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25 September 2008
Toulon's
off-field weekly soap opera may make great viewing but it's
time to get back to the serious stuff again as we look ahead
to round six of the Top 14, with some huge games this
weekend as the championship begins to take meaningful shape.
Defending
champions Toulouse entertain high-flying Perpignan in front
of a partisan sell-out home crowd, underperforming Clermont
face another test of character with the visit of Biarritz,
and the Basque battlers of Bayonne will be hoping to heap
more misery on Mourad Boudjellal when they welcome Toulon.
Bottom of
the table Brive finally get to play a home game, but will
surprise package Dax provide their first victory?
Once more
I put my reputation - such as it is - on the sporting line,
seeking as ever an improvement on last week's four out of
seven correct predictions.
Bourgoin v Stade Francais
(26/9/08, 20.30)
The
weekend kicks off with Bourgoin entertaining runaway leaders
Stade Francais on Friday night at the Stade Pierre Rajon and
it's difficult to see anything other than another win for
Ewen McKenzie's outfit. With five wins out of five, and
bolstered by the inclusion of rugby league convert Mark
Gasnier, Stade should prove too strong for a Bourgoin side
which has lost four games already this season. Stade's
versatile Argentine Juan Martin Hernandez has been in prime
form to date, together with Lionel Beauxis, but all eyes
will be on Gasnier following his arrival from NRL outfit St
George Illawarra.
The fixture list may not have been kind to Brive - with four
away games in their first five - but few would still have
tipped the club to be bottom of the pile at this stage of
the season. A massive summer recruitment policy is taking
time to bed in but their determination to play flowing
attacking rugby should begin to pay dividends when they
entertain Dax - surprise winners in the past two weekends.
Confidence, or lack of it, is Brive's main problem at
present, but I expect them to get back on track on Saturday.
Three defeats out
of five is clearly not what Clermont expected at this stage
of the season and a disappointing eighth place will be
worrying Les Jaunards despite the long-term loss of captain
Aurelain Rougerie. A home clash against sixth-placed
Biarritz could be just the trick to get them going again,
although in truth their form at the Parc des Sports Marcel
Michelin has been fine this season with wins against
Montpellier (43-20) and Toulouse (16-6) already under their
belts. Biarritz may be smarting from their 30-18 turnover
by Dax last week, but I don't expect them to get much more
than a defensive bonus point at best.
League position
(10th and 12th respectively) suggests there's not much
between these two but their form could not be more
contrasting going into this fixture with Montauban thumped
41-10 at home by Toulouse last week and Castres buoyant
after a 12-6 victory over Clermont to record their first win
of the season. I expect a backlash at the Stade Sapiac, and
Castres could be the ones to pay.
Second
bottom versus fifth looks an easy call on paper but Les
Montois have been in good form at the Stade Guy Boniface,
beating Toulon 25-18 in their only home game to date this
season. Even away from home they have generally been
competitive and a much-needed victory here would be just
reward for some tenacious effort to date. Montpellier will
be out to make amends for last week's narrow home defeat by
Perpignan.
The defending
champions have been in erratic form so far this season,
struggling to adapt their game to the new ELVs and generally
lacking consistency, but last week's 41-10 thumping of
Montauban at the usually fortress-like Stade Sapiac should
serve as a wake up call to their challengers. A sell out
crowd their clash with second-placed Perpignan is sure to
provide an electric atmosphere, in what could be the game of
the weekend. The ambitious Catalans paraded Dan Carter this
week but sadly for the Kiwi superstar won't be available
until December 1st, making an upset at Toulouse all the more
unlikely.
The final game of the weekend could be the
most explosive as third-place Bayonne welcome under-pressure
Toulon to the Stade Jean Dauger. Toulon coach Tana Umaga is
still in New Zealand for 'personal reasons', possible
replacement John Connolly has summonsed by Mourad Boudjellal
and by all accounts star signing Sonny Bill Williams is not
a happy bunny. Still, they did manage a scrappy home win
over Bourgoin last week, but Bayonne will prove another
prospect altogether with the Basque outfit riding high on
the back four wins out of five. Somehow I don't see monsieur
Boudjellal cracking open the champagne on Saturday night.
Verdict: Bayonne to win
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