|
|
Top 14, r8 preview - Leaders Racing
out to consolidate top spot; Brive eye another scalp
23 September 2010
|
Catch us if you can: Racing have
set the pace so far this season
Photo:
Michael Paler |
Round eight of Top 14 gets
underway at Bourgoin's intimate Stade Pierre Rajon on Friday
night as the league's basement club entertain a Toulon side
which appears to be finding its form after a few
early-season teething problems.
Top 14 Fixtures 2010/11
Philippe Saint-André's team
travel boosted by last weekend's impressive 28-16 'home' win
against champions Clermont, and with in-form Jonny Wilkinson
currently enjoying a rich run of point-scoring - both with
boot and hand.
Another win for Toulon - their
third in succession - would strengthen their top six claims,
while defeat for Bourgoin - there seventh in eight games -
could see them become increasingly cut off in the division's
relegation zone.
Their likely rivals for the
drop this season continue to be SU Agen and La Rochelle -
the two teams promoted from ProD2 - and it's not difficult
to envisage all three being eight or nine points adrift by
the end of Round eight.
SU Agen have the best chance of
picking up some points as they are at home, but the visit of
free-scoring Stade Francais will pit the league's weakest
defence (23 tries conceded) against the second most potent
attacking force (22 tries scored).
La Rochelle have also been
leaking tries of late - 21 in total - and the 'Maritimers'
find themselves journeying to a second-placed Montpellier
team which has won five of its last six games.
Top 14 League Table 2010/11
Elsewhere, champions Clermont
have the opportunity to bounce back from last weekend's
defeat at Toulon with a home win against Castres, while
leaders Racing-Métro 92 welcome Biarritz to Paris with the
Basques looking to extend their three-match winning streak.
Early-season pace-setters
Bayonne are at home to last season's runners-up Perpignan,
while Stade Toulousain journey to Brive seeking to register
their maiden away win of the new campaign.
Leading scorers in Top 14 2010/11
Once more it all adds up to a
fantastic weekend of rugby, with the possibility of
Montpellier taking over top spot on Saturday evening if they
can produce another bonus-point home win to maintain their
excellent start to the season.
Top 14 Transfers 2010/11 /
Top 14 Club by Club guide for 2010/11
Previous round-ups:
Round 1
/
Round 2 /
Round 3 /
Round 4 /
Round 5 /
Round 6 /
Round 7
Top 14, Round 08 fixtures
(Current league position in brackets)
 |
Bourgoin (14th) |
 |
Toulon (5th) |
Stade
Pierre Rajon,
24/09/10, 20.45 |
After six defeats in its
first seven games time is rapidly running out for struggling
Bourgoin to get its ship in shape - so the visit of a
rejuvenated Toulon side was probably not their fixture of
choice for this weekend. Bourgoin have already lost twice at
home so they can ill afford yet another reverse, and yet it
is difficult to see how the league's basement team can halt
Jonny Wilkinson and company. They will be cheered, however,
by confirmation that their lengthy injury list appears to be
abating with the likes of Coenie Basson, Camille Levast,
David Janin, Alex Tulou, Tone Kopelani, Silvere Tian and
Mickael Forest all back in their match-day squad.
Long-serving skipper Julien Frier does not make it though
after sustaining a thigh strain which is likely to keep him
out for up to four weeks. Toulon travel without former
England winger Paul Sackey (rested/dropped) and Dean
Schofield (injured), but Australian scrum-half Matt Henjak
is back to bolster their No 9 options and provide cover for
Pierre Mignoni. The ambitious Cote d'Azur side - which has
opened discussions with Wilkinson over a contract extension
- will arrive with confidence high are their impressive
28-16 victory over Clermont and looking for a third
successive win to underline their recent upturn in form
after a sticky start to their 2010/11 campaign.
Last season: Bourgoin 9 Toulon 13
Verdict: Toulon win
 |
Clermont Auvergne
(9th) |
 |
Castres (7th) |
Stade
Marcel Michelin,
25/09/10, 14.30 |
Defending champions
Clermont go into this match scrabbling around in mid-table
(ninth at present) but with the possibility of climbing into
the top six should they win convincingly at home to Castres.
Both of these teams have classic French records so far this
season - having won all their home games but lost their away
ones - so if form is to be followed then this should be a
straightforward victory for the hosts. Castres did
escape with a defensive point from the Stade Marcel Michelin
last season, and one suspects they would be happy with a
repeat performance this time around.
Last season: Clermont Auvergne 25 Castres 19
Verdict: Clermont Auvergne win
 |
Racing-Métro 92
(1st) |
 |
Biarritz
(8th) |
Stade
Yves du Manoir, 25/09/10, 14.30 |
With five wins from seven - including two on the road -
Racing are now reaping the rewards for the excellent early
season form and are presently at the summit of Top 14 as
they prepare for their third successive home match. La
Rochelle and Bourgoin have both been dispatched in recent
weeks, with the Parisians amassing 94 points in the process
as Pierre Berbizier's side continue to impress. On Saturday
they welcome a Biarritz side which has now put together
three successive wins of their own, but the Heineken Cup
runners-up arrive with half an eye on next weekend's Basque
derby as they rest several key players. Full-back Iain
Balshaw is out with an ankle injury that could sideline him
for up to three weeks and winger Ilikena Bolakoro is also
injured, but Biarritz have also opted to leave captain
Imanol Harinordoquy at home while continuing to rest Dimitri
Yachvili by starting the influential scrum-half on the
bench. That means youngster Adrien Ayestaran continues at No
9, with Julien Peyrelongue at No 10, while Argentine Marcelo
Bosch starts at full-back in place of Balshaw. American
speedster Takudzwa Ngwenya is on the wing as he looks to
celebrate his new three-year deal, with Jean-Baptiste
Gobelet the other wide man. Racing are trying to keep their
feet no the ground after their impressive start, with
assistant coach Simon Mannix playing down talk of
championships and trophies. Scrum-half Jerome Fillol was
more forthcoming though, perhaps underlining the current
feel-good factor at 'Les Francilliens'. "First place gives
us confidence and the conditions to refine our game," he
said. "We have made progress in the last two season and we
have a great season ahead of us. I don't think we can talk
of winning at all at the moment. There's a long way to go,
but we have the potential," he added. In what could be a
tight game they also have the goal-kicking edge - in terms
of starting XV anyway - in the shape of Jonathan Wisniewski,
Top 14's leading scorer with 104 points so far.
Last season: Racing-Métro 29 Biarritz 22
Verdict: Racing-Métro win
 |
Brive
(10th) |
 |
Stade Toulousain (3rd) |
Stade
Amédée Domenech,
25/09/10, 14.30 |
Brive may enter this match
in 10th position but they won't lack for confidence as they
welcome the four-time European champions. In their last two
home games at the Stade Amédée Domenech they have overcome
Perpignan (26-11) and Toulon (27-9), while last season they
beat Stade Toulousain 27-21 in the corresponding fixture.
Toulouse, for their part, arrive having lost all three of
their away league games so far this campaign as they follow
the traditional French malaise for poor travelling. The loss
of Patricio Albacete with a shoulder problem is a further
blow, and Stade also have fitness concerns over free-scoring
hooker William Servat. But half-backs Byron Kelleher and
David Skrela are both fit and in good form, while the
abundance of international talent in the backs shows no sign
of abating following rumours that Guy Noves is keen on
signing All Black Caleb Ralph as cover for the injured Yann
David. Noves was also boosted by Frédéric Michalak's return
to training this week, while Yoann Maestri and Gregory
Lamboley are both expected to be fit enough to travel after
recovering from their own recent injuries.
Last season: Brive 27 Stade Toulousain 21
Verdict: Brive win
 |
SU Agen (13th) |
 |
Stade Francais (11th) |
Stade
Armandie,
25/09/10, 14.30 |
A season that started so
promisingly for Stade Francais has faltered in recent weeks
with successive defeats to Biarritz, Brive and Perpignan,
but the manner and margin of those last two - by two points
and one - should offer encouragement to Michael Cheika's
team. In addition, SU Agen were humbled 6-35 at home by
Montpellier last weekend, so a maiden away win of the season
is the minimum target the capital big guns should be
targeting. Stade's main problems so far have been a lack of
discipline and a porous defence, but Agen go into this match
boasting - if that is the correct word - both the worst
defence (215 pts conceded) and most impotent attack (106 pts
scored) in Top 14. That should offer Stade all the
encouragement they require as they look to get back to
winning ways ahead of next week's home game against
Montpellier.
Last season: SU Agen were in ProD2
Verdict: Stade Francais win
 |
Bayonne
(4th) |
 |
Perpignan (6th) |
Stade
Jean Dauger,
25/09/10, 16.25 |
Bayonne have recalled
fly-half Benjamin Boyet following last weekend's defeat at
Stade Toulousain, and the Basques will be hoping he
maintains his 88.9% success rate with the boot as they seek
to bounce back with a home win against Perpignan. French
international centre Lionel Mazars also returns to the
starting XV, while former All Black Troy Flavell keeps his
place after an impressive display against Toulouse.
Perpignan, meanwhile, arrive on the back of a four-match
unbeaten run but still looking for a keynote performance
after struggling for cohesion so far this season. Injuries
have undoubtedly had a hand in that, but the Catalans have
been strangely off colour so far this campaign, and
over-reliant on Jerome Porical's boot as the full-back has
contributed 69 of their 127 points so far garnered. Indeed,
no team in Top 14 - including Bourgoin - has scored fewer
than Perpignan's seven tries. That will have to change if
they are to have any chance of winning at the Stade Jean
Dauger, where Bayonne downed champions Clermont Auvergne in
their last home game.
Last season: Bayonne 13 Perpignan 30
Verdict: Bayonne win
 |
Montpellier (2nd) |
 |
La Rochelle (12th) |
Stade
Yves du Manoir,
25/09/10, 20.45 |
The final game of round
eight sees in-form Montpellier welcome La Rochelle in a
match that has 'home win' written all over it. Montpellier
have been one of the revelations of 2010/11 so far and their
penchant for running rugby has been superbly orchestrated by
France fly-half Francois Trinh-Duc. But that is only half
the story, with the home team also boasting the most
parsimonious defence in Top 14 to date - 121 pts conceded.
If that looks ominous for Top14 newcomers La Rochelle, then
so does a four-match losing streak for the 'Maritimers'
which is threatening to undo their initial positive
impressions. With an away trip to Perpignan next weekend
they could really do with picking up something at
Montpellier, but sadly for them Fabien Galthié's side are
near unbeatable at the Yves du Manoir stadium.
Last season: La Rochelle were in ProD2
Verdict: Montpellier win
|
|
