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06
October 2008
 With
the onset of a fortnight’s European competition, involving
all of France’s Top 14 clubs, now seems a good time to draw
breath and reflect on how the opening seven rounds of the
season have gone.
That’s fractionally over a quarter of the
2008/9 season already gone and it’s clear that some
significant patterns have already been established, and not
all of them on Stade Francais’ ever-more outlandish away
kits. They now have the Andy Warhol-esque multiprint to sit
alongside their pink tie-dye number, but all ridicule is
currently being subdued by a run of straight seven wins
orchestrated by new Aussie coach Ewen McKenzie and
Argentinean flexi-player Juan Martin Hernandez.
Throw in France’s Lionel Beauxis and rugby
league convert Mark Gasnier and you have the backbone for a
string of successes that have brought Stade 206 points in
their seven games so far. That’s a whopping 108 more than
struggling Toulon, the media’s whipping boys always certain
of column inches under the colourful presidency of comic
millionaire Mourad Boudjellal.
Stade have based their success on two very
simple statistics: They have scored the most tries (18)
while conceding the fewest (6). In Beauxis they have the
league’s second-highest points scorer – with 81, just two
behind Mont-de-Marsan’s Benat Arrayet – and in Hernandez
they have a man who has started a craze for drop-kicks (five
so far) as a means of flourishing under the new ELVs.
Interestingly, the second player in the list, with four, is
club colleague Beauxis.
A reflection of their team strength however
is that no Paris player is in the current top five for
individual tries, with Montauban’s Vilimoni Delasau, Brive’s
Norman Ligairi and Biarritz’s Takudzwa Ngwenya all leading
the way with five. Toulouse’s Cedric Heymans and Clermont’s
Nalaga follow on with four apiece before the Stade pair of
Sergio Parisse and Julien Arias (with three each) share
sixth spot with Toulon’s Clement Imbert, the 19-year-old
academy product who has been a rare beacon of light for last
year’s ProD2 winners.
Toulouse’s David Skrela is currently the pick
of the kickers, with a success rate of 79%, closely pursued
by last year’s top points scorer Clermont’s Brock James
(76%). Former Leicester fly-half Andy Goode is way down in
ninth with 69%, but the Brive player endured a torrid start
and is only now finding his true form.
In terms of the overall table it is clear
that Stade Francais have been a class apart so far, opening
up an eight point gap over defending champions Toulouse,
although the latter have now put together three wins on the
spin as they show signs of returning to their best.
Third-placed Perpignan will be delighted with
their start too, especially with the December arrival of Dan
Carter drawing ever nearer by the day. Bayonne, also, will
be content with fourth so far but Castres, down in 13th,
have been strangely subdued and look shorn of confidence.
But form and confidence can change quickly,
just ask Dax or Brive. Dax were widely tipped as relegation
favourites at the start of the campaign but three wins in
their last four have lifted Thomas Lievremont’s team up to
the dizzy heights of 9th.
Brive weren’t expected to struggle,
especially after heavy summer recruitment, but a shocking
start saw them winless and bottom of the league after five
matches. But that all seemed like some far off nightmare
after this week’s demolition of Mont-de-Marsan, making it 94
points scored in their last two games.
So, where does the season go from here?
European attractions and distractions will now begin to
figure in the equation, favouring the bigger sides with
stronger squads as more demands are made on the players.
That means Stade Francais and Toulouse should be well placed
to continue on, but what of perennial bridesmaids Clermont.
They are currently fifth, just three points behind Toulouse,
and I expect them to gather momentum as the season
progresses. Come the end of the domestic programme I fancy
it to be those three and Perpignan pushing for the top four
spots, but it’s still early days.
What seems equally certain is that
Mont-de-Marsan – bottom with just seven points – seem to be
heading for a rapid return whence they came, namely ProD2.
At present they have managed just five tries in seven games,
a woeful return, but also boast the oddity of having the
league’s highest individual score in Benat Arrayet. A
strange quirk indeed.
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