|
02 October 2008
This weekend sees round
seven of the championship with several intriguing match-ups
before a two-week break due to the opening batch of Heineken
Cup matches. Friday night sees reinvigorated Toulouse travel
to Castres as they seek a third consecutive win, while the
Stade Aimee Giral is bound to be lively as Perpignan play
hosts to Toulon. Leaders Stade Francais look nailed on for a
seventh successive victory but can Brive build on their
success last week and continue their climb up the table.
Also, will defeat for Biarritz signal the end for Jacques
Delmas and Jack Isaac?
As ever I’ll put my neck
on the block and predict which way I think the results will
fall (six out of seven correct last week), and we’ll hold
our usual post-match inquests once the weekend action has
concluded, with Bayonne travelling to Dax for the Saturday
evening game.
Castres v Toulouse (3/10/08, 8.30pm)
Toulouse have scored 71
points in two games since going down at Clermont, and it’s
hard not to see another victory for Guy Noves’ team here as
they travel to second bottom Castres. The home side have
been competitive in most of their matches this season, hence
a points differential of just -19 despite only one victory,
but the defending champions look to be finding their form
after a stuttering start and I expect victory for them at
the Stade Pierre Antoine. Scrum-half Byron Kelleher could be
rested, with Jean-Baptiste Ellisalde back in the squad after
three weeks out, while Castres are likely to welcome back
Sebastien Tillous-Bourde.
Perpignan had an excellent
first-half away to Toulouse last week, before fading after
the interval, but I expect them to bounce back with a home
win against Toulon at the Stade Aimee Giral. They will have
to make do without South African fly-half Steve Meyer, who
will be out for two months following an operation on a
dislocated shoulder, but Tana Umaga’s Toulon have a woeful
away record in Top 14 and it’s hard not to see anything
other than victory for fifth-placed Perpignan in this one.
The runaway leaders will
be looking to make it a ‘magnificent seven’ on Saturday as
they seek to continue their winning start to coach Ewen
McKenzie’s reign. Rugby league convert Mark Gasnier will be
hoping to build on last week’s impressive debut – when he
scored in the 25-32 win at Bourgoin – while Montauban will
have to break with precedent if they’re to return from Paris
with the points. Stade go into the match, at Stade Jean
Bouin, as the division’s highest scorers (172 in six games).
Ninth-placed Biarritz will
be relieved to return to home turf after a tough fortnight
on the road, which saw them lose to Dax (30-18) and Clermont
(32-6), and resulted in speculation about the future of
coaches Jacques Delmas and Jack Isaac. The Parc des Sports
d’Aguilera should be rocking for this confrontation, with
fourth-placed Montpellier seeking to consolidate their
credentials as a major force this season. They will be
buoyed by last week’s away win at Mont-de-Marsan, but
Biarritz should provide more formidable opposition on
Saturday despite the rumour-mill suggesting former Ireland
coach Eddie O’Sullivan is being lined up to come in.
Verdict: Biarritz win.
The relief was tangible
when Brive finally got their season up and running with last
week’s first win of the season, a resounding 41-9 thrashing
of Dax that lifted them off the foot of the table. With Andy
Goode finally playing with the freedom and confidence he
used to exude at Leicester the home side will be keen to
build on the win by dispatching bottom club Mont-de-Marsan
as they seek to make up for their indifferent start. Les
Montois have lost all four of their away games so far this
season and I expect a similar result at the Stade Amédée
Domenech on Saturday.
This is a tough match to
call with Clermont’s up and down season seemingly resting on
whether they play at home (won three out of three) or away
(lost three out of three). Bourgoin may be lying low in 11th
position but like Castres they have been competitive in most
of their matches to date, including last week’s 25-32 home
defeat by leaders Stade Francais. Clermont need to start
picking up points on their travels in they’re to harbour
serious hopes of making the play-offs again and I fancy them
to squeeze a result at the Stade Pierre Rajon.
Dax came back to earth
with a resounding bump last week when they lost 41-9 away to
Brive after successive victories over Biarritz and Castres,
and second-placed Bayonne are bound to present another tough
challenge in the last of the weekend’s game. The Basque side
have been the surprise package of the Top 14 season so far,
winning five of their six games despite an overall points
aggregate of -6. Another win here, at the Stade Maurice
Boyau, would consolidate their early-season form, and they
certainly shouldn’t lack confidence.
Verdict: Bayonne win.
|
