Last day of the first leg of the Top 14 this weekend, where Bordeaux-Bègles and Toulouse will compete for the leadership position. This Saturday, UBB has a slight advantage in the race between the last two finalists: if the two teams have the same number of points (41), Yannick Bru’s players are ahead in the standings thanks to their victory in Toulouse in September.
During the last matches in the Top 14, UBB did not necessarily shine in the game but the results are there. After a fantastic comeback against Vannes (37-29 after being led 29-0), the team which has scored the most tries this season has only scored one in the last two meetings. But no matter: the four points came at the end against Montpellier (9-6) and Castres (13-3).
Toulon ambitious against UBB
Saturday evening, a big piece will appear at the Chaban-Delmas stadium, with Toulon. The RCT is the fittest team in the Top 14, with four victories in a row, not counting the two successes obtained in the Champions Cup.
Their last defeat dates back to before the international break when an second team took the storm against Toulouse (57-5). With the accumulation of matches, the temptation to let the clash against UBB slip away by leaving several executives to rest undoubtedly still exists in Pierre Mignoni’s head. But the Toulon coach affirmed Friday at a press conference that he “did not envisage defeat” while avoiding any “euphoria”.
If UBB does not win with the offensive bonus, the double reigning French champions Toulouse could regain first place in the standings, lost during the previous match with the draw against Lyon with a reshuffled team.
Stade Français challenges Toulouse
Stade Toulouse faces Stade Français, semi-finalist last season but far from this standard now and the only team not to have taken any points away from its bases since the start of the season. “I won’t have time to go to Lourdes, but we’re still going to pray around the tree” even said the rugby director of the Parisian club Laurent Labit after his victory against Perpignan (24-7) which a little far from the last two places.
Special feature of the last day of the calendar year, there is not the usual 2:30 p.m. multiplex on Saturday. The matches are played one after the other, four on Saturday and three on Sunday.
Vannes and Pau have everything to lose
It will all start with the match of fear between Pau (13th) and Vannes (14th). Pau has just slipped into the play-off role after its last defeat against Toulon, the fifth in the last six matches. A defeat without a bonus would put them behind promoted Vannes. For the Bretons, last with four points behind Pau, a new defeat would widen the gap a little further with the rest of the Top 14, with the risk of being definitively dropped.
Next will come a match at the top of the table between Bayonne, surprising fourth, and Castres, seventh and who wants to stay in the right group after their home defeat against UBB.
Clermont, which is coming off two encouraging defeats against Leinster and La Rochelle, returns to Marcel-Michelin to maintain the dynamic of being the best home team this season (28 points out of 30 possible). But, opposite, Montpellier is coming back well and reassuring after last season and the slow start to the season.
Duel of poorly classified between Racing and LOU
Sunday will also begin with a poorly ranked match between Racing 92 and Lyon. The skies and whites want to put their heads back together after three consecutive defeats in the championship and two turbulent last weeks on an extra-sporting level, concluded Thursday with the departure of the president of the board of directors Laurent Travers.
For its part, Perpignan once again receives a big one, La Rochelle, but hopes for a different fate than against Toulon, the last reception at Aimé-Giral (22-13 defeat).
Morocco
