This Saturday, Girondins and Varois meet at Chaban-Delmas in the clash of the 13th day. A promising clash between two teams with immense ambitions for the end of the season.
If the famous Classico between Stade Toulousain and Stade Français will put an end to the fabulous year of French rugby on Sunday, it is the poster for this Saturday evening which attracts all eyes. Damian Penaud's Union Bordeaux-Bègles welcomes Charles Ollivon's RC Toulon for a final fireworks display before setting off to discover 2025. Two teams which, at mid-season, suggest an outcome other than a new Shield of Brennus in the trophy cabinet of Antoine Dupont and his partners.
Union Bordeaux-Bègles has a well-defined objective: to return to the final without going through the play-off box to wash away the affront of the previous year (this humiliating final lost 59-3), and its start to the season is largely up to par. of his expectations. For its part, the RCT is back in the forefront, invites itself to the party and also has great ambitions, with a more than solid start to the championship. For two months, Pierre Mignoni's men have continued to gain strength and now wish to compete with one of the big favorites for the title. In the middle of the holiday season, this opportunity is offered to them on a platter.
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Royal dynamics
This Saturday in front of its supporters, UBB, leader of the Top 14 tied on points with Stade Toulousain before this 13th day (41), will complete a superb first part of the season, during which it did more than compete with the Rouge and Noir, even winning at Ernest-Wallon at the beginning of October. The Unionists are on a solid series of five victories in a row and were able to get rid of Castres away last weekend in a locked match, which they would certainly have lost in previous years, proof that Maxime Lucu and his team are constantly evolving.
“This team learns, progresses, also feeds on what the best do. We took forty points from Castres last season, we had to prove that we had learned from the previous exercise and the players responded in the most beautiful way. rejoiced the Bordeaux manager Yannick Bru at the microphone of Canal+ after the meeting.
Opposite, the Varois are not left out and are even doing better. Since their big defeat on the pitch at the Toulouse Stadium at the end of October, Charles Ollivon and his team have started moving forward again, racking up six convincing successes including a card last weekend against Pau, allowing them to climb onto the podium of the Top 14. Pierre Mignoni, renowned for his constant demands, was satisfied after his players' victory: “I have the feeling that we are progressing since last season. We are on the right path but now we have to nourish this, we have to be demanding and seek the very high level”. The two teams have also had a very high quality start to the European season, with two victories in two days, and are therefore riding on crazy dynamics which suggest a high-level clash this Saturday in Chaban-Delmas.
Frames in shape for a five-star duel
If the dynamics are good, that’s good because the workforce is strong and efficient. Bielle-Biarrey, Penaud, Moefana, Depoortère or Lucu, among others, on the Bordeaux side, Ollivon, Villière or Frisch among the Toulonnais. In short, tricolor fireworks are expected in Bordeaux this Saturday. After a successful autumn tour for the French XV, the internationals are for the most part continuing and sharpened at the end of the year.
The young Louis Bielle-Biarrey is the great example, author of three tries in his last two matches. Left to rest against Castres, he has certainly prepared his costume for the big evenings to light up his garden one last time in 2024. The Blues will therefore inevitably be eagerly awaited on the pitch at Chaban-Delmas to take part in this 5-star duel. But they are not the only ones. On the Toulon side, players like David Ribbans, immense against Pau, Gaël Dréan or the New Zealander Leicester Fainga'anuku, author of a double against Glasgow in the Champions Cup, splashed their class in the last matches of the RCT, making part of the spearhead of the success of the Var and will be keen to do well against the leader of the Top 14.
Between two of the fittest teams in Europe, it's time for a clash. Last year, Depoortère and his team won after a sublime encounter on the Mayol pitch (37-32), plunging Toulon into crisis. This year, the statutes have changed somewhat. The Toulonnais are back in the spotlight and have the means to pull off a big blow against the championship leader.
For Bordeaux, it is a question of completing mid-season in first place in the Top 14, originally far from being an easy feat. “It never stops, we have a big match against Toulon next Saturday and I hope we will be up to it”affirmed Yannick Bru on Saturday evening. And given the announced spectacle, he is certainly far from being the only one.
