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Top 14 preview - Racing eye top spot;
Brive and La Rochelle face relegation showdown
31 March 2011
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Flying high: Sébastien Chabal's Racing-Métro
could claim top spot in Top 14 this weekend
Photo: Eoin Mundow/Cleva Media |
The sands of time are passing
rapidly in Top 14 and this weekend could prove a decisive
one in terms of resolving the relegation and play-off
conundrums.
Last season's beaten finalists
Perpignan kick off Round 23 with a home game against league
leaders Stade Toulousain on Friday night, with second-placed
Racing-Métro ready to pounce should the latter slip up.
The Parisians are away to
Bayonne on Saturday and could well go into that match
knowing that a win would take them to the Top 14 summit with
just three games left to play.
Top 14 League Table 2010/11
Down at the other end there is
a massive match between 12th-placed Brive and 13th-placed La
Rochelle, with the result likely to have a crucial impact on
which team joins Bourgoin in being relegated to ProD2. Brive
are currently four points ahead of their rivals, meaning
that victory would lift them at least seven points ahead and
leave La Rochelle staring into the abyss.
Eleventh-placed SU Agen are
also unsure of their Top 14 survival, but if they can
replicate the form which saw them beat defending French
champions Clermont last weekend then they too should emerge
from this weekend with their future all but resolved.
Leading scorers in Top 14 2010/11
Elsewhere, it is the battle for
pay-off places which will dominate as teams such as Toulon
(at home to Stade Francais) and Clermont (at home to
Biarritz) seek to make up ground, while the likes of
Montpellier (away to Bourgoin) and Castes (away to Agen) try
and hold on to what they already have.
Top 14, Round 23 fixtures
(Current league position in brackets)
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Perpignan (6th) |
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Stade Toulousain (1st) |
Stade
Aimé Giral, 01/04/11, 20.45 |
In-form Perpignan host
Stade Toulousain on Friday night looking to make it six
consecutive league wins. The Catalans appear to be peaking
perfectly for their end-of-season push for honours, and the
spirits will have been further lifted by news that
international centre David Marty has had his 20-day
suspension cut in half on appeal. Marty will still miss this
heavyweight battle but he will be available for next
weekend's Heineken Cup quarter-final against Toulon in
Barcelona. Stade Toulousain will also be in Heineken Cup
action next weekend - away to Biarritz - and the importance
of those two games will have a direct impact on this one.
The visitors have already confirmed that Vincent Clerc,
Maxime Médard and William Servat will all be rested for the
trip to Perpignan, while skipper Thierry Dusautoir is
injured. Toulouse do, of course, have terrific
strength in depth, but Guy Noves has clearly determined that
the Biarritz game holds more importance than this league
clash. On the other hand the veteran Toulouse coach will be
looking for his players to respond after last weekend's
43-21 loss away to Racing-Métro. Should Toulouse
stumble again - and they have already lost seven times on
the road - then Racing could even claim top spot. That in
itself is not too much of a problem, but Toulouse are
targetting a top two finish, and their next league match is
another tricky away test at Toulon. It is not inconceivable
to see them heading into that match on the back of three
successive defeats - and that most definitely would be a
problem.
Last season:
Perpignan 17 Stade Toulousain 15
Verdict: Perpignan win
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Bayonne (9th) |
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Racing-Métro 92 (2nd) |
Stade
Jean Dauger, 02/04/11, 14.30 |
Racing-Métro travel down
to the Basque coast both with soaring confidence - after
beating Toulouse 43-21 last weekend - high ambitions.
Victory away to Bayonne could see Pierre Berbizier's side
claim top spot, and with no European matches to distract
them they would be hot favourites to a seal a semi-final
play-off berth. The ambitious Parisians bolstered their
ranks this week by signing Josh Matavesi from Exeter Chiefs
- as cover for injured Argentine Juan Martin Hernandez -
while president Jacky Lorenzetti also confirmed they are
trying to tempt All Blacks fly-half Dan Carter to join them
for next season. The only bad news for Racing was
confirmation that injury-prone winger Benjamin Fall will be
sidelined for a month, but they have more than sufficient
cover to counter that loss. Bayonne, by contrast, is a club
riven by an internal power struggle that now appears to be
undermining their on-field efforts. For so long this season
they appeared destined for a top six finish, but three
defeats in their last four games has been a major setback
Admittedly all three losses were away from home, but the
last of those was the Basque derby against Biarritz as they
capitulated 40-10 to their neighbours in San Sebastian. What
impact that defeat will have remains to be seen, but Bayonne
simply have to win against Racing if they are to retain any
serious hopes of making the play-offs. At present they are
down in ninth spot, but just four points off sixth due to
the congested mid-table. Racing, who have lost just twice in
their last 10 league games, will be looking for a repeat of
last season's 23-19 away win.
Last season:
Bayonne 19 Racing-Métro 23
Verdict:
Racing win
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Brive
(12th) |
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La Rochelle (13th) |
Stade
Amédée Domenech, 02/04/11, 14.30 |
This is without doubt the most important game
of the season for both of these sides as it is likely to
decide which one stays in Top 14 and which one drops down to
ProD2. Brive will undoubtedly start as favourites owing to
the match being played on home turf, and also after the
massive boost of wholloping hapless Bourgoin 50-6 last
weekend. That result, combined with La Rochelle's home
defeat by Perpignan, means the Limousin club go into this
match four points ahead of 'The Maritimers' and knowing that
another victory would all but seal their respective fates.
The trouble for Brive is that they have yet to record
successive wins in the league so far this season. That
should offer La Rochelle a glimmer of hope as they battle to
retain their Top 14 status, but the fact they have lost five
of their last six league games does not bode well. Still,
they must be viewing this game as a one-off challenge and to
that end nerves and discipline will undoubtedly come into
play for both teams. Having said all that it I believe Brive
have the quality of players - like Fabrice Estebanez, Alexis
Palisson and Gerhard Vosloo - to see them through as they
seek to end a troubled season on a relative high.
Last season:
La Rochelle were in ProD2 last season
Verdict: Brive win
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Bourgoin (14th) |
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Montpellier (5th) |
Stade
Pierre Rajon, 02/04/11, 14.30 |
After 13 straight defeats
it seems that Bourgoin's last vestiges of pride and
resistance finally crumbled at Brive last weekend as they
were hammered 50-6 by the struggling Limousin club. This
weekend they welcome a Montpellier side seeking to
consolidate their play-off credentials, and also attempting
to break a five-match losing streak away from home. Fabien
Galthié's side will again be without injured captain
Fulgence Ouedraogo, but they must be viewing this game as
not only one to win, but one to win with the extra bonus
too. And they need to do so with the likes of Perpignan,
Clermont and Toulon all breathing down their necks as the
race to finish in the top six looks likely to go down to the
final game of the regulation league season.
Last season:
Bourgoin 20 Montpellier 23
Verdict:
Montpellier win
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Toulon (8th) |
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Stade Francais (10th) |
Stade
Félix Mayol, 02/04/11, 14.30 |
Both of these sides
suffered disappointing defeats last weekend, but Toulon's
need for a win far outstrips that of Stade Francais, who
really have nothing left to play for the league. The
Parisians must instead now concentrate their energies on the
Amlin Challenge Cup, with Michael Cheika's side hosting
Montpellier next weekend in the quarter-finals. Victory in
that competition offers possible salvation after another
disastrous league campaign that will see them missing out on
the play-offs for a second successive year. To that end
Cheika could choose to rest a few key players, something
that Toulon counterpart Philippe Saint-André can ill afford,
despite their forthcoming Heineken Cup quarter-final against
Perpignan. Club president Mourad Boudjellal made no bones
about where the club's priorities lie this week - in Top 14
- and was also forthright in his criticism of some players
after their defeat at Castres. that loss was their third in
four league games, and has seriously hindered their hopes of
a play-off spot. They go into this weekend in eighth
position and trailing sixth-placed Perpignan by two points,
but three of their last four games are at home. Beating a
possibly demotivated Stade Francais side is an essential
start for Saint-André's team, especially with home games
against Stade Toulousain and Perpignan to follow. This
weekend could finally see a club debut for Welsh
international Gavin Henson, who is now desperately short of
time to impress national coach Warren Gatland of his World
Cup value.
Last season:
Toulon 22 Stade Francais 22
Verdict: Toulon win
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Clermont Auvergne
(7th) |
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Biarritz (4th) |
Stade
Marcel Michelin, 02/04/11, 16.25 |
Defending champions
Clermont Auvergne have been the archetypal French side of
old this season, being unbeatable at home and abject away.
Last weekend's 26-17 loss at SU Agen was their ninth in
succession away from home, and their inability to even
register a losing bonus saw them drop out of the top six -
albeit on points difference to Perpignan. It is, however, an
extremely worrying record for Vern Cotter's side, especially
with away trips to Stade Francais and Stade Toulousain to
come. That makes victory at home to Biarritz an absolute
must, but it seems they will be aided in their cause by the
Basques opting to rest several players - including captain
Imanol Harinordoquy - ahead of their Heineken Cup
quarter-final with Toulon. The visitors are currently fourth
and four points up on Clermont, so they do have some slack
to play with, but they will also want to go into that Toulon
clash with a competent performance behind them. They should
still be flying on the back of their Basque derby win last
weekend - when they trounced Bayonne 40-10 - but their own
away form has been poor as well this season, with just two
wins all campaign. Last season they managed to sneak a win
at fortress Stade Marcel Michelin, but a repeat seems
unlikely against a team that should have been given a
valuable pick-me-up by this week's news that All Black
winger Sitiveni Sivivatu will be joining them next season.
Last season:
Clermont Auvergne 13 Biarritz 16
Verdict: Clermont Auvergne win
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SU Agen (11th) |
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Castres
(3rd) |
Stade
Armandie, 02/04/11, 20.45 |
The last game of Round 23
sees SU Agen go in search of a home win against Castres that
would virtually guarantee their Top 14 survival - especially
if La Rochelle lose at Brive. Last weekend their pulled off
a superb result in down Clermont 26-17 and a re-run of that
would do just fine on Saturday night. But Castres are in
good form at present and have risen to third place on the
back of four successive league wins, including their first
on the road in more than a year when they beat Brive 20-12
in Round 21. Another win here could set them up for a
possible top two finish as their next match is away to
Bourgoin. that should be incentive enough for the visitors
to push hard, but they will be up against a team that has
won six of its last seven home games in Top 14 and has the
whiff of survival firmly in their nostrils.
Last season:
SU Agen were in ProD2
Verdict: SU Agen win
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