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Top 14 Preview: Round 22

Friday 16th May 2008

Clermont and Perpignan will be out to run over each other

Clermont host Perpignan in the pick of the Top 14's Round 22 clashes. The championship leaders host the in-form Catalans who are still under pressure from Castres.

With just five rounds remaining, most teams begin their final push for a place in Europe, the semi-finals or simply to avoid relegation. Separated by a single point, Montpellier host Bourgoin in a battle which will see the losers fall out of the race for a Heineken Cup spot.

Albi and Dax will wage a long distance war for the final spot in the Top 14 while Toulouse stretch their legs in preparation for the biggest game of their season so far.

Fixtures:

Friday May 16

Brive v Stade Français

Saturday May 17

Clermont v Perpignan
Montpellier v Bourgoin
Toulouse v Montauban
Bayonne v Castres Olympique
Albi v Auch
Dax v Biarritz Olympique

Table after Round 21

1 Clermont Auvergne 81
2 Toulouse 76
3 Stade Français 69
4 Perpignan 62
5 Castres Olympique 56
6 Biarritz Olympique 54
7 Montauban 50
8 Montpellier 44
9 Bourgoin 43
10 Bayonnais 43
11 Brive 37
12 Albi 36
13 Dax 30
14 Auch 15

Previews:

Brive v Stade Français

Brive find themselves in a very tight spot. Only seven points clear of the relegation zone, and with an unenviable match schedule ahead of them, Olivier Magne's team have it all to do. Stade Français, Clermont and then Toulouse, they couldn't have asked for a worse run-in.

A week after suffering their third consecutive defeat (41-10 to Castres), Brive have no choice but to react.

"We're going to have to give everything and rectify our mistakes in certain areas. We have to scrape as many points as possible out of the next three matches," loose forward Jérôme Bonvoisin told lesite.

Brive's Parisian visitors have won seven games in a row and are just about assured of a semi-final spot. That said, the defending champions have flattered to deceive in recent weeks and the most common phrase on French rugby these days seems to be "fortunately for Stade they've got Juan Martin Hernandez."

'El Mago' has been magnificent in his last few games and has gotten his side out of a tight spot or two. The Argentinian playmaker will however not be on the bus to Brive as Fabien Galthié and Fabrice Landreau have decided to rotate their squad and rest a few key players.

The club from the capital have the luxury of recalling French internationals Lionel Beauxis and Pascal Papé who are back from injury.

One of the players that will be in the starting XV is South African-born French international Brian Liebenberg who played a full 80 minutes last week for the first time in many months. Liebenberg, when fully fit and in top form, is the kind of player that could re-ignite the fire in the Stade back-line. Also look out for 18-year-old Rabah Slimani in the front row.

With Galthié set to step back from his coaching role at the end of the season, Christophe Dominici - who made a rare appearance on the field last week after a long absence - is tipped as a favourite for the job, but the veteran French wing (who will play at full-back against Brive) has not yet made a decision.

"I don't think you can change hats overnight. It's a decision that will need a lot of reflection. A lot a parameters need to be taken into consideration," said Dominici following Stade's victory against Albi last week.

Brive however are set to line-up a very strong side. Prop Peyo Capdevielle, lock Fabien Domingo, loose forward Antonie Claassen, fly-half Luciano Orquera and centre Suka Hufanga are all available for selection after injury.

Brive will need all the resources they can muster if they are to avoid a repeat of the 36-7 drubbing they suffered in February. They should make a far better show of it on Friday. Expect a closer game than the teams' respective table positions suggest.

Venue: Amedée-Domenech
Kick-off: 20:30 (18:30 GMT)
Referee: Franck Maciello
Touch judges: Hervé Gilard, Jean-Paul Vermande
Assessor: Francis Bourgade, Michel Debet
Television match official: Serge Marzullo

Clermont v Perpignan

Without doubt the game of the weekend, as two of the Top 14's form teams come head to head in what looks likely to a be a dress rehearsal for the semi-final in Marseilles in June.

The last two weeks have seen both side's impressive winning streaks come to an end, with Perpignan going down in Montauban most recently.

The pressure will be on the Catalans as they have a very tricky final few weeks in comparison to Castres who are lose enough to pounce on the last semi-final spot should Perpignan falter.

Clermont's irresistible form has wavered a little of late. They might have bounced back from their shock loss to Castres with a win in Biarritz, but that result had as much to do with their hosts inept finishing than their own play.

After having rugby fans on their feet, cheering some magnificent rugby this season, ASM have looked a little sort on ideas recently.

In a attempt to remedy the championship leaders' wavering form, Kiwi coach Vern Cotter took the unusual step of closing the habitually wide open doors at Parc des sports Marcel-Michelin for some Toulouse-style undercover training sessions this week.

News in the Auvergne has not been good. Influential scrum-half Pierre Mignoni has a torn thigh muscle and will be out of action for three weeks. Elvis Vermeulen will also be absent for Perpignan's visit.

For Perpignan, news isn't much better with the author of their only try against Montauban last weekend, Samoan loose forward Henry Tuilagi, sidelined for at least a week with an injury to his abdominal muscles.

Nevertheless the Clermont crowd are set to be entertained by two teams packed with class players. Expect a close scoreline.

Venue: Marcel Michelin
Kick-off: 15:00 (13:00 GMT)
Referee: David Rosich
Touch judges: Claude Tajan, Alain Moretto
Assessor: Philippe De Miranda, Daniel Pruvot
Television match official: Jean-Marie Combe

Montpellier v Bourgoin

The Montpellier roller coaster thunders forth. The boys - and we don't use the word lightly- from the Herault have gone from losing to mediocre Albi and Bayonne to beating the almighty Toulouse in a matter of a week or two.

To be fair, Toulouse didn't line-up their strongest team, but their 'experimental sides' were enough to crush Auch and Castres, which puts the result in Montpellier in perspective.

Beating Toulouse was no doubt a massive moral boost for Montpol but it didn't come cheap. French internationals Louis Picamoles and Julien Tomas are injury doubts ahead of Bourgoin's arrival after a very bruising encounter.

On the other hand, fly-half François Trinh-Duc is fit and seems to have rekindled the form that saw him receive a call-up for the Six Nations.

Bourgoin are also coming off an encouraging win after hammering Dax 54-10 last weekend. Les Berjalliens' form has been on a distinctly upward curve of late, making for a intriguing encounter with their direct opposition in their campaign to catch up with Montauban in seventh place.

They head to the Mediterranean coast with a much-depleted side though as a spate of injuries has decimated their ranks. They will also have to make do without hooker Jean-Philippe Genevois who's season has come to an abrupt end after being handed a 70-day suspension for his head-butt that left Stade Français's Dimitri Szarzewski with fractured eye socket.

It's become incredibly hard to predict the results of Montpellier's games. Count on the hosts to produce a few flashes of brilliance, watered down with some silly mistakes and some rash decision-making.

With the teams separated by a single point on the Championship table, a similarly close scoreline seems likely. But given Bourgoin's injury woes and Montpellier's home form, the hosts should be favourites to stay in the race for Heineken Cup qualification.

Venue: Yves Manoir
Kick-off: 17:30 (15:30 GMT)
Referee: Jean-Pierre Matheu
Touch judges: Fernand Pereira, René Bordeneuve
Assessor: Patrice Frantschi, Alain Fernandez
Television match official: Jean-Claude Levrier

Toulouse v Montauban

The news of the week is Frédéric Michalak's signing with Toulouse which will see him return to his home town in October. The French international fly-half will no doubt be in the stands for the visit of France's giant slayers, Montauban.

With Michalak and David Skrela not set to arrive until next season, the intrigue surround who will play fly-half for Toulouse remains for what will surely be a dress rehearsal for their Heineken Cup Final the following Sunday. With Jean-Baptiste Ellisalde's knee injury recovering according to plan, he seems the most likely candidate to play outside Bryon Kelleher.

Bizarrely, the hosts will be without their doctor, Albert Sadacca, who is serving a twenty day suspension after being shown a red card in Montpellier!

Montauban seem to shrink by about ten kilograms per player as soon as they leave Sapiac. Losers in Dax and victors against Perpignan in the last two weeks, the team in green will be desperate to find a little consistency as they try to hang onto seventh place which represents a place in Europe next season.

They will be buoyed by the news that Fijian lock Seti Kiole has finally returned to the training field. Signed from Clermont last year he has yet to make his debut for the side after repeated visits to the Montauban sick-bay.

With Toulouse at full strength there can be only one result at Ernest Wallon, giving the Toulouse fans some good practice at painting la Ville rose red ahead of next Sunday's big showdown with Munster in Cardiff.

Venue: Ernest Wallon
Kick-off: 17:30 (15:30 GMT)
Referee: Eric Darrière
Touch judges: Gilbert Darrieutort, Didier Dussaut
Assessor: Michel Roger, Joël Dumé
Television match official: Yves Bressy

Bayonne v Castres Olympique

The surprise package of the season, Castres continue to impress. Winners in two of their three matches last week, Castres head to Bayonne looking to cement their place in the top five and keep the pressure on Perpignan.

However they make the trip to the Basque country without their points-scoring machine, full-back Romain Teulet. South African lock Grehard Vosloo and captain Lionel Nallet are also under an injury cloud and are uncertain starters.

After their hectic week the Castres players were given two days off on Monday and Tuesday before taking in a "nature camp" in Capbreton to recharge their batteries.

Bayonne's win against Auch last week should be enough to keep them in the top flight and Richard Dourthe will be looking for one last win at Stade Jean-Dauger (a win against Clermont in their last home game seems unlikely) as he winds down his days as a Bayonne player before taking up a management post.

Venue: Jean Dauger
Kick-off: 17:30 (15:30 GMT)
Referee: Jérôme Garces
Touch judges: Jacques Laplace, Pierre-Marie Masson
Assessor: Michel Forget, Marc Daroque
Television match official: Daniel Gillet

Albi v Auch

With Auch on their way to the ProD2 the only question remains is, who will join them? Dax are the most likely candidates but only if Albi can come up with a result or two. And never was there a better occasion to score some points than the visit of the championship's tail-enders.

Despite losing, both teams turned in encouraging performances last week. While Auch gave Bayonne a real run for their money, Albi scored three tries in Paris. Although the game is unlikely to produce much attractive rugby, there will be no lack of blood 'n guts as the teams have a rare chance to score a win.

Venue: Stade Municipal d'Albi
Kick-off:17:30 (15:30 GMT)
Referee: Hervé Dubes
Touch judges: Jean-Louis Fillon, Jean-François Fourquet
Assessor: Michel Sicard, Patrick Thomas
Television match official: Vincent Azoulay

Dax v Biarritz Olympique

A week after their heart-breaking defeat to Clermont which almost certainly ended their semi-final aspirations, Biarritz must lift themselves for their trip to Dax.

Coach Patrice Lagisquet rejoined his BO squad after a week's absence when he needed 'some air'. It has been confirmed that he will head the team until the end of the season when he will take on another role, which is yet to be defined, within the club's structures.

All kinds of changes are on the horizon for the former champions with a new coach, new players and a renovated stadium expected to make next season a better one for Biarritz. Before they get there however, they need a few more points to assure themselves of a spot in Europe.

While Biarritz will be playing mainly for their pride, Dax face yet another make or break weekend. Defeat could well be the final nail in their relegation coffin and many a fan of the les Landais will be listening in with baited breath on the Albi-Auch game which kicks-off an hour earlier.

Venue: Maurice Boyeau
Kick-off: 18:35 (16:35 GMT)
Referee: Christophe Berdos
Touch judges: Patrick Bettet, Jean-Luc Gonzalez
Assessor: Pierre Beneuf, Roger Duhau
Television match official: Daniel Dartigeas