Top 14, r15 preview - Internationals return to add further sparkle to glitzy weekend

03 December 2009

Top 14, Round 15 fixtures (Current league position in brackets)

Montauban (11th)

Clermont Auvergne (2nd)

Stade Sapiac, 04/12/09, 20.45

Clermont ended a four-match run without a win with a handsome 32-3 home victory over Bourgoin last weekend, and they will be looking for a similarly positive result to send them into their forthcoming Heineken Cup double-header against Leicester Tigers. With that in mind Vern Cotter has opted to rest several players with Julien Bonnaire, Thomas Domingo, Martin Scelzo and Jason White all rested. France scrum-half Morgan Parra does travel, but Napolioni Nalaga is unavailable after picking up a hand injury while with Fiji. That still leaves Clermont capable of fielding a back line including Brock James, Gavin Williams, Aurélien Rougerie, Benoit Baby, Julien Malzieu and Anthony Floch, and it's surely in their interests to try and go into those Leicester clashes on a winning burst. Montauban, for their part, just want a win, however it's achieved, after losing their past three matches. Wins and losses have come in fits and bursts for Marc Raynaud's team this season, but they need to stop their current run soon, especially with Castres, Stade Francais and Toulon their next three opponents in Top 14.
Last season:
Montauban 19 Clermont Auvergne 19
Clermont Auvergne 25 Montauban 30
This season:
Clermont Auvergne 37 Montauban 16
Verdict: Clermont Auvergne win

Brive (9th)

Stade Toulousain (4th)

Stade Amédée Domenech, 05/12/09, 14.15

Brive's recent record of one loss in four suggests the Limousin club should be capable of extricating themselves from a mess of their own making, but they could probably have done without meeting Stade Toulousain this weekend, especially with the 17-time champions still smarting from playing two games while missing their plethora of internationals. Stade boss Guy Noves has made his feelings about the matter clear for all who wanted to listen - along with several other head coaches - but now it's time for the talking to stop and the playing to re-begin. His ire won't have been helped by tyro centre Yann David returning injured from his stint with 'Les Bleus', but the ongoing convalescence of David Skrela (who played 25 minutes last weekend) will be more welcome. Of more concern is Stade's record of having lost five of their last six away games. If they are to avoid that becoming six from seven they will have to stop a Brive side boosted by last weekend's surprising 25-3 win at Montpellier. The decision to sack Laurent Seigne in favour of Ugo Mola appears to be having a beneficial effect and if Brive can pull off another win here then there's no reason they can't push for a Heineken Cup berth in the second half of the season. Defeat, however, would keep them entangled in the relegation mire.
Last season:
Brive 10 Stade Toulousain 42
Stade Toulousain 21 Brive 15
This season:
Stade Toulousain 38 Brive 0
Verdict: Stade Toulousain win

Bourgoin (13th)

Castres (1st)

Stade Pierre Rajon, 05/12/09, 14.30

Three defeats on the spin has left Bourgoin back in the drop-zone, and with off-field distractions once again rearing their heads this is not a good time for the Isere club. Their collective mood is in stark contrast to leaders Castres, who travel to Bourgoin looking to build on successive wins against Stade Toulousain and Biarritz. The continued good form of Castres has finally forced joint coaches Laurent Labit and Laurent Travers to admit that not securing a play-off berth from here would be a disaster, but they continue to caution against over-expectation. Squad unity, hard work and extracting the very best from their resources appear to be the cornerstones of the two Laurents' success - both here and at previous club Montauban - but they do have stars too. Former All Black flanker Chris Masoe has been one of the players of the season, and the combined boots of Romain Teulet (110pts) and Cameron McIntyre (96pts) have proved hugely efficient. Their reward is a thoroughly deserved five-point cushion at the head of Top 14, a position they will fight tooth and nail to protect from now until the end of the season. Another away win here would do nicely for the leaders, but Bourgoin will certainly be no pushovers and have only lost twice at home in the league this campaign.
Last season:
Bourgoin 31 Castres 23
Castres 9 Bourgoin 23
This season:
Castres 29 Bourgoin 9
Verdict: Castres win

Perpignan (3rd)

Montpellier (10th)

Stade Aime Giral, 05/12/09, 16.25

Defending champions Perpignan had a blank weekend in round 14 due to several players contracting the H1N1 virus and it remains to be seen how severely the ensuing quarantine period disrupted training and preparation. There were murmurs of discontent at the late hour of their postponed game with Bayonne, but the Catalans insist they did everything by the book and were only following advice laid out by the LNR regarding the virus. They may have escaped playing a match without several internationals, but they also lost their Top 14 lead  as Castres took advantage of their inactivity. They will certainly be keen to try and get back to winning ways against Montpellier, especially after their shock 24-23 defeat at SCA Albi in round 13. That all combines to mean Perpignan have to go back exactly a month for their last league victory, something that should be corrected at home to Montpellier on Saturday afternoon. The visitors will be handicapped by the injury-enforced absence of captain Fulgence Ouedraogo - injured playing for France against the All Blacks - but do at least have fly-half Francois Trinh-Duc back in their ranks. Perpignan have also lost centre Maxime Mermoz to an injury sustained with France, but their greater strength in depth should help them overcome that without too many hiccups. The champions remain imperial at home this season with seven wins from seven in the league, while Montpellier have lost five of their seven games on the road. Perpignan also have the added incentive to trying to make amends for their early-season 18-12 loss in Montpellier.
Last season:
Perpignan 50 Montpellier 13
Montpellier 3 Perpignan 5
This season:
Montpellier 18 Perpignan 12
Verdict: Perpignan win

Stade Francais (7th)

Bayonne (12th)

Stade de France, 05/12/09, 16.25

Stade's excellent start under Jacques Delmas has faltered somewhat of late and the Paris giants go into Saturday's game against Bayonne with just one league win from their last five games. The recent 'duplicate' matches - where Top 14 clashed with international matches - were particularly hard on Stade, and the Paris club will be delighted to welcome back 11 players for this weekend. Italy captain Sergio Parisse will not be one of those, however, after the former IRB Player of the Year nominee was ruled out for up to six months with the dreaded knee ligament damage. In-form English winger Ollie Phillips will be keen to continue his excellent recent run, which has seen him rise to joint second in the Top 14 scoring charts (with four tries), while the club as a whole is looking to end a five-match run without a win at the Stade de France. Upwards of 77,000 fans are expected for the latest Max Guazzini extravaganza, and Saturday's match will mark the first time the Paris club has played a team from outside the previous year's top four at the Stade de France. Last season they lost three and drew one of their four league games there, and this season they have already gone down to Perpignan there (back in October). Twelfth-placed Bayonne should, in theory, present less of an obstacle, but the Basques will travel refreshed and looking to build on their 38-13 home win against Montauban last time out. Their postponed game against Perpignan has allowed them plenty of time to rest and plan, and they will either be inspired or daunted by the occasion. Most visiting teams appear to lift their game at the national stadium, while Stade - by contrast - have become hesitant and self-doubting. Saturday presents the perfect opportunity to end that trend for James Haskell and company, but Bayonne could be a dangerous opponent as - with a season's record of played seven, lost seven on the road - they really have nothing further to lose. 
Last season:
Stade Francais 35 Bayonne 8
Bayonne 31 Stade Francais 27
This season:
Bayonne 38 Stade Francais 24
Verdict: Stade Francais win

SCA Albi (14th)

Biarritz (8th)

Stade Municipal d'Albi, 06/12/09, 15.00

SCA Albi are currently rooted to the foot of the table and eight points adrift of 13th-placed Bourgoin, so if they are to have any realistic hopes of survival then they surely have to win their remaining home games, beginning with Biarritz on Sunday. Hope remains after beating champions (and then leaders) Perpignan 24-23 last time out at the Stade Municipal d'Albi, and the visit of Biarritz comes at a fortuitous time for Eric Béchu's men. The Basques will surely be at a disadvantage having played (and lost to) Racing-Métro on Wednesday evening as they played catch-up for an earlier postponement. The ongoing absence of internationals Imanol Harinordoquy, Marcelo Bosch and Iain Balshaw is a further hindrance for Biarritz, but the players will undoubtedly have been stung by their coaches after their midweek home defeat. There is currently a five point gap between eighth-placed Biarritz and the play-off zone, and they will want to avoid that expanding as the scramble for next year's Heineken Cup qualification heats up. The more immediate challenge of this year's European campaign continues next weekend with the visit of Newport Gwent Dragons, and Biarritz would love to go into that game boosted by a morale-lifting win here. For that to happen they will have to replicate the form that saw them win 16-13 at Clermont in round 12, rather than the disjointed outfit which crashed 34-6 away to Castres a week later.
Last season: SCA Albi were in ProD2
This season:
Biarritz 39 SCA Albi 6
Verdict: Biarritz win

Racing-Métro 92 (5th)

Toulon (6th)

Stade Yves du Manoir, 06/12/09, 17.05

Two seasons ago these sides were fighting it out together for promotion from ProD2; now they are competing for a play-off berth and Heineken Cup qualification as they both continue to thrive in France's top tier. Toulon got there a season earlier but had difficulty adjusting under the tutelage of tyro coach Tana Umaga and a United Nations squad. A year on and the potent combination of Mourad Boudjellal's cash and Philippe Saint-André's wisdom has helped strengthen Toulon into a burgeoning power with a seemingly bright future. Over in Paris Pierre Berbizier has been doing likewise with Jacky Lorenzetti's loot and a battle-hardened squad. He's also got some rising stars in amongst the likes of Lionel Nallet, Sébastien Chabal and François Steyn, with 24-year-old fly-half Jonathan Wisniewski doing more than enough to hold his place ahead of former All Black Andrew Mehrtens. Twenty-one-year-old centre Henry Chavancy has also been getting rave reviews, while Fijian veteran Sireli Bobo has scored in his past two games. It has all combined to put Racing on a seven-match winning run that has seen them sweep from second bottom to fifth. It's been a heady rise, but there's been no questioning the merit of their results, as Toulon are bound to find out. Paris proved a happy hunting ground for them last weekend as Jonny Wilkinson guided them to victory over Stade Francais, and a win-double here would extend their own recent run to five wins in six. Toulon did report a case of H1N1 on Thursday, but said the player had been immediately isolated and did not travel to Paris. 
Last season: Racing-Métro 92 were in ProD2
This season:
Toulon 27 Racing-Métro 13
Verdict: Draw

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