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Top 14, r26 preview: Home quarter-finals
up for grabs while Montauban battle for survival
23 April 2010
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Doubtful starter:
Jonny Wilkinson
Photo: Michael Paler |
The dramatic events of
last weekend's
fixtures resolved many of Top 14's unknowns, but this
Saturday's final round still has plenty of permutations to
ponder.
All six play-off spots have now been
taken, but which two teams progress through to the semis now
looks like a four-horse race between Toulon, Perpignan,
Clermont Auvergne and Castres.
The latter have slipped somewhat in
recent weeks and must win away to Stade Toulousain to have
any chance of finishing in the top two, but with Heineken
Cup semis occupying the minds of Guy Noves' team it is not
out of the question.
Top 14 Table
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Top 14 Results
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Top 14
Fixtures
There is also the small matter
of home advantage in the quarter-finals to play for, with
much jockeying to be done for the teams finishing between
third and fifth. Only sixth-placed Racing-Métro 92 cannot
change position, but they still have the tasty prospect of a
Paris double over city rivals Stade Francais to contemplate.
Meanwhile, down at the other
end, it's a straight shootout between cash-strapped
Montauban, and battling Bayonne to see who joins
already-relegated SCA Albi in ProD2. Montauban are currently
13th and favourites for the drop, although a last-day home
victory against Bayonne offers the prospect of late
redemption.
It is, however, not as straight
forward as that as Montauban have already been notified by
the LNR that they will be relegated on financial grounds,
pending an appeal. That raises the nightmare scenario of
winning and yet still going down, although the even worse
prospect of liquidation and a drop down to Fédérale 3 has
also not been ruled out.
At least Bayonne know that a
victory will guarantee them survival, whereas a win for
Montauban would leave the guillotine still hanging beyond
the end of the regulation season. At one point this week it
looked as if Montauban's players were going to save the
uncertainties by going on strike in protest at the current
uncertainty of their club's future, but that unpalatable
denouement has at least been shelved.
Previous round-ups:
Round 1 /
Round 2 /
Round 3 /
Round 4 /
Round 5 /
Round 6 /
Round 7 /
Round 8 /
Round 9 /
Round 10 /
Round 11 /
Round 12 /
Round 13 /
Round 14 /
Round 15 /
Round 16 /
Round 17 /
Round 18 /
Round 19 /
Round 20 /
Round 21 /
Round 22 /
Round 23 /
Round 24 /
Round 25 /
Top 14, Round 26 fixtures
(Current league position in brackets)
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Stade Toulousain (5th) |
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Castres (4th) |
Stade Ernest
Wallon, 24/04/10, 16.25 |
In normal circumstances
this would seem a straightforward call for a Stade
Toulousain home win but their looming Heineken Cup
semi-final against Leinster slightly complicates matters.
The south-west giants will obviously be keen to go into that
match on a high, and there is also the question of trying to
finish as high as possible to try and secure a home
quarter-final in the Top 14 play-offs, but Castres will also
be keen us mustard for the victory having slipped down the
pecking order in recent weeks after three defeats in four.
If that becomes four in five they will finish fifth in the
league and face an away trip in the quarters - possibly to
Toulouse again - so the incentive for a win is most
definitely there for the season's surprise package. If they
can take advantage of any caution from the home side then
they also have the outside chance of gaining a top two slot
- meaning a bye into the semis - so they certainly shouldn't
lack for motivation.
This season:
Castres 30 Stade Toulousain 10
Verdict: Stade Toulousain win
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Montpellier
(10th) |
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Bourgoin (11th) |
Stade Yves du
Manoir, 24/04/10, 16.25 |
A few weeks back this
looked like a possible relegation decider, but both teams
secured their survival with crucial wins last weekend and
can go into Saturday's match free of pressure. Montpellier
will know that a third successive win could see them
leapfrog Stade Francais into ninth place, while for many of
Bourgoin's players this will be their last game in the
club's famous claret and blue colours pending a wide-scale
summer exodus. The likes of Benjamin Boyet,
Jean-Philippe Genevois and Karena Wihongi
have already confirmed their exits, with winger
Albert
Vulivuli also close to agreeing a deal (with Racing), but
they are unlikely to be the last to leave after a reduction
in wages at the start of the season effectively triggered
get out clauses for most of the club's squad.
But that is for another day.
Saturday's game should be seen as a celebration for both
sides, with Bourgoin's survival one of the stories of the
season given the number of obstacles they have been forced
to hurdle in 2009/10. A victory at the Stade Yves du Manoir
seems unlikely, however, with Montpol boosted by the return
of fit-again skipper Fulgence Ouedraogo - who could also be
playing his last game for the club if rumours of a summer
transfer to Racing are to be believed.
This season:
Bourgoin 20 Montpellier 23
Verdict: Montpellier win
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Montauban
(13th) |
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Bayonne (12th) |
Stade Sapiac,
24/04/10, 16.25 |
Liverpool's legendary
former manager Bill Shankly may have overstated the standing
of sport when he said it was more important than life or
death, but for Montauban this weekend his words will
resonate with truth. In their case it is not the death of an
individual which is at stake, but rather the death of an
entire club. They go into Saturday's relegation showdown
against Bayonne with liquidators hovering and against a
financially disastrous backdrop that could yet see them
demoted five divisions regardless of the match outcome. How
that impacts on the club's players remains to be seen, but
the evidence of the last 10 days is not encouraging after
they went down 6-19 at home to Montpellier - a result which
dropped them down to 13th - then threatened strike action.
In addition their esteemed young coach, and former captain,
Marc Raynaud has been ordered to appear before the LNR's
disciplinary committee after losing his rag during that
defeat. The pressure of survival has, not surprisingly,
ground confidence to the bone. And yet... if they can
somehow put all distractions aside for 80 minutes at the
Stade Sapiac on Saturday they could yet squeeze themselves
free of the relegation zone - at Bayonne's expense - and
then place hope in the club's leaders that they can pull the
proverbial rabbit from a hat and find the required financial
input to rescue the club from relegation on administrative
grounds. It may seem a long shot at present, but sport is
full of remarkable last-ditch comebacks, and where there's
life there's hope. For the time being they must concentrate
all their energies on combating the considerable threat of
Bayonne, with the Basques battling for their own Top 14
survival as they seek the draw or win that will ensure
another season in France's rugby elite. Form is with the
Basques after they beat Brive 33-25 last weekend to record
their fifth victory in nine league games. Montauban, by
contrast, have won just three of their last 10.
Bayonne hold a two-point advantage going into Saturday's
match and head coach Christian Gajan will be urging his
troops to one last effort in order to secure their Top 14
maintenance. Thoughts of Montauban's automatic relegation on
financial grounds - pending appeal - must be pushed aside to
concentrate on matters they can control. It is bound to be a
highly-charged and emotional atmosphere, and ultimately
could come down to which team can retain its composure best
in the Sapiac cauldron.
This season:
Montauban 38 Bayonne 13
Verdict: Bayonne win
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Brive
(8th) |
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Toulon (1st) |
Stade Amédée
Domenech, 24/04/10, 16.25 |
Who can stop Toulon? It is
becoming an increasingly asked question after Philippe
Saint-André's team finally claimed the Top 14 summit last
weekend following their superb 33-23 'home' win against
defending champions Perpignan. That victory was their ninth
in succession - their eighth in the league - and leaves them
just one match away from ending the regular season as top
dogs in France's premier division. An way trip to Brive,
however, will certainly be no easy finale, especially as the
Limousin club still hold out hope of squeezing into next
season's Heineken Cup. To do do they simply have to win and
hope that Biarritz fall at home to Clermont Auvergne. That
would see them finish seventh - one place outside the
Heineken slots - but could yet see them sneak through if
Stade Toulousain lift the trophy for a fourth time and
thereby earn France another qualifying slot. That's a lot of
'ifs', but it should be enough to ensure that Brive - who
will again be without the departing Riki Flutey - give of
their all. Toulon will expect second-placed Perpignan to win
at home to Albi so know there is no room for let up
themselves if they want to finish in the top two. Both
Clermont and Castres could yet nudge them into third - and
the quarter-finals - if Toulon fail to win, so the incentive
is there for both sides in what could a crackerjack
encounter. Toulon have doubts over Jonny Wilkinson and
Mafileo Kefu, but such is their squad strength these days
their absence can be adequately covered by the likes of
Felipe Contepomi and Tana Umaga.
This season:
Toulon 19 Brive 10
Verdict: Toulon win
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Perpignan
(2nd) |
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SCA Albi (14th) |
Stade Aimé Giral,
24/04/10, 16.25 |
Defending champions
Perpignan go into this match against already-relegated SCA
Albi knowing that victory - complete with an attacking bonus
- will guarantee them safe passage through to the Top 14
semi-finals. It seems a straightforward enough task given
that the Catalans have a 100% home record this season and
that Albi have yet to win on the road. The ProD2 club did
manage a shock 38-24 home win against Stade Francais last
weekend - only their fourth victory of a difficult season -
but the odds on them triumphing at the Stade Aimé Giral
would not attract a sane man to part with his money.
Perpignan must simply continue what they've been doing all
season as they seek the five-point win that will ensure a
fortnight off before they take on the winners of the
quarter-finals as they attempt to defend the title they so
richly deserved last season. Should they need any further
motivation they need merely look back to the away leg of
this fixture in November when they went down to a surprise
24-23 defeat.
This season:
SCA Albi 24
Perpignan 23
Verdict: Perpignan win
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Stade Francais
(9th) |
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Racing-Métro 92 (6th) |
Stade Jean Bouin,
24/04/10, 16.25 |
When the fixture Gods
programmed this match for the last weekend of the regular
season they cannot possibly have foreseen the contrasting
emotions of the two Paris clubs going into the game. Stade,
on previous form, were expected to be jockeying for position
in the play-offs while Racing, having just won promotion,
were more likely to be staving off relegation than dreaming
of domestic glory. Yet this match signals an official
passing of the power baton, with sky blue and white upstarts
of Pierre Berbizier's team now relaxing in the surety of
having secured both a play-off spot and a Heineken Cup berth
for next season. Stade, by contrast, have had a season which
cannot end soon enough for both fans and players. Defensive
frailties, disciplinary bans, two changes of head coach and
a torrent of injuries have combined to leave the capital's
fashionistas facing up to the prospect of finishing a lowly
10th in the league and playing in next season's Amlin
Challenge Cup - not exactly what flamboyant owner Max
Guazzini had in mind when he flashed his cheque book during
the summer to bring in the likes of James Haskell, Julien
Dupuy and Tom Palmer. The contrasting success of Racing has
only made their own plight all the more painful, and
Guazzini will have winced at reports that his city rivals
plan to follow his lead next season and stage several home
games at the Stade de France. The summer arrival of Leinster
boss Michael Cheika cannot come soon enough for Stade, but
for now all they can do is try and finish with a win against
their derby rivals as they seek to end a miserable campaign
on a high. If they are to do so they will have to seriously
up their performance from last week's woeful 38-24 defeat at
Albi, but five losses in their last six games doesn't
exactly inspire confidence. Racing's recent record of three
defeats in five is, ironically, not much better, but the
difference was that Racing's form was a blip, whereas
Stade's was the continuation of a season-long slump. But,
having said all of that, Stade should still be capable of a
last (token) hurrah, especially with Racing expected to rest
a number of players ahead of the play-offs.
This season:
Racing-Métro 20
Stade Francais 18
Verdict: Stade Francais win
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Biarritz
(7th) |
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Clermont Auvergne
(3rd) |
Stade Parc des
Sports Aguiléra, 24/04/10, 16.25 |
Biarritz, like Stade
Toulousain, have the Heineken Cup semi-final looming on the
horizon, but the difference between the two club's fortunes
is in their current league standing. Whereas Stade have
confirmed their play-off participation and can therefore
afford to rest weary legs, Biarritz will again miss out on
France's domestic denouement after last week's defeat
against Racing ensured they cannot finish higher than
seventh. However, that is not to say Saturday's home game
against Clermont Auvergne doesn't carry huge importance as
there is still the prospect of France's seventh placed team
being granted Heineken entry next season should either they
are Stade Toulousain lift Europe's premier trophy.
Eighth-placed Brive are just one point behind Biarritz going
into their home game against Toulon, so there is no chance
to relax for the inconsistent Basques. Club totem Imanol
Harinordoquy will sit out out Saturday's game after breaking
his nose against Racing, but the Basques will still be
hopeful of extending their nine-match home winning streak.
Should they do so they will also thrown a spanner in the
Clermont wheel as Vern Cotter's team go in search of a win
that could yet see them nudge Toulon (should they lose at
Brive) out of the top two places. Clermont have lost their
last three away league games since triumphing 15-16 at Stade
Toulousain, and the continuing frailty of Brock James'
place-kicking is an ongoing concern. Last weekend they were
rescued by the half-time introduction of France scrum-half
Morgan Parra - after James had missed all three of his
first-half attempts - but the feisty No 9 is likely to sit
out this game after aggravating a shoulder injury.
This season:
Clermont Auvergne 13 Biarritz 16
Verdict: Biarritz win
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