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Top 14, r21 preview - Little room for
manoeuvre as Top 14 enters its final furlong
10 March 2011
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Try threat: Biarritz winger Iain Balshaw
Photo: Eoin Mundow/Cleva Media |
Round 21 of Top 14 gets
underway on Friday night with 2009 champions Perpignan at
home to Bayonne as they seek to continue their late run for
a play-off berth.
The Catalans are on a
three-match winning run, including last weekend's away
victory at Stade Francais, but they still have little room
for manouevre as they strive to make up lost ground.
The Catalans are on a
three-match winning run, including last weekend's away
victory at Stade Francais, but they still have little room
for manoeuvre as they strive to make up lost ground.
Top 14 League Table 2010/11
The remaining weekend games all
take place on Saturday - the same day as France take on
Italy in Rome - with international absences again likely to
add to the intrigue.
That's good news of the likes
of La Rochelle and SU Agen as they battle (with Brive) to
avoid the second relegation slot alongside hapless Bourgoin.
La Rochelle are at home to high-flying Montpellier, but will
be cheered by last weekend's narrow 32-30 loss at Biarritz,
while SU Agen travel to a Stade Francais side which
continues to under-perform.
The latter still harbour a
mathematical hope of making the play-offs, but they
absolutely must record a bonus-point win if that slim belief
is not to dissipate into further disappointment.
Leading scorers in Top 14 2010/11
Brive, meanwhile, are away to
leaders Stade Toulousain in a daunting contest for the
Limousin outfit. Toulouse may be denied the services of
numerous internationals but they still have more than enough
quality to win out, and win well should Brive allow them
room to run.
Elsewhere, Biarritz entertain
second-placed Racing-Métro 92, with both sides hit by
numerous absences, while fifth-placed Castres are at home to
defending champions Clermont Auvergne as they seek to
maintain their long unbeaten record at the Stade Pierre
Antoine.
It all adds up to another
fascinating round of matches, and with time fast running out
on this season's regular fixtures it will have a crucial
impact on who ends up where in Top 14 come May.
Top 14, Round 21 fixtures
(Current league position in brackets)
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Perpignan (9th) |
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Bayonne (6th) |
Stade
Aimé Giral, 11/03/11, 20.45 |
Perpignan may be on a run
of three straight victories but they simply have to keep
winning to retain realistic hopes of making the play-offs.
The 2009 champions and 2010 runners-up will certainly be
buoyed by last weekend's 21-9 win in Paris 9against Stade
Francais) but Bayonne should present a tougher opposition as
they arrive having won seven of their last nine games,
including a 19-13 home victory against Stade Toulousain last
week. That run of results has seen them move to sixth in the
league, and they are not overly affected by international
calls, with only winger Yoann Huget away with the France
team. Their problem, rather, has been the continuing
off-field power struggle that has been played out in full
media glare following Bernard Laporte's resignation and
Alain Afflelou's withdrawal of future financial support. But
that off-field uncertainty doesn't appear to have affected
team spirit, with Christian Gajan continuing to oversee the
development of a tight-knit and talented squad.
Last season:
Perpignan 28 Bayonne 20
Verdict: Perpignan win
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Biarritz
(7th) |
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Racing-Métro 92
(2nd) |
Parcs des Sports
Aguiléra,
12/03/11, 13.50 |
Both of these sides go
into Saturday's match with crucial players away on
international duty - making it even more difficult to
predict who will triumph. Last season Racing pulled off a
crucial 23-20 win at the Parc des Sports Aguiléra, but their
chances will be hindered by the loss of France duo Sébastien
Chabal and Lionel Nallet, as well as their Italian quintet,
who will be busy facing up to 'Les Bleus' in Rome.
Furthermore, they have no Juan Martin Hernandez to call on
after the Argentine play-maker was ruled out for six months
with ruptured knee ligaments. Whether the Parisians can
still triumph without all those players is a major
challenge, but they will travel to the Basque coast knowing
Biarritz are always a diminished team when deprived of the
trusty trio of Dimitri Yachvili, Damien Traille and club
captain Imanol Harinordoquy. Biarritz, though, have lost
just once at home this season and are the division's fourth
highest scorers. They may be missing the kicking reliability
of Yachvili, but their point-scoring potential remains huge
with the likes of Iain Balshaw, Takudzwa Ngwenya and Raphael
Lakafia all in rich form at present.
Last season:
Biarritz 20 Racing-Métro 23
Verdict:
Biarritz win
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Toulon
(8th) |
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Bourgoin (14th) |
Stade
Marcel Michelin, 12/03/11, 14.00 |
Toulon's 19-12 defeat at
Clermont last week was by no means disastrous, but it did
leave them three points adrift of the play-off zone with
just six matches to go. The good news for Philippe
Saint-André's side, however, is that four of those six games
are at home, beginning with Saturday's clash against
bottom-of-the-table Bourgoin. The Cote d'Azur club simply
must pick up maximum points to bolster their play-off hopes,
and that means scoring tries. To that end they will again be
without injured Welsh star Gavin Henson - who is yet to
appear for Toulon since his move from Saracens - while
Argentine Felipe Contepomi will continue at fly-half in
Jonny Wilkinson's absence. Reserve scrum-half Matt Henjak
and hooker Jean-Philippe Genevois are both sidelined with
injury, and there was no place in Toulon's 26-man squad for
former England winger Paul Sackey. Club captain Joe Van
Niekerk will lead from the front as usual, with New
Zealander Rudi Wulf featuring in a back line that is bound
to test Bourgoin's resolve to the max. Toulon will be happy
to pile on the points if they can, so it could be a long old
afternoon for the visitors at the Stade Félix Mayol.
Bourgoin will give a debut to young winger Fabian Perrin,
while Toulon have confirmed that number eight Fotu Auelua
will be leaving in the summer to join the Brumbies in
Australia, via a seven-month stint with Japanese club NTT
Communications..
Last season:
Toulon 46 Bourgoin 28
Verdict:
Toulon win
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Stade Toulousain
(1st) |
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Brive (12th) |
Stade
Ernest Wallon, 12/03/11, 14.00 |
Stade
Toulousain has not been a happy hunting ground for Brive and
one suspects that record will continue on Saturday as Guy
Noves' team seek to bounce back from last weekend's 19-13
defeat at Bayonne. yes, the red and black machine will be
missing a handful of internationals, but in Stade's case
that just means bringing in more players of international
calibre. The loss through injury of scrum-half Nicolas
Vergallo and fly-half David Skrela could mean Frédéric
Michalak starting at No 9, with youngster Nicolas Bézy at
10, while outside them the hosts will still be able to pick
Fijians Rupeni Caucaunibuca and Vilimoni Delasau, as well as
the vastly experienced Cedric Heymans - who could fill in
once more at full-back. Brive, for their part, journey south
looking for at least a losing bonus as they battle to stay
in Top 14, and their recent performances at least suggest
they should be competitive. But the bare facts are stark for
the Limousin outfit with just two wins from their last 12
league games, and only one away victory all season. Brive's
main problem this season has been scoring tries, and it's
hard to see that record overly improving away to the mighty
Stade. No team has scored fewer than Brive's 21 so far this
season, and that includes doomed Bourgoin.
Last season:
Stade Toulousain 38 Brive 0
Verdict:
Stade Toulousain win
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Stade Francais
(10th) |
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SU Agen (11th) |
Stade
Charléty, 12/03/11, 14.00 |
Last weekend's home loss
to Perpignan appeared to end Stade Francais' already slim
hopes of making the play-offs (again), but talk this week
has been of playing for pride in the club shirt and ensuring
they continue battling until mathematically impossible. That
means a bonus-point win at home to SU Agen is imperative.
That means casting off the recent league form which has seen
them win just twice in six games, but there's no doubt Stade
have the potential as witnessed by their 40 tries so far
this season - the fourth best return in Top 14. However,
standing in their way is an SU Agen side that has won six of
its last 10 league games as it fights gamely to retain its
Top 14 status. The visitors are presently four points ahead
of 13th-placed La Rochelle, so a losing bonus would ensure
they don't slip back into the relegation zone this weekend.
Last weekend they put in a tremendous performance as they
went down by a solitary point away to Montpellier, and a
repeat of that effort could even see them triumph against a
Stade side that has woefully under-performed once again this
season.
Last season:
SU Agen were in ProD2
Verdict:
Stade Francais win
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La Rochelle
(13th) |
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Montpellier
(3rd) |
Stade
Marcel Deflandre, 012/03/11, 20.35 |
This is the first of four
home games out of six for La Rochelle and the under-pressure
"Maritimers" know they must make that advantage count if
they are to avoid the drop back down to ProD2. Four
consecutive defeats have severely dented their hopes,
although they have at least managed to pick up losing
bonuses in three of those games, and only missed out by a
solitary point in the other - a 32-24 defeat at home to
Racing. Last weekend they almost pulled off a memorable win
at Biarritz before eventually going down 32-30, so it is
evident the survival spirit remains intact, even if results
have not gone their way of late. Montpellier squeezed home
against Agen last weekend and La Rochelle will take comfort
both from that result and the fact Fabien Galthié's side has
lost its last four away games in Top 14 - although
admittedly against Toulon, Stade Toulousain, Racing-Métro
and Castres. The loss of François Trinh-Duc has been covered
in recent weeks by Santiago Fernández, but Julien Tomas'
late call up to the French squad could prove more disruptive
to the visitors.
Last season:
La Rochelle were in Prod2
Verdict: La Rochelle win
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Castres (5th) |
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Clermont Auvergne
(3rd) |
Stade
Pierre Antoine, 012/03/11, 20.35 |
Saturday's final match
sees fifth-placed Castres look to maintain their unbeaten
home record as they play host to defending champions
Clermont Auvergne. The visitors have been severely depleted
by international calls, so Castres will certainly fancy
their chances of going one better than last season's 9-9
draw. Clermont have form on their side after five wins from
six, but a closer look at their record just one desultory
victory away from home this season, and that against
basement club Bourgoin way back in August 2010. That is
simply not good enough for a team proudly parading under the
champions' banner, and yet Clermont still find themselves
just five points off second-placed Racing-Métro. Defeat at
Castres, however, could see them slip considerably, with
just four points separating them from seventh-placed
Biarritz. Coach Vern Cotter will no doubt have been geeing
up his troops for what is a potentially crucial fixture, but
no team has emerged victorious from the Stade Pierre Antoine
in Top 14 this season.
Last season:
Castres 9 Clermont Auvergne 9
Verdict: Castres win
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