Top 14, r21: Clermont out for revenge over Perpignan; Stades do battle in Paris 'classico'

04 March 2010

Top 14, Round 21 fixtures (Current league position in brackets)

Clermont Auvergne (2nd)

Perpignan (3rd)

Stade Marcel Michelin, 05/03/10, 20.45

Both these sides go into Friday night's game tied in 61 points and searching for the win which would assist their own respective quests to finish in the top two - and thereby get a bye into the Top 14 play-off semi-finals. To that end Clermont must start as favourites owing to their considerable home advantage, especially given the Catalans' indifferent away form this season. Perpignan have lost seven from 10 on the road in this league campaign, and very few teams escape from Clermont with anything more than a consolation defensive point. Only Biarritz have won there this season, and Clermont have rattled up an impressive 168 points in their four subsequent home games since then. The hosts should be boosted by the return of  captain Aurélien Rougerie - fresh from agreeing a new contract extension, but pending a late fitness test on his neck - and they will also have French internationals Julien Pierre, Thomas Domingo, Julien Bonnaire, Alexandre Lapandry, Morgan Parra and Julien Malzieu back in their squad. Georgian Davit Zirakashvili is another returnee - fresh from helping his country to World Cup qualification - but Italian centre Gonzalo Canale is rested. Memories of last season's 22-13 play-off final defeat remain horribly fresh in the Clermont players' minds, and they have the further spur of trying to avenge their 19-3 league defeat in Perpignan earlier this season, when they were blown away by a destructive Catalan opening burst, and also had Canadian lock Jamie Cudmore sent off. The visitors have lost four of their last five away games - including 16-13 at Montauban last time out - but they also welcome back French internationals Nicolas Mas and David Marty, as well as fit-again centre Maxime Mermoz.
Last season:
Clermont Auvergne 29 Perpignan 9
Perpignan 20 Clermont Auvergne 16
Play-off final: Perpignan 22 Clermont Auvergne 13
This season:
Perpignan 19 Clermont Auvergne 3
Verdict: Clermont Auvergne win

Castres (1st)

Brive (8th)

Stade Pierre Antoine, 06/03/10, 14.30

Leaders Castres are one of three teams still boasting an unbeaten home record this season - along with Perpignan and Toulon - and will be hoping to extend that run when they welcome play-off chasing Brive on Saturday. The hosts have nine wins and a draw under their belt at the Stade Pierre Antoine so far, and know that another victory here will further strengthen their claims for a top two finish as their nearest rivals - Clermont and Perpignan - do battle against each other. French internationals Marc Andreu and Luc Ducalcon are both in their squad, but Brive will have to make do without want-away centre Riki Flutey after the RFU refused the club's request that he be released. England hooker Steve Thompson and centre Jamie Noon are both back though, while French duo Alexis Palisson and Fabrice Estebanez are also in the visitors' squad. Incredibly, these two teams played out two draws last season (11-11 at Castres and 16-16 at Brive) and there was only two points between them when Brive won a tense encounter 11-9 earlier this season. That all points to another close match on Saturday, with Brive knowing they need to make up ground after their 12-6 defeat at Biarritz in Round 20. The Limousin club are already seven points adrift of the play-off zone, leaving them precious little room for manoeuvre as the season draws to its climax. 
Last season:
Castres 11 Brive 11
Brive 16 Castres 16
This season:
Brive 11 Castres 9
Verdict: Castres win

Bayonne (13th)

SCA Albi (14th)

Stade Jean Dauger, 06/03/10, 14.30

This is quite simply a must-win game for Bayonne. No 'ifs', no 'buts' - Christian Gajan's side must register league victory number seven or they can effectively wave goodbye to their Top 14 status. And that is just the minimum. In reality they could also do with adding the attacking bonus as they play host to the only team below them in the league. Albi have yet to record an away win all season, and this week rumours emerged of a split in the camp as a season-long slog against almost inevitable relegation finally began to take its toll. It is against this backdrop - as well as Bayonne's 12-6 defeat at Bourgoin last weekend - that the Basques go into the latest round of their own survival fight. Gajan has overseen four wins in six since becoming Bayonne's third head coach of the season, and that figure must rise to five from seven if hopes of avoiding the drop zone are to be realized. To that end they could not wish for a more suitable opponent, with Albi arriving on the back of a seven-match losing streak that appears to have finally broken their spirit. Long-serving coach Eric Béchu reportedly informed the players this week that he would be leaving at the end of the season, and with a 16-point gap to safety it really is only pride that the visitors will be playing for. Bayonne's plight continues to confound, with the Basques the only team in the bottom five not to have a negative points aggregate - a spectacularly strange quirk given that Albi (immediately below them) are on -247 and Bourgoin (immediately above them) are -183.
Last season: SCA Albi were in ProD2
This season:
SCA Albi 14 Bayonne 19
Verdict: Bayonne win

Bourgoin (12th)

Montauban (11th)

Stade Pierre Rajon, 06/03/10, 14.30

Part deux of this weekend's relegation double-headers sees 12th-placed Bourgoin at home to 13th-placed Montauban in a match just as important as Bayonne's home clash with Albi. Both teams arrive fresh from notable home wins last time out - Bourgoin 12-6 against Bayonne and Montauban 16-13 against Perpignan - but also with the knowledge that defeat here will most likely result in them slipping into the drop-zone.  That threat is nothing new to Bourgoin, who have so far battled successfully against endless obstacles placed in their path this season, but for Montauban it would be an entirely new experience. The bad news for Marc Raynaud's visitors is that statistics and form point to it being them as the most likely team to end the weekend in 13th spot - assuming that Bayonne can brush off Albi. Seven of Bourgoin's eight league wins this season have come at the Stade Pierre Rajon, with such notable scalps as Biarritz, Brive, Perpignan and Castres having all fallen on their travels. Montauban, by contrast, have lost nine of their 10 away games this season, with their lone victory being a shock 40-35 win at Stade Francais back in September last year. Victory for Bourgoin would tee them up for next weekend's trip to Albi, and a shot at registering three successive league wins for the first time this season. 
Last season:
Bourgoin 25 Montauban 15
Montauban 18 Bourgoin 14
This season:
Montauban 12 Bourgoin 15
Verdict: Bourgoin win

Toulon (5th)

Biarritz (9th)

Stade Félix Mayol, 06/03/10, 14.30

Biarritz may have beaten Brive 12-6 in their last league match but the Basques remain outsiders for a top six finish as they still languish eight points off the play-off zone. That means they simply have to pick up points on their travels between now and the end of the season if they're to make up ground - beginning with Saturday's visit to the imposing Stade Félix Mayol. Toulon remain unbeaten at home in all competitions this season and even the absence of England fly-half Jonny Wilkinson should not overly perturb them with Argentine Felipe Contepomi again filling in. Toulon president Mourad Boudjellal showed off his latest star acquisition at the club on Friday - with England winger Paul Sackey being unveiled to the press - and he will be looking for his team to register a fourth successive league win when they take on Biarritz on Saturday afternoon. Confidence is sky high after their 6-3 win at Stade Toulousain in Round 20, and the whiff of success is beginning to permeate the club as Philippe Saint-André's excellent first season in charge continues to gather momentum. Biarritz, by contrast, are in a hole of their own digging after a campaign undermined by the on-field inconsistency that has been their undoing in recent seasons. Defeat here would add further pressure to their Heineken Cup quarter-final against the Ospreys as it could prove their only viable route back into Europe's premier club competition for next season.
Last season:
Toulon 10 Biarritz 5
Biarritz 19 Toulon 12
This season:
Biarritz 23 Toulon 9
Verdict: Toulon win

Stade Francais (7th)

Stade Toulousain (4th)

Stade de France, 06/03/10, 16.25

It's make-or-break time for Stade Francais, with the tensions of a trying season spilling out into the open this week in the form of Max Guazzini's public spat with the RFU over James Haskell's availability. There's no doubt the Parisians have legitimate grounds for grumbling after France freely allowed their internationals back to their respective clubs - including eight to their weekend opponents Stade Toulousain - but Stade Francais' anger has also been heightened by their own desperation. Despite registering their maiden away win of the season in Round 20 - 22-16 at Bourgoin - they remain five points off the play-off zone and precariously placed as the season draws in. Last season they were comprehensively beaten by Guy Noves' team at the Stade de France and a similar outcome here could prove terminal to their end-of-season aspirations. Like Biarritz they could then be left with a mighty focus on their Heineken Cup quarter-final, which just happens to be away to Stade Toulousain. So, not only is this a crucial league encounter, but also a serious marker for their forthcoming European squabble. But it's not just Stade Francais who are having problems, with Noves trying to rally his own troops after successive home defeats to Clermont Auvergne and Toulon. That was quite simply not in the script for a club of Stade Toulousain's stature, and has now left the 17-time champions with ground to make up if they are to secure one of the top two positions that guarantees a play-off semi-final. They are currently five points adrift of third-placed Perpignan and a further point behind leaders Castres, with whom they have a final-day showdown in Toulouse. Victory here would help keep the pressure on, and with so many internationals back in his fold Noves will be looking for nothing less. He may have spoken in the press about being happy with a single point, but that's pure kidology from France's answer to Sir Alex Ferguson. Seventy five thousand tickets have been sold for this game in a match neither side can afford to lose.   
Last season:
Stade Francais 13 Stade Toulousain 26
Stade Toulousain 15 Stade Francais 11
This season:
Stade Toulousain 9 Stade Francais 9
Verdict: Stade Toulousain win

Montpellier (10th)

Racing-Métro 92 (6th)

Stade Yves du Manoir, 06/03/10, 20.45

Other fixtures may overshadow this clash at the weekend, but the importance of its outcome could de just as important sixth-placed Racing-Métro travel to 10th-placed Montpellier. The latter's 16-22 home defeat by Bayonne (in Round 20) has suddenly dragged Montpellier right into the thick of this season's relegation battle, with the Hérault club now going into this weekend a mere four points ahead of the 13th-placed Basques. A second successive home defeat could spell disaster, and yet this is a team which has dispatched the likes of Castres, Clermont, Toulon and Perpignan at the Stade Yves du Manoir so far this season. Influential international duo Francois Trinh-Duc and club captain Fulgence Ouedraogo are both in the squad as the hosts seek a victory would help quell relegation fears. But Racing will be no pushovers, and have both Sébastien Chabal and Lionel Nallet back in their ranks for their coastal trip. Pierre Berbizier's side need points to maintain their own top six ambitions - they are presently five points clear of nearest rivals Stade Francais - and arrive having won three of their last four away games in Top 14. Those wins - at Brive, Biarritz and Bayonne - underline their growing confidence in France's top flight, and Montpellier will have to be on their mettle to avoid becoming their latest scalp. The home side have lost five of their last seven league games in a worrying late-season slump that needs to be averted asap if anxiety isn't to turn into panic. 
Last season: Racing-Métro 92 were in ProD2
This season:
Racing-Métro 18 Montpellier 14
Verdict: Brive win

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