It’s moving time in the Top 14 with a number of teams missing international stars to Autumn International duty. This traditionally has opened up the door for smaller teams to make their moves and for upset results galore.
There’s a tasty old fixture list up this weekend as well and we could well see a couple of shocks here and there.
Clermont Auvergne v Bordeaux Begles | Saturday 2 November | Parc des Sports Marcel Michellin
We kick things off at the Parc des Sports Marcel Michelin sixth-placed Clermont will take on second-placed Bordeaux. Both teams head into this one with a couple of issues with the visitors missing a number of their French star backs due to national call-ups while there’s a bit of noise floating around stating that all is not well between the coaching staff and players at Clermont.
The hosts have produced a mixed bag thus far winning four of their eight fixtures while losing the others. They have been decent enough on attack this term but the defensive side of their game has been lacking and they currently sit on a points differential of -36. They suffered their second heaviest defeat of the campaign this past weekend as they went down 36-6 to Stade Francais in Paris.
Bordeaux have enjoyed a far better start to the 24/25 season with last term’s runners-up winning six of their eight fixtures, with their latest win being last weekend’s 19-6 victory over Pau.
Verdict: Clermont
They’re at home and Bordeaux will be without a number of stars. The early handicaps have started out around the six/seven point mark and I reckon Clermont could well clear that this coming weekend.
Toulon v Lyon | Saturday 2 November | Stade Mayol
It’s over to the Stade Mayol for our next fixture which sees fifth-placed Toulon take on ninth-placed Lyon. Only one point separates the two sides on the ladder, however, and they come into this with identical win-loss records as they have both won four and lost four.
The hosts have endured a poor run of form of late losing three of their last four fixtures, with their only victory coming a fortnight ago where they beat Montpellier 30-17. They also head into Saturday’s clash off the back of their worst defeat of the campaign as they went down 57-5 to pacesetters Toulouse.
Lyon have produced an identical run of results to their opponents for Saturday with their sole victory in the last four gameweeks coming against Stade, who they beat 35-3. They also come into this one off the back of a harrowing defeat as they went down 38-49 at home to Bayonne
Verdict: Toulon
They’ll be without a couple of their big guns but I’m backing Toulon to take this one by 12-15 points.
Castres v Montpellier | Saturday 2 November | Stade Pierre Fabre
Next up we head to the Stade Pierre Fabre for a clash between sveth-placed Castres and 11th-placed Montpellier. The visitors have gone three from eight during the early slavos of the season while the hosts have a further win under their belts.
Castres have produced some wild results over the past four weeks registering home wins over big guns Toulouse (28-23) and Stade Francais (35-13) while going down on the road to Pau (33-26) and most recently new boys Vannes (34-28).
Montpellier have also registered two wins and two losses in recent weeks, beating Vannes 26-24 and La Rochelle 16-0, with the latter game seeing Owen Farrell open his try scoring account. Their two defeats during this run have come at the hands of Stade Francais (29-20) and Toulon (30-17).
Verdict: Castres
Castres have been really solid at home so far and I can see them taking this one by 10-15 points.
Perpignan v Vannes | Saturday 2 November | Stade Aime Giral
It’s a battle of the bottom next up with 13th placed Perpignan taking on cellar-dwellers Vannes. The hosts sit three points above the new boys having won an extra game. However, Vannes have come to play this year and they have been unlucky with results losing a few fixtures by extremely narrow margins.
Perpignan have given a really decent account of themselves over the past fortnight, bouncing back from a massive 66-12 defeat to Bordeaux to beat Lyon 29-26 and then just miss out on a bonus point this past weekend where they gave Racing 92 a run for their money going down 30-23 to the Parisian giants.
Vannes have proved to be great entertainment value this term and have been involved in some high scoring clashes going down 55-33 to Clermont two weeks ago while bouncing back with a 34-28 victory over Castres this past weekend.
Verdict: I get the feeling we’ll see a lot of points here so my main strikes will be on the over points markets. I’ll also be having a crack on an upset away win.
Pau v Racing 92 | Saturday 2 November | Stade du Hameau
Tenth-placed Pau play host to eighth-placed Racing 92 in our next installment. Both sides haven’t exactly lit the league up thus far and will be eager to add a win to their names before the season moves into the double-figure rounds.
The hosts have gone three from eight with two of their defeats coming over the past fortnight as they went down 14-22 at home to Toulouse and 19-6 away to La Rochelle.
Racing have been in far better touch in recent weeks as they bounced back from a poor start to their campaign, which saw them lose their opening four fixtures, with four straight wins. Their latest victory was a decent if not spectacular one as they beat Perpignan 30-23 in Paris this past Saturday.
Verdict: Racing
They are on a very tidy run of form and I’m backing them to go five from five here.
La Rochelle v Stade Francais | Saturday 2 November | Stade Marcel Delfrandre
The penultimate game of the weekend takes us to the Stade Marcel Delfrandre where heavyweights La Rochelle and Stade Francais will go head-to-head.
The hosts have enjoyed a decent enough start to the season winning five of their eight fixtures, which sees them sit fifth on the ladder. Stade haven’t been as impressive and have only managed to record three wins from their opening eight.
La Rochelle head into this one off the back of a very disappointing 16-0 loss to Montpellier. They have struggled somewhat on attack this term and it was evident last week that Ronan O’Gara and his brain’s trust need a rethink when it comes to the attacking side of the game.
While their opponents for Saturday struggled for points in Round 9, Stade were racking them up for fun as they beat Clermont 36-6 in the French capital. It was a fine return to form for the Parisians who had lost their previous two fixtures.
Verdict: La Rochelle
You just know O’Gara has given his charges the hairdryer treatment during the week and I am expecting a big response from the hosts here.
Bayonne v Toulouse | Sunday 3 November | Parc des Sports Jean Dauger
We close out the Round 9 action at the Parc des Sports Jean Dauger where Bayonne high-flying Bayonne take on log-leaders Toulouse. The hosts have gotten their campaign off to a flier winning five of their opening eight games and are just seven points adrift of log-leaders Toulouse, who have registered one more win than their opponents for Sunday.
The hosts have endured a stellar three weeks registering three big wins as they beat La Rochelle 37-7, Racing 32-15 and Lyon 38-49. Their attack has been purring and they’ll give it a real go against a Toulouse side that will be missing a couple big guns due to international call-ups.
Toulouse, themselves are on a three game winning streak and also impressed last weekend as they ran rampant against Toulon running out 57-7 victors.
Verdict: Bayonne
Toulouse will be without a number of their stars and I reckon this opens the door for Bayonne to claim another impressive win.
