Top 14, r22 review: Tensions build as French league heads towards climactic finale

14 March 2010

It promised to be a fascinating set of fixtures and so it proved as Round 22 of Top 14 further underlined the highly competitive nature of this season’s French league.

Toulon, Bourgoin, Bayonne, Brive and Montauban all recorded vital victories but the relegation and play-off issues remain as unresolved as before the weekend, with the only certainty now being that SCA Albi will return to ProD2 after just one season back in the top flight.

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Beaten leaders Castres remain top of the pile, but just four points now separate them from fifth-placed Toulon, while at the other end of the table a mere three points separates 13^th-placed Montauban from 10^th-placed Bourgoin as the relegation battle simmers towards boiling point.

Racing-Métro's Saturday night defeat at Montauban also offered encouragement to Stade Francais and Biarritz despite the latter two both losing on Friday as they initially looked to have blown their fading hopes of making the top six play-offs.

Castres went down at in-form Toulon as Philippe Saint-Andre’s team recorded their fifth successive league win. Mafileo Kefu’s first-half try gave Toulon the early initiative, with Argentine captain Felipe Contepomi adding a trio of penalties as Toulon opened up a 14-3 advantage over the table-toppers.

Castres tried to respond after the break but Toulon’s defence held firm before Olivier Missoup’s try then sealed the win that now offers the hosts genuine hope of claiming a top two spot.

This latest win was their 14^th of the season – no-one has managed more – and also maintained their year-long unbeaten record at the always frenzied Stade Félix Mayol.

The only downside for Toulon was a serious injury to winger Christian Loamanu, who dislocated a hip in setting up Missoup’s try and will now be out for up to five months.

The cash rich Cote d’Azur club were further in the news on Sunday when reports from both Britain and New Zealand strongly linked them with Newcastle Falcons’ former All Black prop Carl Hayman.

Castres remain top, but their lead has now been whittled down to a single point following Perpignan’s 19-14 home win against play-off chasing Biarritz.

Jean-Philippe Grandclaude set the defending champions on their way with a 10^th-minute try after good work from Henry Tuilagi and Jerome Porical, but Biarritz refused to cave in and responded with a try of their own from former England full-back Iain Balshaw – his fourth of the season.

Valentin Courrent’s subsequent penalty put the Basques 7-8 up heading into half time, but Nicolas Laharrague’s 37^th-minute reply ensured the Catalans were ahead at the interval. Scrum-half Nicolas Durand was then yellow-carded right on the whistle, but Biarritz failed to capitalise and found themselves slipping further back after Laharrague landed two more penalties (in the 51^st and 56^th minutes).

A Courrent double briefly raised hopes of a Biarritz win before Laharrague was on target again in the closing stages to secure the victory which made it 11 out of 11 at the Stade Aime Giral this season for France’s reigning champions.

Perpignan’s win lifted them above Clermont Auvergne into second place after ‘Les Jaunards’ became the latest victims of Christian Gajan’s resurgent Bayonne.

The well-travelled coach was brought in by the Basques as a last throw of the dice as they tumbled remorselessly down towards ProD2, but Gajan has now overseen six victories in eight games (including two in the ACC) since taking charge as Bayonne’s third head coach of a tumultuous season.

This latest win was initiated by a first-minute try from winger Sam Gerber, who is now joint-leading try scorer in Top 14 with team-mate Benjamin Fall – a strange quirk given Bayonne’s still perilous position.

Scrum-half Cédric Garcia added the conversion and a fifth-minute drop-goal as Bayonne opened up a 10-0 advantage, with Clermont finally getting on the board via a Sérémaia Bai penalty. Garcia and Bai added one more success apiece to leave it 13-6 at the interval, with Garcia on target again after the break to further extend the advantage to 10 points.

Clermont coach Vern Cotter threw on his big guns to try and redeem the situation and replacement full-back Anthony Floch offered them hope with a try 13 minutes from time. Brock James (another replacement) kicked the conversion, but then missed a tricky penalty which would have levelled the scores at 16-16. The escape clearly motivated Bayonne, and Garcia struck twice more in the closing stages to conclude another excellent win for the home side that further enhanced their survival hopes.

The problem for Bayonne, however, was that fellow relegation strugglers Bourgoin and Montauban also won.

Bourgoin recorded a third successive victory for the first time this season as they won 17-7 at doomed SCA Albi. Jon Senio’s 13^th-minute try set Bourgoin on their way, with fly-half Alberto Di Bernardo kicking the conversion. Benjamin Sa’s subsequent yellow card sealed the deal for Albi with Bourgoin piling on the pressure to earn a penalty try which finally condemned Eric Béchu's side to mathematical relegation after their 19^th loss in 22 league games.

The hosts did at least manage a try of their own before the end, with winger (and Toulouse target) Pierre-Gilles Lakafia racing in to further enhance his own burgeoning reputation.

That result left Montauban five points adrift of safety on Friday night but Marc Raynaud’s side responded magnificently to beat faltering Racing-Métro 45-31 in a hugely entertaining game on Saturday night.

The star of the show was Montauban fly-half Cedric Garcia who kicked a mammoth 30 points, adding to tries from Rida Jahouer, Jean-Philippe Viard and young replacement scrum-half Julien Larroque.

Racing were 22-9 down at half-time but rallied strongly after the interval with Sireli Bobo and a penalty try briefly giving them the lead, but Rosalen’s tour de force proved sufficient to stave off the Parisians and condemn Pierre Berbizier’s side to their fourth defeat in six league games as they continue to stumble towards what previously seemed an assured top six finish.

Brive are now their nearest challengers following their 26-14 home win over Stade Francais at the Stade Amédée Domenech. Brive fly-half Fabrice Estebanez racked up 16 points with his boot, while former Stade Francais winger Nicolas Jeanjean rubbed further salt in his old club’s wounds by crossing for a first-half try.

Lionel Beauxis kept Stade in touch with a trio of penalties before Rodrigo Roncero’s yellow card paved the way for Brive to pull clear via a second-half penalty try.

Laurent Sempere did eventually cross for the Parisians with 10 minutes remaining, but it was too little and too late for the struggling capital club as they once more failed to even gain a defensive bonus.

Racing’s subsequent defeat at Montauban means they retain a glimmer of hope of making the top six, but their next match is a nasty trip to Perpignan – and on this form they can expect another fruitless outing.

Brive, on the other hand, journey to Racing in Round 23 for what has now effectively become a play-off shootout.

The other weekend match saw buoyant Stade Toulousain smash Montpellier 34-3, with the home side running in five tries during an 18 minute purple patch in the first half.

Former Montpellier favourite Louis Picamoles had a hand in three of those tries, but he will take little joy in the perilous plight of his old club as they slipped to within a single point of the drop zone.

Yann David began the rout, with further scores for Virgil Lacombe, Jean Bouilhou, Cedric Heymans and Vincent Clerc as Guy Noves’ team followed up impressively on last weekend’s 29-0 away win at Stade Francais.

To further add to Montpellier’s woes they saw influential captain Fulgence Ouedraogo carried off with a knee injury that could rule him out for up to three weeks.

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