Top 14, r22: Pressure mounts as French league enters make-or-break weekend

12 March 2010

The fascinating thing about this weekend is that two of those sides go head-to-head with Brive entertaining Stade Francais at the Stade Amédée Domenech in what has effectively become a play-off eliminator. Whichever team loses can kiss goodbye to any realistic hope of forcing their way into the top six, while a draw would do neither side any favours either. Indeed, not even a win will guarantee their presence in the play-offs – especially if the teams above them are victorious - although it would keep hopes alive.

Brive must start as favourites as the home side and their recent record at the Stade Amédée Domenech gives grounds for optimism after successive wins against Bayonne, Stade Toulousain, Perpignan and Montauban. They may have gone down 35-10 at Castres last weekend but must fancy their chances of repeating last season’s 26-11 home win against the Parisians.

Their opponents, by contrast, arrive in a state of some disarray following their 0-29 humiliation by Stade Toulousain in front of 78,000 fans last weekend. That sorry performance prompted a public apology from owner Max Guazzini, who also had to concede defeat off the field when international flanker James Haskell opted to remain with the England squad rather than return to Paris.

It all adds up to a worrying malaise for the capital club, with the very real prospect looming of missing out on the play-offs for the first time since 2000/01. And all that despite the actual play-off format being expanded this season to include two more teams than in previous years.

Both sides will have to make do without their internationals again, with Brive denied the services of want-away centre Riki Flutey, hooker Steve Thompson and winger Alexis Palisson. Stade’s absentees include Mathieu Bastareaud and the Bergamasco brothers and they will have to seriously raise their game if they’re to record what be only their second away win of the season.

Biarritz are the other play-off outsiders and they face a mighty task too as they travel to defending champions Perpignan. The Catalans have been impregnable in the league at the Stade Aime Giral this season and go into Friday evening’s encounter with an impressive 10 from 10 win record.

Racing remain the most vulnerable of the top six teams – they are four points behind fifth-placed Toulon – and they also face a tricky away game as they journey to relegation threatened Montauban.

Pierre Berbizier’s Parisians are still smarting from their last-minute defeat at Montpellier last weekend and will be keen to get back to winning ways, but they face a Montauban team which is equally desperate for points after slipping into the bottom two for the first this season after their away loss at Bourgoin.

A home win for Montauban is not out of the question as they beat Perpignan last time out at the Stade Sapiac, and victory could see Marc Raynaud’s team haul themselves free of the drop zone pending results elsewhere.

At present they are two points behind Bayonne, who go into their home match against high-flying Clermont Auvergne on the back of a spirited run that has brought them five wins in seven games since Christian Gajan took over as head coach. The last of those was a 46-13 thrashing of ProD2-bound SCA Albi last weekend, and with Clermont missing a handful of internationals there is every chance they could secure another invaluable win tonight.

Bourgoin and Montpellier are the two teams still in the relegation mix, but they have contrasting away trips this weekend. Bourgoin travel to basement boys SCA Albi looking for a third successive league win, while Montpellier – currently five points clear of the relegation zone – face a daunting trip to Stade Toulousain. The Hérault club will additionally be without their influential French internationals Fulgence Ouedraogo and Francois Trinh-Duc.

The weekend’s other match sees Toulon play host to leaders Castres in a match that pits two of this season’s form teams against one another. Toulon are out to extend their four-match winning streak – and protect their unbeaten home record – while Castres know that defeat could see them slip from the summit. Both teams are likely to be without their respective fly-halves with Toulon’s Jonny Wilkinson away with England while Castres’ Romain Teulet – the league’s leading scorer – could be ruled out with tendonitis of his Achilles.

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