Top 14 gets back on the menu
this weekend and what a tasty treat we have in store as
domestic battle recommences throughout France.
The action starts on
Friday evening and all eyes will be on the Toulon starting
XV as they play host to Mont-de-Marsan in a bottom-two clash
that could have significant ramifications for both clubs.
Will Tana Umaga name
himself in the centres as he becomes the first player-coach
in Top 14 history? The former All Black captain stunned the
rugby world with his decision to come out of retirement this
week at the age of 35, but there’s certainly no doubting the
pedigree of the man. Has he, however, really still got what
it takes to cut it at the highest level of professional club
rugby? Only time will tell, but there’s bound to be an
awesome atmosphere at the Stade Felix Mayol for this
relegation humdinger.
Fellow strugglers
Castres and Bourgoin both have home matches – against Brive
and Montauban respectively – while crisis club Montpellier
will be looking to arrest an alarming slump against Dax,
another team that’s been out of sorts of late.
At the other end of the
table leaders Toulouse travel to revived Biarritz with coach
Guy Noves promising to rest his phalanx of French
internationals, while fourth-placed Clermont Auvergne
entertain fifth-placed Bayonne as the scrap for play-off
places continues in earnest. Then, to cap it all off, Stade
Francais take on Perpignan at the Stade de France on
Saturday evening in front of an anticipated 80,000 crowd.
Enough, surely, to get
anyone’s juices flowing.
Toulon v Mont-de-Marsan, Stade Mayol, 30/01/09, 20.35
Desperate times call
for desperate measures, and Toulon have certainly exhibited
both in another roller-coaster week for Mourad Boudjellal’s
side. Confirmation that Philippe Saint-Andre will be
arriving in the summer was expected but news that Umaga will
not only stay, but also add to his already onerous workload
was less foreseeable. Is it the last throw of the dice from
a man whose days are numbered, or could it just be the
greatest gamble of the season? Umaga is in the squad after
announcing his playing comeback and the intriguing prospect
of teaming up in the centres with Sonny Bill Williams has
left even the harshest sceptic eager with anticipation.
Certainly, something needed to be done after four
consecutive league defeats and a run that has seen only two
victories in the club’s last 15 games. Mont-de-Marsan, on
the other hand, have hauled themselves back from seemingly
certain doom on the back of three wins in their last four
Top 14 games. Tellingly, however, all three were at home and
the division’s basement club are yet to record an away
victory this season.
Verdict: Toulon win
Biarritz v Toulouse, Parc des Sports Aguilera, 31/01/09,
14.30
Three weeks ago
Biarritz were a club in freefall after eight consecutive
defeats and Toulouse were in the midst of a 15-match winning
run that was threatening to sweep all before them. Fast
forward to this weekend and Serge Blanco’s beloved Biarritz
are now looking for a fourth win on the spin buoyed by the
majestic returns to form of two of the club’s standout
players: Imanol Harinordoquy and Dimitri Yachvili. Toulouse,
by contrast, had their glow of invincibility well and truly
smashed by Glasgow – and at home of all places – while last
week’s gruelling 3-3 draw in the Bath mud will also have
taken its toll. To add to Noves’ ire he then lost nine of
his squad to the French team’s three-day get together in
Paris, prompting a further bout of grumpiness from the
usually phlegmatic head coach. How many of those nine take
part on Saturday remains unclear. Jean-Baptiste Elissalde
and Frederic Michalak are both doubtful travellers, leaving
the recuperating David Skrela to try his luck again at
fly-half. Sounds like the perfect match for former All Black
scrum half Byron Kelleher to get stuck into.
Verdict: Biarritz win
Bourgoin v Montauban, Stade Pierre
Rajon, 31/01/09, 14.30
Consistency, or rather
the lack of it, has been Bourgoin’s problem this season with
the division’s 11th placed club having failed to
register back-to-back league wins throughout the campaign.
They’ve usually been competitive – hence the accumulation of
eight bonus points – but they still find themselves
perilously perched just above the drop zone and leaking
quality players at an alarming rate. Both Morgan Parra and
Yann David have confirmed their departures since Bourgoin
were last in league action and Montauban will be keen to
consolidate their top seven standing now their inaugural
Heineken Cup run has been extinguished.
Verdict: Montauban win
Castres v Brive, Stade Pierre Antoine, 31/01/09, 14.30
Castres have shown
signs of rediscovering their form of late but a home tussle
with Brive is bound to test their resolve. The visitors are
a vastly improved unit from the team which drew 16-16 with
Castres earlier in the season, and unlike most French clubs
their European Challenge Cup exploits appear to have
inspired rather than drained them – apart from Arnaud Mela’s
four-week ban. They go into this match on the back of a run
which has seen them win nine of their last 10 games, and
knowing Castres have the worst home record in the division –
a major factor in them still being just two points off the
relegation zone in 12th position. Having said
that, the hosts will be buoyed by their 21-15 defeat of
London Wasps last week.
Verdict: Brive win
Montpellier v Dax, Stade Yves Du Manoir, 31/01/09, 14.30
Eighth versus 10th
might suggest a mid-table nonentity but this is a crucial
match for both sides. Crisis-ridden Montpellier have lost
their last four games – and seven of their last nine – as
their season continues to fall apart both on and off the
pitch, while Dax have stumbled after a mid-season surge saw
them win three of their four league games in November. The
New Year hasn’t proved so bountiful and they have
subsequently lost six of their last seven matches in all
competitions. Another loss here, combined with unfavourable
results around them, could pull Thomas Lièvremont’s side
right back into the relegation mire.
Verdict: Montpellier win
Clermont v Bayonne, Parc des Sports Marcel Michelin,
31/01/09, 14.30
Bayonne’s 17-6 victory
in the corresponding fixture in September confirmed the
Basques' excellent start to the season, but their form has
fallen off in recent weeks while Clermont appear to have
re-found their attacking verve. French discard and home
captain Aurélien Rougerie has a point or two to prove to
Marc Lièvremont, while Les Jaunards should be relatively
fresh after resting much of their first-choice XV for last
week’s trip to Sale Sharks. Bayonne have lost three of their
last four Top 14 games, costing them fourth spot as they
were overhauled by their weekend hosts and it seems hard to
imagine that trend not continuing on Saturday.
Verdict: Clermont win
Stade Francais v Perpignan, Stade de France, 31/01/09,
16.30
The weekend’s final
match will certainly draw the day’s biggest crowd – in
Europe let alone France – but will Stade Francais live up to
their billing after yet more Heineken Cup disappointment?
Perpignan lost 26-11 at home to Stade earlier in the season
but go into this game on the back of four successive league
wins and bolstered by the return of mercurial All Black
fly-half Dan Carter. The Kiwi number 10 should be inspired
by the Stade de France setting, and also by the knowledge
that a victory here would lift them above their hosts into
second spot. The Parisians, on the other hand, are looking
to amend a record that says ‘played two, lost two’ at the
Stade de France so far this season.
Verdict: Perpignan win
