The Top 14 is well and truly entering its business end and we’ve only a few rounds to go before the play-offs get underway. There are log jams all over the ladder which means almost every game this weekend is going to be vital.
Saturday 2 April
Castres | Draw | Toulouse *betting tba (17:00)
The weekend’s action kicks off at the Stade Pierre Fabre where fifth-placed Castres will take on third-placed Toulouse. Things are extremely tight in the top 7 with only three points separating these two sides on the standings.
Toulouse have turned a corner in recent weeks winning their last two fixtures comfortably; they beat Montpellier 35-20 a fortnight ago and followed that up with a 27-19 win over Lyon.
Castres haven’t fared as well in recent weeks and have produced a mixed bag, beating Montpellier 25-9 at home before going down 28-12 away to Brive.
They are a really tough nut to crack at home and I can see Castres scrapping their way to a win here.
Perpignan 86/100 | Draw 22/1 | Montpellier 1/1 (17:00)
Montpellier have been offered just the tonic to alleviate their patchy run of form with a game against 13th-placed Perpignan on the horizon for the log-leaders.
The hosts have lost four of their last six fixtures but the two games they won were rather eye-catching as they beat Toulouse (36-13) and Racing (34-13) at this weekend’s venue. They also gave a decent account of themselves last weekend as they went down 27-22 away to Pau.
Despite sitting top of the pops, Montpellier haven’t been in the best of form of late and have won three, lost two and drawn one of their past six fixtures. They weren’t all too convincing last weekend either as they huffed and puffed their way to a 37-22 win over last-placed Biarritz.
I expect this desperate Perpignan side to give Montpellier a real run for their money. My main play will be on the plus lines but I’ll also be having a small crack on the hosts claiming the spoils here.
Lyon 39/100 | Draw 25/1 | Toulon 21/10 (17:00)
Lyon and Toulon are next up and both sides will be desperate for the win to reinforce their play-off credentials.
The visitors have had a good time of it of late winning three of their last four games with their last two victories coming against Clermont (32-22) and La Rochelle (41-11).
Lyon have endured a far tougher time of it of late and have only won one of their last four games, with that win being far from impressive as it came against cellar-dwellers Biarritz.
While they’re not in great touch, I still fancy Lyon to claim the spoils here, especially in front of their home faithful.
Clermont 1/10 | Draw 33/1 | Brive 6/1 (17:00)
Clermont and Brive are next up and this is another one of those vital fixtures with Clermont still looking to crack a play-off place and Brive looking to avoid a relegation play-off.
Clermont have endured a strange old season playing some great rugby at times and then looking like a motley crew of players thrown together at the last minute in other games. They have been in decent enough touch in March beating Lyon and Bordeaux while going down to Toulon in their latest game.
Brive have been the epitome of inconsistent drawing one against Montpellier, suffering a heavy defeat at the hands of La Rochelle putting in a solid shift in a 17-10 win over Toulon and then beating Castres 28-12 last weekend.
I fancy the home side here. They know they’re at the business end of the comp and the big sides usually come good here.
Biarritz 86/100 | Draw 22/1 | Pau 1/1 (17:00)
Biarritz will be looking to salvage some pride from a season that has seen them only win five of their 21 games when they take on a Pau side that will still harbour hopes of making the play-offs despite the odds being stacked against them.
Biarritz have endured a tough old February and March losing all four of the games they played while shipping 181 points at an average of 45.25 points per game.
Pau, on the other hand, have been solid enough touch winning three of their last four games with their most recent victory coming last weekend where they beat Perpignan 27-22.
Biarritz have nothing to lose which makes them dangerous but still think Pau wll manage to get the job done here.
Bordeaux 5/10 | Draw 22/1 | La Rochelle 17/10 (21:05)
The penultimate game of the weekend should be an absolute cracker with second-placed Bordeaux taking on fourth-placed La Rochelle.
Both sides have been in solid form of late with La Rochelle winning four of their last five and getting wins over big guns Racing and Clermont. Their win against Racing came last weekend and saw them hold the Parisians tryless as they ran out 19-0 victors.
Bordeaux have been far less impressive of late and have managed only one win in their last six outings. They head into this game off the back of said victory, however, as they beat Stade 18-31 this past weekend.
Last weekend’s win would have done them a world of good and my money is on Bordeaux having registered back-to-back victories when the final whistle has gone here.
Sunday 4 April
Racing 23/100 | Draw 22/1 | Stade 34/10 (21:05)
The round comes to a close with a Sunday Paris derby as Racing 92 and Stade Francais lock horns at the La Defense arena.
The hosts currently occupy the final play-off berth but are only six points clear of Stade, who currently sit 11th of the Top 14 ladder.
Racing have hit something of a dry spell in March going down 34-13 to Perpignan and 19-0 to La Rochelle in the two fixtures they played in the month.
Stade enjoyed a more positive month beating Toulouse 23-16 at the start of it but then suffered an 18-31 home loss to Bordeaux at the close.
This game should be a cracker with a lot at stake for both sides. My money is on the hosts winning it by the narrowest of margins.
