nice. But by the skin of their teeth. Castres are level on points and – on paper – have a friendlier run-in.
“If we lose, we’re out of the top two,” Jandre Marais reminded reporters this week. “And the top six is not yet assured, because all the teams are close.”
Bordeaux have lost their last four at home and have – as head coach Christophe Urios admitted – “no more margin” for error. “We could finish seventh,” he warned.
“I feel ashamed,” he said of their recent record in front of the Chaban-Delmas faithful. “I want everyone to feel ashamed. We have to face our responsibilities. We are capable of doing it.”
Their opponents, first-time Challenge Cup finalists Lyon, look in good shape, with only Kilian Geraci and Mathieu Bastareaud on their long-term injury list.
This season’s big-name signing Lima Sopoaga isn’t far off a return from a knee injury picked up in the Challenge Cup round-of-16 win over Worcester, while Colby Fainga’a and Jordan Taufua may be in contention to return to the backrow at Bordeaux.
They’re likely to rotate their squad – given their matches to come – but they’re coming to Chaban-Delmas looking for as many points as they can get. Four won’t be beyond them.
Biarritz v Clermont (kick off 5.15pm)
Parc des Sports d’Aguilera
In this season, which is so tight the fact of Biarritz’s relegation is the only certainty heading into the final two weekends, this is something of an outlier match.
It’s not quite a dead rubber – Clermont could still squeeze into the top six if the usually capricious and fickle rugby gods are in a generous mood for two Top 14 weekends on either side of the European finals – but it’s almost one.
Biarritz will want to sign off their last home match of the season and in the Top 14 with a first domestic win in three months, and end a seven-match losing streak. “We will have to show Clermont that we are not here to give them five points,” head coach Matt Clarkin said this week. “The best tribute for our last home game is to put out a side that can win.”
That’s easier said than done – 17 players are out with injury heading into the penultimate game. Another eight are back in group training after injury. It’s been that sort of campaign for Biarritz. But, make no mistake, there’ll be a party atmosphere at Aguilera.
𝐈𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 🤫
Milesker Romain, Lucas, Kerman, Yohann, Elliot et Baptiste pour cette reprise ✨
Biarritz / Clermont – HUNTZA en concert, c’est samedi à partir de 14h00 à Aguilera 🎉
Clermont, meanwhile, made up for missing out on a quarter-final against Leinster in Dublin by climbing Puy de Dome. The two-week break that came from their round-of-16 defeat to Leicester has done them no harm as they embark on a top six mission impossible.
Damian Penaud and Fritz Lee should be back from injury, while a few other infirmary fillers are also close to returning after a season in which Clermont have been repeatedly hit with the injury stick – especially in their backline.
Even so, Wesley Fofana, George Moala and Apisai Naqalevu are out for the remainder of Clermont’s campaign, along with Alivereti Raka, Peceli Yato and Kotaro Matsushima.
#BOASM 𝘔𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘭’𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘳𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴’𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘳 à 𝘭’𝘦𝘹𝘵é𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘶𝘳
To keep their hopes alive, Clermont need to win big. Biarritz have been broken down defensively relatively easily, so it’s doable, ahead of a final weekend match against current leaders Montpellier. But then they still need a helping hand from other teams…
La Rochelle v Stade Francais (kick off 5.15pm)
Stade Marcel Deflandre
Seventh-placed La Rochelle could – like France’s other European finalists Toulon and Lyon – have done without having to play a must-win Top 14 match the weekend before their big final in Marseille.
📸🏆 Les photos de la demie de #ChampionsCup sont en ligne !
But that’s what all three sides face this weekend. Ronan O’Gara may have half his mind on next Saturday’s Champions Cup final against a frightening Leinster out, but he also won’t want to lose touch with the play-off peloton – which pretty much rules out the prospect of anything less than a win over Stade Francais in what could well be their last home match of this campaign.
Officially, Stade Francais have nothing to play for. They’re out of the play-off race and safe from relegation. The Paris side have taken on France’s old cliche mantle of which Stade will turn up. One senior player has already said he ‘can’t wait for the season to end’, and Gonzalo Quesada has, perhaps unwisely, admitted that a squad without goals can be difficult to motivate.
— Stade Français Paris (@SFParisRugby) May 17, 2022
How about this, then? Play with freedom and energy. Play like a side with nothing to lose. Play like you enjoy what you do for a living. Maybe you’ll discover something about yourselves. Because you really should be better than 11th.
Toulon v Pau (kick off 5.15pm)
Stade Mayol
Toulon, like fellow European finalists Lyon and La Rochelle etc etc…
Toulon lost a lot of goodwill from fans early on this season when things were going from bad to worse. On the pitch, the players and Franck Azema are working something close to miracles to win some back – reaching the Challenge Cup final and being in the hunt for what was, not so long ago, an unimaginable play-off place, as they play their 17th match without a break.
Off the pitch, however, president Bernard Lemaitre continues to lose friends and alienate people.
This week, in an interview with Midi Olympique, he described departing Springbok Eben Etzebeth as a ‘kid in the body of a colossus’ – which didn’t go down well in some quarters, especially among those in a rage over the impending departure of Louis Carbonel to Montpellier (he’s set to play his last Mayol match as a Toulon star this weekend, possibly off the bench).
But a return to the top 6 and/or a European title in Marseille next week would be a major step in the reconciliation of club and fans – almost despite the person in the president’s chair.
A win at home over Pau – playing what coach Sebastien Piqueronies has called ‘consolidation matches’ as he sets out his plans for next season and beyond.
⏳ Dernier déplacement de la saison ce samedi à Toulon !
“There’s no desire to relax in these [last] two games,” winger Elliott Roudil told reporters this week. “We want to continue to move forward and progress, with a view to next season, to perhaps one day hope to qualify in the top six.”
That’s the correct attitude. Stade Francais players take note.
Montpellier v Racing 92 (kick off 5.15pm)
GGL Stadium
Less than a year ago, Montpellier finished 10th in the Top 14 – their disappointing domestic campaign offset by Challenge Cup success, which gave them entry to the Champions Cup this season.
Mohed Altrad laid out the club’s very different ambitions for the final two games of this season. “The ideal would be to win the last two matches (Racing, then Clermont) to ensure direct qualification to the semi-finals.
Face au @racing92, nos Cistes disputeront leur dernière rencontre de la saison régulière au GGL Stadium ! 🏟️
Un match crucial pour la qualification, mais aussi un rendez-vous historique pour le club qui dira "au revoir" à plusieurs de ses joueurs iconiques à la fin de la saison. pic.twitter.com/7ZESEFBGdD
“The median, which would be to win only one, would allow us to play the barrage match at Montpellier.”
While the hosts rested last week after losing what was, it’s fair to say, a surprise Champions Cup quarter-final at La Rochelle, Racing were losing their European semi-final against La Rochelle at Lens.
Altrad admitted his side were not ready for a serious challenge on the Champions Cup, but said they would ‘fight like lions’ to ensure their season reaches the Top 14 play-offs.
Racing, meanwhile, need to bounce back from last weekend’s disheartening defeat in sundrenched Lens. Gael Fickou said it best straight after that match. “It will be hard to face Montpellier, a team that has been able to rest for a few days. But we have no right to let go now … if we don’t want to get back on the pitch immediately and show what we can do, there’s a problem somewhere.”
Whether the spirit is willing, then, should not be questioned. Montpellier have stuttered in recent weeks, but Racing looked shattered last Sunday. Depleted. It may be the body is too weak to take advantage.
Brive v Toulouse (kick off 9.05pm)
Stade Amédée-Domenech
The maths is simple for Brive. Beat Toulouse on Saturday evening in front of a sell-out home crowd, and then cheer on Castres against Perpignan on Sunday.
The squad have been on a training camp in southwest France, and have trained mostly behind closed doors in preparation for this weekend’s match. And they think they know what to expect.
“Toulouse need to redeem themselves,” lock Andres Zafra told reporters this week. “They have only the Top 14 left. We expect a fierce battle on the ground, and also to face a team that will try to play – and pass – a lot. We must be ready to defend for long sequences.”
Brive have only conceded 11 tries at home this season, but routinely give up 13 penalties a match. Against a Toulouse side that they know are angry with themselves and out to prove a point, they will have to be more disciplined.
𝕊𝕥𝕒𝕘𝕖 𝕊𝕠𝕦𝕤𝕥𝕠𝕟𝕤 🌱☀️🏉
Une nouvelle journée de travail et de conseils pour les joueurs du CA Brive. Ils ont notamment pu profiter de la venue de l'arbitre Cédric Marchat. #WEARECABpic.twitter.com/r7dRiRqw0M
Even if they weren’t aware, Toulouse hooker Julien Marchand growled something of a warning in this week’s press conference. “We are going to set off again at full speed. It’s not over. We are not going to let go.”
Préparer le déplacement crucial à Brive, 𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗹𝗲 🤜🤛
— Stade Toulousain (@StadeToulousain) May 17, 2022
Amédée-Domenech is a more intimate ground than the ones Toulouse have played at in recent weeks. Though the crowd – the match has been sold out for more than two weeks – will be hostile, it may be just what they need.
Perpignan fans were unimpressed to discover, on May 9, that their season-defining trip to Castres – a generous two-and-a-half hours’ drive away – was scheduled for Sunday night.
Supporters’ groups said that they had hoped “to bring 600 or 700 fans” for their do-or-die challenge at Stade Pierre Fabre – but said the schedule, the first time this season Perpignan had played the Sunday night game, had denied them that opportunity.
“We had 117 registered, two chartered buses. But now we are canceling a bus. We will be back at 3am on Monday, impossible for people who work. Sunday at 9pm is the worst time,” one told regional newspaper L’Independant.
Coach Patrick Arlettaz won’t prowl the touchline as he usually does. He has been handed a one-match ban for questioning some of the referees’ decisions in the crucial win over Brive last time out.
Third-placed Castres, level on points with Bordeaux and with a top-two finish in their eyes, start as favourites. They have not lost in the Top 14 at home since December 2020 and have won six of their last eight – but all is not completely lost for the visitors.
Five of the 12 French sides to have not won at Pierre Fabre this season have headed home with a bonus point. One of those for Perpignan could be almost as good as a win, depending on what happens at Stade Amédée-Domenech 24 hours earlier.
French rugby’s Top 14 enters its final three-week straight this weekend, with eight sides – nine if you’re a Clermont fan, and 10 if you’re marketing French rugby – in the running for the play-offs. To make matters more interesting still, six of them still have European interests.
The final positions aren’t set in stone yet. Last year, 69 points wasn’t quite enough for Castres to make the top six. This year, even Montpellier aren’t mathematically certain of qualification yet.
But it’s fair to say, the top two sides, Montpellier and Bordeaux, are as good as qualified and are strong favourites to get a potentially crucial week off by qualifying directly for the play-off semi-finals at Nice’s Allianz Riviera, on June 17 and 18.
So, rather than the usual match-by-match preview, I’ve looked at what’s left of the season – good, bad, and ugly – for every club in the Top 14.
First things first, here’s a rundown of this weekend’s fixtures, courtesy of the LNR:
Image: LNR
1 Montpellier (69 points)
Top 14 matches to play: Lyon (A), Racing 92 (H), Clermont (A)
By coach Philippe Saint-Andre’s own admission, Montpellier blew their hard-earned advantage last weekend, when they lost by a single point at home against Bordeaux, allowing the second-placed side to close the gap at the top of the table.
The run-in is no longer quite as comfortable for PSA’s side, especially as they’re on the road twice and have lost nine-try scrum-half Cobus Reinach to injury at precisely the wrong time.
This weekend’s match at play-off chasing Lyon will be particularly tense. Selection for their Champions Cup quarter-final trip to La Rochelle on May 7 may well depend on the result at Lyon and elsewhere this weekend.
But even a losing bonus would go a long way to ensuring a top-two finish, and its handy bye.
Despite last weekend’s defeat, Montpellier would still expect to beat Racing at home on May 21, to effectively render their last match, at Clermont, as good as redundant.
2 Bordeaux (67 points)
Top 14 matches to play: Toulon (H), Lyon (H), Perpignan (A)
Last weekend’s win at Montpellier was a huge relief after eight losses in nine games, in all competitions, for Bordeaux. Prior to that result, they had picked up just nine league points since the end of January, lost their 10-point lead at the top of the table, and were knocked out of Europe.
“We have four matches, four finals… We’ve won one,” head coach Christophe Urios said after the confidence-returning win at the GGL. “We must continue to work. We are going to welcome a Toulon team who have everything to gain against us.
“We will have a very tough match against a solid team, full of confidence. But so are we.”
Better yet, fly-half Matthieu Jalibert is set to return for the run-in after a frustrating thigh injury that kept him out of the entire Six Nations. He could be on the teamsheet for the match against Toulon, but scrum-half Maxime Lucu is likely to keep kicking duties for the moment after his nerveless performance against Montpellier.
There may be some nervy moments ahead, but two home matches, and a rediscovery of the winning habit, makes Bordeaux strong shots for a top-two finish.
3 La Rochelle (62 points)
Top 14 matches to play: Toulouse (A), Stade Francais (H), Lyon (A)
They were slow out of the blocks, but Ronan O’Gara’s La Rochelle are about where they would want to be right now – firmly in the play-off mix, and involved in the business end of the Champions Cup.
That home European quarter-final against Montpellier on May 7, however, will have to wait, as the Top 14 play-off race gets tight from here. No slip-ups allowed.
La Rochelle have two trips to serious rivals for their place in the top six. By the time Lyon rolls around on the final weekend, things may be different, especially if La Rochelle win big against a Stade Francais side with little to play for. But they cannot afford to give up too many points to sixth-placed Toulouse on Saturday.
A win in Toulouse would be preferable, but unlikely. A bonus point will be useful, but giving a five-pointer to their hosts on Saturday could prove problematic.
The good news for La Rochelle, is that O’Gara was able to give numerous players some time off over the past fortnight – but they lost Will Skelton to a calf injury last weekend. It’s not yet certain how long he’ll be out, but his absence will be a blow.
The expectation, however, is for home advantage in the qualifying play-off round. Not many sides go to Marcel Deflandre and win.
4 Castres (62 points)
Top 14 matches to play: Biarritz (A), Perpignan (H), Pau (A)
The top six side with, on paper, the easiest run-in – against the sides currently 14th, 13th and 10th. Castres played the extreme weather conditions well in their 12-0 win over Clermont – leaving the visitors’ remaining play-off hopes on a knife-edge – last weekend.
Much has been made of the fact that the perennially unfancied Castres are unbeaten at home in the Top 14 in 20 matches – rather less of the fact that they have only been out of the top six for two weeks of the 23 weeks of the season so far, back in November when they slipped to seventh for a fortnight.
The final three-match stretch of their play-off race begins this weekend with a match against a Biarritz side that hasn’t won in the Top 14 since early February, and which was ultimately well beaten at Racing 92 last weekend. Then it’s Perpignan at home – Castres won by a single point at Aime Giral over Christmas, and will want the double – before Pau at Stade du Hameau on the final day.
Head coach Pierre-Henry Broncan has managed his side’s campaign well. Don’t expect them to slip-up now. The least he will demand is home advantage in the play-offs – and, if Bordeaux or Montpellier do slip up, Castres could even be sniffing round for what would be an unlikely top-two finish.
5 Racing 92 (61 points)
Top 14 matches to play: Pau (A), Montpellier (A), Toulon (H)
Racing have been oddly prone to surprise defeats this season. Their pack has been found wanting on more than one occasion and opponents have found it unusually possible to get to them. It’s not as if they’ve given the heart and lungs of their squad to France at key times, unlike Toulouse.
But when they have got it right, they have played some stunning rugby.
And that’s why their in the Top 14 play-off zone, and looking forward to a home Champions Cup quarter-final against Premiership side Sale.
Kurtley Beale’s knee injury means he won’t be available for this weekend’s trip to Pau. It’s likely, too, that the heavily used Teddy Thomas, Yoan Tanga and Gael Fickou will be rested this week, with European knockouts and those last two Top 14 matches in mind. But expect to see Bernard Le Roux back in action after struggling with a back injury.
Their Top 14 run-in isn’t the easiest. Pau are tough at home – and their coach is on a mission, while a trip to Montpellier is never the easiest these days, and now Toulon have found their mojo, that last-day match will be a humdinger for neutrals.
6 Toulouse (58 points)
Top 14 matches to play: La Rochelle (H), Brive (A), Biarritz (H)
Toulouse are going to have to defend their two titles the hard way.
They lost 19-15 against Toulon in front of a 65,000-strong crowd at Marseille’s Orange Velodrome last weekend, but it’s relatively easy to imagine Ugo Mola was – quietly – happy enough with the result and the bonus point.
He had decided to rest key players, including Antoine Dupont and Romain Ntamack, for the trip to France’s second city, preferring to keep them back for this four-match run of games.
La Rochelle at Ernest Wallon will be a warm-up for next weekend’s Champions Cup quarter-final against the URC’s Munster in Dublin. If they win that, the semi-final a week later is most likely to be at the same venue – against Leinster – though it could be at Welford Road against Leicester.
And their route to the Top 14 final is more likely than not to include a qualifying play-off match. The inconvenient truth is that they may well fail to successfully defend either title – but their path to the domestic competition final in Paris is clearer than the one to the European showpiece in Marseille at the end of May.
After this week’s match, they have two very winnable games to qualify for the top six. It’s almost impossible to see them failing to make it. Europe, however, is another matter.
7 Lyon (58 points)
Top 14 matches to play: Montpellier (H), Bordeaux (A), La Rochelle (H)
Lyon slipped out of the top six – where they had been since the fifth round of the season – when they lost at home to Toulon at the beginning of April.
👉🏻 𝐓𝐨𝐮𝐣𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬 𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐥𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞
Le LOU (7e, 58pts) reste au contact du TOP 6 derriere Toulouse (58pts) et le Racing (61pts).
It’s not quite the worst time to drop out of the play-off places: ask Toulon about the 2020/21 season, when they lost it on the final day, but it could be better. And last week’s win at Brive won’t have done them any harm. Coach Pierre Mignoni described it as their best away match of the season
And they, at least, have a chance to fight their way back – but he’ll be looking enviously at Castres’ run-in.
Lyon’s final matches of the regular season are against the top three sides in the French top flight, and they also have a Challenge Cup game against URC side Glasgow confirmed on their books before the end of the regular season.
Don’t expect Lyon to let up in either competition. Mignoni returns to his favourite French club, Toulon, next season to form a dream coaching ticket with Franck Azema – but he’ll be determined to leave Lyon on a trophy-winning high if he can manage it.
8 Toulon (55 points)
Top 14 matches to play: Bordeaux (A), Pau (H), Racing 92 (A)
The Top 14 story of the season? A dreadful start. A change of manager. Reported player discontent. Definite fan discontent. A brief and actually not serious flirtation with relegation and, now, three points off the play-off places, and in Europe with a Challenge Cup quarter-final against London Irish at Stade Mayol.
Azema has turned the good ship Toulon around. They are now playing at least as well as a side of their individual qualities should – and they’re on a four-match winning streak heading into the final three games of the Top 14 campaign.
The coach’s issue is managing his players’ workload – because of Covid-19, Toulon did not get any time off during the Six Nations window, making this block of games very long. And he’s without Kieran Brookes, Facundo Isa, Cheslin Kolbe, Mathieu Smaili, Theo Dachary and Julien Ory for a crucial trip to Bordeaux.
Lose, and their play-off hopes are as good as over. In which case they’ll put their hopes into next weekend’s Challenge Cup basket. Win, and they’re still competing on two fronts…
9 Clermont (53 points)
Top 14 matches to play: Stade Francais (H), Biarritz (A), Montpellier (H)
No additional injury concerns – that was the only slice of good news following Clermont’s abject performance on a diluvian afternoon at Castres last weekend. But they still head to Stade Francais with a patched-up backline, with George Moala, Alivereti Raka, Damian Penaud, Apisai Naqalevu, and the departing Kotaro Matsushima all out.
That’s going to make their increasingly unlikely play-off challenge all the more difficult, bordering on the impossible if they fail to beat Stade Francais on Saturday – which they should, in reality, do.
They should also beat Biarritz when the Top 14 returns after the European break, so they could get close – but unless several other results go their way, the chances are Clermont will end up short.
10 Pau (50 points)
Top 14 matches to play: Racing 92 (H), Toulon (A), Castres (H)
Coach Sebastien Piqueronies has insisted that Pau’s season is not over – and not because of a faint hope of qualifying for the play-offs. He’s more than pragmatic enough to know that’s an unrealistic assessment that depends more on matches beyond his control.
The objective for the end of the season is to, “validate our work” on the project he laid out when he joined the club.
“It is a major project that we are undertaking with a certain vision. For all of us, it is very important to decide, to evaluate, to assess where we are going to finish in year one. These games are not meaningless. They are not three transition games. They are evaluation games.”
Intriguingly, Pau have a certain role as play-off kingmakers. They meet three clubs with top-six ambitions of varying strength, and they could help or hinder each one of them – notably Racing and Toulon.
“How we end this season, our position, the collective experience we have acquired will lay the foundations and standards for pre-season. Preparing for the future is simply a matter of consolidating these foundations,” Piqueronies said.
He’s got it. And with some canny signings lined-up for next season, Pau could increasingly become ones to watch…
11 Stade Francais (49 points)
Top 14 matches to play: Clermont (A), La Rochelle (A), Brive (H)
Disappointing isn’t anywhere near a powerful-enough word to describe Stade Francais’ season. Owner Hans-Peter Wild was blunt in his assessment of the club he’s invested over €100million in just two weeks ago in a brutal interview published by L’Equipe.
“We have no leaders,” and, “Stade Francais is not professional enough” are close to the kindest things he said in the lengthy Q&A, effectively writing off this season.
And that’s pretty much what Stade can do, too. Safe from relegation and nine points off the play-off places with trips to Clermont and La Rochelle looming, they’re also-ranning the rest of this campaign.
It will end with yet another turnaround of players – 11 senior squad members and two academy players will pack their bags in June, while another 16 mostly academy players are at the end of their contracts with no confirmed news on whether their staying or going.
This season is done for Stade Francais. Dr Wild will expect better next season.
12 Brive (42 points)
Top 14 matches to play: Perpignan (A), Toulouse (H), Stade Francais (A)
Nervous days at Amedee-Domenech, as Brive hope to avoid a late slip that could see them drop to 13th, the unwanted relegation play-off slot.
It could all be over this weekend. A win in Perpignan ends the doubts, and secures Top 14 rugby in the Correze next season, with no concerns over the last two matches.
But lose at Aime-Giral, and things suddenly get even more nervy. Perpignan would be just four, three – or, worst-case scenario, two – points back, with matches against play-off chasing Toulouse and Stade Francais to play.
The problem, of course, is winning on the road. Brive haven’t managed it in the Top 14 at all this season – Biarritz put 37 past them back in October. Which all points to a couple more nail-biting weeks in store.
24 000 € récoltés pour Arthur ! 🙏💪
Samedi dernier, le CA Brive s'est mobilisé pour venir en aide à l'association Les Oreilles d'Arthur.
Arthur (28 mois) a besoin de 200 000 euros pour financer une opération aux Etats-Unis.
Top 14 matches to play: Brive (H), Castres (A), Bordeaux (H)
Coach Patrick Arlettaz conceded a few weeks ago that Perpignan’s Top 14 survival hopes rested most heavily on the relegation play-off against the losing ProD2 finalist.
But they’re not quite out of it yet. They host 12th-placed Brive this weekend, and a win would have the visitors looking very nervously over their shoulders.
Un seul objectif en tête ⚔️
🗓 J-24 – @top14rugby 🏉 USAP – @CABCLRUGBY 🕠 Samedi 30 avril – 17h ⌛️ Ouvertures des portes – 15h
Truth be told, however, even a bonus-point win this Saturday may not be enough for Perpignan. They’ll still have points to make up and it’s not easy to see where they’ll get them from at Castres and then against Bordeaux, even at home.
The unwanted play-off it most probably is, then, on June 12 – the weekend after the Top 14 campaign ends, at the home of the losing ProD2 finalist.
14 Biarritz (24 points)
Top 14 matches to play: Castres (H), Clermont (H), Toulouse (A)
It’s all over bar the shouting – much of it at the local council amid a bitter ongoing row over redevelopment plans for Parc des Sports d’Aguilera – for Biarritz.
They haven’t won in the Top 14 since the two-ball ending of the match against La Rochelle in early February, and are conceding an average of 31 points per match – rising to over 40 in their last four domestic matches, a period that has coincided with further off-field struggles.
An immediate return to the ProD2 has been inevitable for some time – it was evident even before the win over La Rochelle. And they head into this final three games with over 20 players in the infirmary – one, Scotland’s Andy Cramond this week confirmed his retirement at age 28 for health reasons, following repeated concussions.
The awesome majestic power of maths has kept reality from the door until last weekend, when all hope of climbing to 12th vanished. Even now, they could theoretically avoid an automatic drop – they’re 11 points behind Perpignan, so the relegation play-off spot is still in play. Just. But anything less than a win on Saturday and … Thanos.
It’s the Top 14 ‘Fan Days’ derby weekend before the European fortnight – and, thanks to the vagaries of qualification for the knockout phase of the Champions Cup, for four teams it’s the first of a triple-header of domestic and Champions Cup matches that could seriously shape their seasons.
Here is the table heading into the 22nd round of the Top 14 – by close of play on June 5, we’ll know for definite which six teams are in the play-offs.
There are two matches, this week, for Top 14 followers in the UK and Ireland, with Premier Sports listing both Bordeaux-La Rochelle and Racing 92-Stade Francais.
Lyon-Toulon might have been an interesting third option and, for distilled French rugby derby spirit, Castres-Toulouse really should have been a must.
Saturday, April 2
Castres v Toulouse (kick off 3pm)
Stade Pierre Fabre
This is not just any Top 14 derby match. This is a Top 14 derby match in which the fifth-placed side heading into the weekend entertains the one that jumped two places above them last week … at the business end of a season that looks for all the world as if it will go all the way to the wire.
Normally, the standard line in previews such as this is something along the lines of: ‘Forget the 41-0 result at Ernest Wallon earlier in the season. That was an outlier result, similar to Castres’ 52-7 win at Pierre Fabre in 2017 or the frankly insane 31-41 result at Ernest Wallon that ended the smalltown club’s 39-year losing streak’.
Then, they’d go on to say: “These matches are routinely visceral, hard-tackling, tension-fuelled affairs, decided by small margins. A yypical derby, in other words. Especially at Pierre Fabre, where home fans turn out in force. This match – as always – is a sell-out.”
All of which is true. But the suspicion is the visitors could go all-in on their starting lineup, with a Dupont-Ntamack halfback partnership, Julien Marchand and Cyril Baille in the front row, and Rynhardt Elstadt and Sofiane Guitoune back from injury.
In which case, it’s probably right to worry a little for Castres, who defend their 15-month unbeaten run at home without Benjamin Urdapilleta after he suffered a hand injury late in the loss at Brive last week. They could still win – Castres routinely punch well above their weight – but it suddenly looks a whole lot more difficult.
Biarritz v Pau (kick off 5pm)
Parc des Sports d’Aguilera
Biarritz are in the odd position of all almost-officially relegated sides. There genuinely is little hope for a side that has managed just five wins all season – the last of those came back in early February with the double-ball victory over La Rochelle – and is 11 points adrift of 13th place, and a further eight from escaping the bottom two places, with their relegation curse.
But, freed from desire to survive, they are almost guaranteed to be a banana-skin side for other clubs, especially at home, where they face Pau, Castres and Clermont – all of whom need points. They proved as much at league leaders Montpellier last weekend, where they were excellent value for their 22-14 first-half lead, before eventually losing 37-22.
Which should, and will, put this week’s visitors Pau on high alert. Even with their long injury list – 18 or 19 players are currently filling the infirmary – the Basque side won’t run out of puff so quickly at home, driven on by their own fans.
And the visitors are still just a little too close to 13th place for total comfort. An away win, after their victory at home against Perpignan last week will make the rest of the run-in much more comfortable.
Clermont v Brive (kick off 5pm)
Stade Marcel Michelin
Don’t be too surprised to see French international centre-turned-winger Damian Penaud back in the heart of Clermont’s midfield for the visit of Brive this weekend, as the hosts try to make up for last week’s pointless trip to Toulon.
The hosts’ young scrum-half Kevin Viallard, who’s likely to be on the bench on Saturday, this week told Rugbyrama that Clermont, “can’t even imagine a non-qualification” for the play-offs. Morgan Parra said last weekend that the Jaunards could not afford any more mistakes at home and needed at least one win away to reach the top six.
#ASMCAB « 30 points encaissés, c’est trop ! » Jono Gibbes #YellowArmy Après un nouveau déplacement à vide frustrant, Jono Gibbes et ses hommes se préparent à un #Derby où la moindre erreur signifierait la fin des espoirs de qualification.
They would normally expect to beat Brive at Marcel Michelin – and they probably will.
But the visitors are on something of a roll, with only one defeat in their last five matches – and will look to keep the scoreboard tight.
If the visitors can turn this match into an arm wrestle, and if they are still inside a score in the final 15, this could turn into a shootout. Which won’t please new director of sports development Didier Retiere, who officially started his role on Friday after years behind the scenes at the FFR.
Lyon v Toulon (kick off 5pm)
Stade Gerland
Next season, Lyon’s Pierre Mignoni and Toulon’s Franck Azema will unite to form a Top 14 coaching dream team at Stade Mayol.
But, right now, there are still five matches of the current campaign to go, and play-off places up for grabs. The former will want to take his Lyon side – currently sixth in the table – as far as possible, after missing out on the play-offs last season.
The latter has an outside shot at the top six, having flirted with relegation not so very long ago – but Toulon’s Champions Cup hopes rest more heavily on qualification via the Challenge Cup.
That said, European quarter-final qualification is assured, one match ahead of schedule. So, Azema could rest a few players against Biarritz next week, ahead of the one-leg round-of-16 match the following week. So he could select a strong side this week just to test the waters of what would be a hugely unlikely Brennus push.
Finally, some good news: Mathieu Bastareaud has started training again. There’s no official news on his future – his contract is up at the end of the season – but it’s good to see him moving again.
League leaders Montpellier are set to welcome Paolo Garbisi back for their short trip to Perpignan after the Italian was given a well-earned week off following his emotional Six Nations’ exploits in Cardiff.
They could feature the routinely good Bastien Chalureau, who’s also back from injury – it’s a toss-up whether he or Janse van Rensburg will start alongside Paul Willemse in the second row. Geoffrey Doumayrou is also expected to play for the first time since early November.
These returns are good news for coach Philippe Saint-Andre and his staff, as they stare at what could be busy few weeks, with two European matches against Harlequins, as well as Top 14 outings against Bordeaux, Lyon, Racing 92 and Clermont in their immediate futures.
Perpignan, meanwhile, still have out-and-out survival in mind – even if Patrick Arlettaz has publicly admitted the relegation play-off is their best way out. In order to keep the pressure on Brive, Pau and Stade Francais – their nearest rivals – they need a win. Anything less, and it’s hard to see any route to survival outside that play-off.
Tic-Tac ⌛️
B𝕚𝕝𝕝𝕖𝕥𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕚𝕖 🏉 J22 – TOP 14 💊 USAP 🆚 Montpellier 📆 Samedi 2 avril – 17h 🥁 Ouvertures des portes – 15h
Bordeaux ended a run of five matches without a win, dating back to January 29, when they beat Stade Francais 31-18 in Paris last weekend. That losing run saw them give up a 10-point lead at the top of the table and be overtaken by Montpellier.
They now face the first of three matches in a row against their Atlantic coast Top 14 – and European – rivals, who are just over two hours up the A10.
Jandre Marais could return to a Bordeaux second row that has been heavily patched up in recent weeks – Cameron Woki and Louis Picamoles both successfully filled in there for the first time for their clubs at Jean-Bouin last weekend.
Meanwhile, former Castres’ backrow Maama Vaipulu – who arrived on a medical joker contract last month – could make the bench. Matthieu Jalibert remains unavailable, but is expected to return for the second leg of the Champions Cup round-of-16 tie.
For the hosts, Gregory Alldritt, Uini Atonio and Jonathan dainty should start, while Romain Sazy is set to make his 300th appearance for the club. But head coach Ronan O’Gara may have some player juggling to do to maintain the club’s JIFF matchday average.
Racing 92 and Stade Francais are, like Bordeaux and La Rochelle, at the start of a three-week run of matches against one another in domestic and European competition. Which will be fun.
Unfortunately for Stade, they have been struck by injuries at completely the wrong moment. Waisea and Marcos Kremer were both injured in the loss against Bordeaux last weekend. The former, by far the best performing player for Gonzalo Quesada this season, is out for four to six weeks with a sprained knee. The latter is set to miss three weeks’ action with a calf injury.
Paul Alo-Emile, Julien Delbouis, Harry Glover and Mathieu De Giovanni are also recovering from injury, while JJ van der Mescht is suspended until April 10.
Racing, meanwhile, are likely to keep Bernard Le Roux on ice until the European meetings over the next fortnight, and could well rest Donovan Taofifenua and Louis Dupichot.
But with a backline that looks set to include Teddy Thomas, Virimi Vakatawa, Gael Fickou and Juan Imhoff, all launched by Finn Russell – who will hope for an improvement on last week’s performance in defeat at La Rochelle – it could be a long night at La Defense Arena for the visitors.
Six weekends to go in French rugby’s regular Top 14 season. Six Nations’ internationals back in the fold. All rescheduled matches played. One side as good as relegated. Three, possibly four, others in relegation play-off danger. Eight, maybe nine, with an ever-decreasing shot at the play-offs. Welcome to the start of the final straight of a long domestic season – split into short Top 14 blocks divided by European breaks.
Here, now that all the teams have completed 20 of 26 matches, is the table heading into the weekend.
The run-in slightly favours those sides already in the top six. Fifteen victories and somewhere around 65 to 70 points should be good enough for a play-off slot – but any late-season slip could prove disastrous, especially if chasing sides La Rochelle or Clermont get on a run.
It seems Premier Sports is broadcasting just one Top 14 match this weekend for supporters in UK and Ireland – Toulouse v Lyon, fifth against third, on Sunday. It has all the hallmarks of the game of the weekend, but a resurgent Toulon v Clermont or La Rochelle’s must-win match against Racing 92 might have been decent options, too…
Saturday, March 26
Toulon v Clermont (kick off 3pm)
Stade Mayol
Suddenly, in last weekend’s rearranged 41-11 win over La Rochelle, Toulon looked a serious Top 14 side. Cheslin Kolbe scored his first and second tries for the club; Louis Carbonel discovered form he had struggled to find previously, kicking 21 points to show the Mayol crowd what they’ll miss when he joins Montpellier; Aymeric Luc – a consistent beacon all season – was his dangerously rapid self.
That bonus-point win put eight useful points and two places between the three-time European champions and 13th-placed Perpignan. Mathematically, the play-offs are – just – within reach, but even after Clermont, Toulon’s run-in features trips to Lyon, Bordeaux and Racing, and home games against Toulouse and Pau.
So their domestic ambitions probably rest more on consolidation, while they are likely to push harder into the Challenge Cup – a la Montpellier last season. Three wins from their last six in the Top 14 should be plenty. It seems logical that they’ll seek to reconnect with suffering fans with three strong home performances – along with a strong end-of-season run in Europe.
After a fortnight with no matches, two rested teams with different goals meet in what could be a crucial match for their fortunes as Brive, 12th in the table, just three points above the relegation play-off spot, entertain fourth-placed Castres and their play-off ambitions.
It’s been a good week in the backroom for Brive, according to reports, as lineout coach Arnaud Mela and backs coach Jean-Baptiste Péjoine agreed contract extensions to 2024 – but their more immediate concern is Top 14 survival.
Their trip to Perpignan at the end of April will be vital, as three of their six remaining matches are against sides currently in the play-off places – Castres, Lyon and Toulouse – while they also face trips to Clermont and Stade Francais.
A win, no matter how close, against Castres this weekend will do Brive’s survival hopes no harm whatsoever. A repeat of last season’s late-campaign result at Amedee-Domenech, when the visitors won 33-28, would leave the hosts with a hard mountain to climb in the closing weeks.
Castres coach Pierre-Henry Broncan said recently the club would bring in six players for next season. On Thursday, Castres also revealed the currently suspended gold medal-winning centre Vilimoni Botitu had signed a two-year extension to stay at Pierre Fabre until 2025.
𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐋𝐎𝐍𝐆𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 ✍️
Notre centre Fidjien de 23 ans, Vilimoni Botitu a prolongé son contrat de deux ans, soit jusqu’en 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓 !
Philippe Saint-Andre’s run as Montpellier coach was supposed to start and finish last season. But, after Mohed Altrad was unable to secure Franck Azema’s services, he agreed to extend his stay for one more campaign. This one.
Now, it appears he’s about to sign on for another two more seasons, leaving his director of rugby office to gather dust. For now.
There’s no denying his galvanising influence. Under PSA, Montpellier dragged themselves clear of relegation trouble last season and won the Challenge Cup. They are now top of the table and in the last 16 of the Champions Cup.
But they slipped up last week at Toulouse, and were fortunate a fortnight ago in a rainstorm against Toulon. Saint-Andre knows it. His players know it. Reinforced by their returning French internationals, at least, the boss will demand five points and a regalvanising performance against bottom-of-the-table Biarritz. Anything less simply won’t be good enough.
Pau v Perpignan (kick off 5pm)
Stade du Hameau
Eleventh versus 13th. Two teams separated by seven points and two places. But the expected return of former Leicester player Zack Henry – whether at 10 or 15 – to the hosts ranks could prove decisive. Pau have missed him while he has been out injured.
Pick your rugby cliche – a must-win match, a relegation dogfight, an eight-point game – all are valid. There’s a reason they’re cliches: because they describe the situation so perfectly, so succinctly they keep getting dragged out of the preview drawer.
Pau should have this, in front of their home fans on a warm, dry afternoon in the foothills of the Pyrenees. But, if the visitors can keep it tight, and returning fullback Melvyn Jaminet kicks his points, it could be closer than the home crowd want.
La Rochelle v Racing 92 (kick off 5pm)
Stade Marcel Deflandre
La Rochelle head coach Ronan O’Gara admitted his side lacked speed, aggressiveness, and precision in defeat at Toulon last Saturday. “If this is our best representation of things, we are in danger,” he said of the four-tries-to-one loss at Stade Mayol.
Last weekend’s result has left his side – despite having the second-best attack and the fourth-best defence in the Top 14 – seventh in the table with 10 wins in 20 so far.
O’Gara is expected to select internationals Gregory Alldritt and Uini Atonio, with both set to come off the bench at some point against Racing 92, a side one point, and one place above them in the table.
🇫🇷 Un immense bravo au XV de France et en particulier à nos 3 Rochelais, vainqueurs du Tournoi des 6 Nations avec 5 magnifiques victoires 😍😍 #LeTournoiEstBleu#FievreSR
Crucially, the visitors hold the last of the play-off spots. What La Rochelle need this weekend is maximum points – they’re joint top on that metric, with 10 bonus points to their name this season – but that’s not necessarily going to be easy against Racing, even with another sell-out crowd cheering them on.
Stade Francais v Bordeaux (kick off 9.05pm)
Stade Jean Bouin
At the end of January, Bordeaux were 10 points clear at the top of the table. Then they went on a five-match losing streak. Now, they’ve been overtaken by Montpellier and seemed, over the Six Nations period, a little out of sorts.
There’s no wonder then that Christophe Urios described this final sprint in two competitions, including three matches in as many weeks against La Rochelle, with their internationals returned – though Matthieu Jalibert and Yoram Moefana are injured – as being akin to ‘a new season’.
Even so, it’s probably not the best time to face a rapidly improving – fresh off a few days at training camp in Saint-Tropez – Stade Francais, a side chasing an longshot at the play-offs on their own high-speed synthetic turf.
📸 Retour de 5 jours de stage intensif au Polo Club de Saint-Tropez.
Entre cohésion, préparation physique & derniers réglages avant le sprint final de fin de saison 🔥
Urios recognised as much. “This phase is going to be important. There are nine teams that can qualify. From first to ninth, everyone can make the top six and obviously everyone can drop out. This is the final straight.”
Get it right, and Bordeaux will have a crucial win in the bag. But Urios and Bordeaux haven’t managed that recently.
Sunday, March 27
Toulouse v Lyon (kick off 9.05pm)
Stade Ernest Wallon
Romain Ntamack admitted in an interview with L’Equipe this week that France’s Grand Slam winners “would have liked to rest a little,” after a ‘very intense’ tournament.
👊 Effectif complet pour préparer la réception du LOU 🔥
📍 Rendez-vous dimanche, à 21h05, au stade Ernest-Wallon 🔴⚫
“But the club needs us,” he added. “It is therefore important to get back into the swing of things as quickly as possible and to work to the Toulouse blueprint.”
ℝ𝕠𝕦𝕘𝕖 X ℕ𝕠𝕚𝕣 X 𝔼𝕣𝕟𝕖𝕤𝕥 𝕎𝕒𝕝𝕝𝕠𝕟 ⬇️#STLOU, 𝗟𝗘 𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗰 𝗱𝘂 𝘄-𝗲 ! 🔥
On vous attend nombreux le dimanche 27/03, pour soutenir nos Stadistes ❤️🖤
It’s likely all 10 of fifth-placed Toulouse’s returning French internationals will be named in the 23 to face third-placed Lyon, a side a point better off than their hosts.
Ugo Mola’s side took five points off Montpellier last week, and will be looking for another full-house here, against Lyon, to consolidate their play-off place before – perhaps – resting a few players in the final Top 14 outing before the Champions Cup round-of-16 double-header against Ulster in early April.
Then, there’s the small matter of the rest of the dash to the Top 14 play-offs and – perhaps – further matches in the defence of their European title.
My name is James Harrington. I’m a freelance sports journalist based in France, writing mostly about French club and international rugby. If, after reading this, you feel the urge to commission me for match previews, reviews, 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 round-up all the weekend’s Top 14 action on the Irish Examiner website on Monday.
Officially, this is the 20th round of the Top 14 campaign, after which there’s a break in the campaign until March 26.
But postponements related to Covid 19 mean a number of teams are behind schedule – or, if you prefer, have games in hand. Those matches have been slotted into the two free weekends ahead.
So, in 400m parlance, when the scheduled Top 14 programme resumes later this month, the bend will have unwound, and we’ll have a much clearer picture of how things stand heading into the final six-match straight.
The current table, heading into this weekend, looks like this:
Top 14 watchers in the UK and Ireland will be able to watch Clermont v Lyon on Saturday evening, and Stade Francais v Toulouse in this season’s Classico II on Sunday night.
Saturday, March 5
Castres v Montpellier (kick off 3pm)
Stade Pierre Fabre
This is the definition of a something’s got to give match: fifth-placed Castres, unbeaten at home in the Top 14 in 17 matches – a run dating back to December 2020 – face second-placed Montpellier, unbeaten home or away in their last 10.
It’s the third match of a tough run for the hosts – who beat third-placed Lyon at home two weeks ago, then gave up their fourth-place to Racing last week, with a 45-25 loss at Lorenzetti’s Pleasure Dome.
The three-week break that follows this weekend’s match will be welcomed as the 2018 champions – who beat Montpellier in that final – brace for the final six-match race to the play-offs. It means they can throw if not the entire kitchen sink, then some meaningful utensils at this match.
Montpellier, two matches behind on the schedule because of Covid-19 postponements, don’t have that luxury. They entertain survival-chasing Toulon next week, and then travel to season-saving Toulouse on March 20, a week before the scheduled Top 14 season resumes.
Coach Philippe Saint-Andre needs to be more careful with his squad, and may choose to rest some key players for later challenges – Montpellier’s regular season ends with a run of Bordeaux-Lyon-Racing-Clermont – at a time of the campaign when defeats are more serious because there’s less time to iron them out.
Biarritz v Toulon (kick off 5pm)
Parc des Sports d’Aguilera
Bottom-of-the-table Biarritz still believe – have to believe – they can escape an immediate return to the ProD2, despite losing seven of their last eight matches.
“The players are going to be a little tense about our next meetings,” coach Matthew Clarkin told reporters midweek. “But it’s our job to relieve the pressure … We have to make sure that we master everything we can about our game.”
This match – against 12th-placed Toulon – is as crucial as it gets. “Toulon is a chance to show that we have progressed and that we have grown,” Clarkin added, which may or may not be code for ‘win-or-bust match’.
But that’s pretty much what it is. Lose, and no matter what happens elsewhere, and the relative safety of 12th place will be nine or 10 points away.
☀️ Nos Rouge et Noir se sont entrainés sous les yeux de nombreux enfants au Stade Riquier cet après-midi !
The question is: do Toulon, slapdash and uncontrolled in defeat at Brive last weekend, have it in them to all-but end the Basque side’s hopes? Sergio Parisse said this week that he had turned down a Six Nations swansong with Italy to help the club out of ‘a difficult situation’.
There’s still plenty going on behind the scenes at the Var side. The players and the coach have to find a way to put it out of their minds and perform like a team on the pitch.
La Rochelle v Brive (kick off 5pm)
Stade Marcel Deflandre
In common with a number of teams, La Rochelle are in an odd yet familiar Six Nations position. Some of their players – Gregory Alldritt, Uini Atonio, Jonathan Danty – are with the France squad and unavailable to Ronan O’Gara.
Others – Paul Boudehent, Brice Dulin, Jules Favre, Thomas Lavault – are available for selection, but will head to FFR headquarters at Marcoussis after this weekend’s match, having been called up to the squad for next Friday’s Six Nations match against Wales.
That leaves O’Gara – who has a rescheduled trip to Toulon on March 19 to factor into his thinking – with something of a selection headache. Does he give Dillyn Leyds, just returning from an ankle injury, some match time this week, or keep him for Toulon, for example.
Brive have injury worries of their own. After a successful February home run – when they won their two and drew one at Amadee Domenech, including last weekend’s win over Toulon – they head to Marcel Deflandre with a battered and patched-up squad.
Unlike their hosts, they are on schedule with their matches, so will have three weeks to recover from Saturday’s match before they next take to the pitch – at home to Castres on March 26.
Bordeaux v Pau (kick off 5pm)
Stade Chaban-Delmas
Two weeks ago, after Top 14 leaders Bordeaux had lost their first home game of the season against Racing 92, their second defeat on the bounce manager Christophe Urios told his players: “I love these moments. We’ve got to come up with solutions.”
Last week, after a third consecutive loss, he was rather less well-disposed. “I was disappointed with our rugby, especially in the set piece where we either lost the ball or were penalised. It’s always the same evils: we’re not very efficient, we waste a lot. We need to sort this all out.”
🏟 𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝘀𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗱𝗶 𝗮̀ 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗯𝗮𝗻
Vous êtes déjà plus de 20 000 supporters à avoir pris vos places pour soutenir l'UBB lors de l'importante réception de la @SectionPaloise 🔥
Enter Pau. The only side to lose at home last week – a 22-16 defeat at the hands of La Rochelle. Urios was blunt in his assessment of Saturday’s match. “Today, the urgency and the priority is to beat Pau,” he said at Bordeaux’s midweek media session.
It’s true to say, their comfort zone has vanished over the past three Top 14 weekends. Just one point now separates them from Montpellier, at the head of the chasing pack.
Matthieu Jalibert – named in France’s extended 42-player squad for the Six Nations match against Wales on March 11 – may get a run-out at Chaban-Delmas this weekend, but Urios admitted his fly-half ‘won’t be 100 percent, necessarily’.
🌟 𝙇'𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙖𝙞 𝙙𝙪 𝙢𝙤𝙞𝙨 avec COFIM Immobilier
🤩 Ce n'est pas 3 mais 4️⃣ magnifiques essais qui sont en compétition ce mois-ci !
📲 Rendez-vous sur votre appli Section pour désigner l'essai du mois de février !
Perpignan, promoted as convincing ProD2 champions last season, find themselves in a similar precarious position to fellow promoted side Biarritz.
Currently 13th in the table, two points behind Toulon heading into the weekend, anything less than a win could see them further adrift from safety, in the relegation play-off spot – which comes with a winner-takes-Top-14-place trip to an ambitious ProD2 side’s packed home ground.
Objectif ➡️ Racing 92
🏉 J20 – TOP 14 💊 USAP 🆚 @racing92 📆 Samedi 5 mars – 17h ⭐️ Ouvertures des portes à 15h30 🍻 Buvettes ouvertes 😁 Fin du port du masque
Their problem – visitors Racing 92 are on a six-match hot-streak, have climbed to fourth in the table, and have third place in their sights. From there, second – with its free pass to the Top 14 semi-final come the post-season play-offs – may be just a win away.
Expect them to bring a strong side – though concern over Baptiste Chouzenoux may see them opt to play lock Luke Jones at 7, while the non-selection of Bernard Le Roux by Fabien Galthie may be explained if, as expected, he’s absent from the Racing 23.
They’ve had injuries: Fritz Lee, Alexandre Lapandry, Sebastien Bezy, Wesley Fofana, Peceli Yato, Yohan Beheregaray, Samuel Ezeala, Jacobus Van Tonder, Alexandre Fischer, Adrien Pélissie and Bastien Pourailly are all out, while Morgan Parra – who has played at 10 for the past couple of weeks amid a season-long fly-half consistency problem – is a doubt: a decision will be made as late as possible.
The good news, at least, is that Camille Lopez is fit again, which solves half of the halfback problem. The other half really could do with Parra. But Clermont have a Covid catch-up match against Bordeaux next week, so Gibbes has to juggle his options carefully.
Meanwhile, third-placed Lyon’s late-campaign plans have taken a knock with news that Charlie Ngatai – who’s set to sign a contract extension, reports suggest – will be out for a couple of months with a broken tibia.
Despite the absences, both sides still have the resources in hand to field strong sides, on paper. It’s set to be chilly but dry at Clermont on Saturday evening, and with the backs that these two sides can put out, that should equal some thrilling rugby.
Sunday, March 6
Stade Francais v Toulouse (kick off 9.05pm)
Stade Jean Bouin
The weekend closes with Classico II, just over three weeks after a Covid-delayed all-in Classico I, a match won for Stade Francais after the hooter by a Joris Segond penalty.
— Stade Français Paris (@SFParisRugby) March 3, 2022
At the time of Classico I, Toulouse were four matches into a six-match losing streak that ended with Sunday’s hard-fought 12-11 win over Bordeaux at Ernest Wallon.
A few hours earlier, Stade Francais had lost 30-3 at Montpellier – a result that head coach Gonzalo Quesada insisted did not reflect the match that preceded it.
— Stade Français Paris (@SFParisRugby) March 2, 2022
That win over Bordeaux will have done wonders for Toulouse’s confidence – but Ugo Mola will still be without eight or nine players who are away on France duty. Add-in injuries, and his options are severely compromised. Victory at Jean Bouin will be based on guts and grit and no small amount of determination.
Stade, meanwhile, have not lost at home since November – but they have not done the double over Toulouse since the 2006/07 season. The Paris side, currently outside the play-off places, went on to win the Brennus at the end of that season.
My name is James Harrington. I’m a freelance sports journalist based in France, writing mostly about French club and international rugby. If, after reading this, you feel the urge to commission me for match previews, reviews, 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 round-up all the weekend’s Top 14 action on the Irish Examiner website on Monday.
James Harrington: Freelance sports journalist 