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French Top 14

PREVIEW: Top 14 playoff spots still up for grabs with just three rounds left

The Top 14 regular season is well into its final stretch with just three rounds of the round-robin phase of the season remaining and there still a lot to be decided in these final three weeks with the hunt for play-off berths and the battle to avoid relegation still well and truly alive.

Baptiste Fernandez/ Steve Haag Sports

Round 24 is certainly an eye-catching round with big ticket affairs with the highlights seeing Clermont host Stade, Toulon take on La Rochelle and Toulouse square off with Bordeaux.

Two women looking excitedly at cellphone

Our rugby scribe runs the rule over all of the action, below. 

Saturday 6 May

Clermont 31/100 | Draw 24/1 | Stade 26/10

We kick the Round 24 action off with a clash between 11th-placed Clermont and third-placed Stade Francais. The two sides have experienced vastly contrasting campaigns with Stade almost a shoe-in for a play-off berth while Clermont need a minor miracle to advance to the knock-out phase.

The hosts come into this one off the back of three consecutive defeats going down 32-30 to the Scarlets in the Challenge Cup quarter-finals and then 23-18 to Pau and 26-13 to La Rochelle in the Top 14.

Stade have been in better form in recent weeks registering wins over Brive (22-27) and Top 14 leaders Toulouse (19-10). They seem to be hitting their straps at just the right time.

Stade are in solid touch at the moment and they produced some decent results on the road this term. I’m backing them to add another away win to their tally this coming Saturday.

Get on Stade here at 26/10.

Racing 29/100 | Draw 25/1 | Bayonne 11/4

We head over to Paris for our next fixture which sees seventh-placed Racing 92 take on eighth-placed Bayonne. Only two pints separate the sides on the Top 14 ladder and this game will have a massive bearing on the play-off berths. 

Racing have been in rather patchy form of late winning two and losing two of their last four fixtures. Their defeats came at the hands of the Golden Lions (51-28 in the Challenge Cup quarters and Perpignan (20-21) in the Top 14, while they recorded Top 14 wins over Stade Francais (13-17) and the Bordeaux Begles (31-28). 

Bayonne have fared worse in their last four losing three fixtures. Their defeats came at the hands of Perpignan, La Rochelle and Pau. They did manage to arrest this poor run of domestic form in Round 23 of the Top 14 as they beat Montpellier 33-30.


I reckon this one will be an extremely close run affair. My money is on the hosts winning it by no more than five points.

Racing to take it.

Pau 51/100 | Draw 21/1 | Castres 17/10

Pau will be looking to pull away from the relegation zone when they take on a Castres outfit that is still in with an outside shot of qualifying for the knock-outs phase of the tournament.

Pau have been in decent enough touch over the past month claiming vital bonus losing points and also taking two wins from their last four games with their victories coming over Clermont and Bayoone while they picked up extra points from their defeats to Brive and La Rochelle.

Castres have arguably been the form team in the Top 14 over the past month registering wins over Lyon (27-22), Toulouse (27-17), Montpellier (19-28) and Toulon (31-18). They’re hitting form at just the right time and a win here would see them close the gap on their rivals for a play-off berth,

The visitors know that every game from here on in is a final and I’m backing them to win this one.

Castres at 17/10.

Lyon 1/8 | Draw 33/1 | Perpignan 52/10

We head for the Stade Gerland for our next fixture which will see sixth-placed Lyon play host to 13th-placed Perpignan. The two sides have extremely different objectives during the last few rounds of the season with the visitors looking to avoid relegation while the hosts are looking to maintain their place in the play-off spots.

Endured a difficult April bombing out of the Challenge Cup at the hands of Toulon and followed that up with Top 14 defeats to Toulouse (36-31) and Bordeaux (23-19).

Perpignan have had a far better time of it in recent weeks beating Bayonne 34-27 and then going down by just a 22-23 scoreline to Montpellier. They then were outcaless by Toulouse whom they went down 37-15 to before bouncing back in Round 23 with a solid 30-21 win over Racing,

Perpignan have struggled on the road this term and I can see that changing at the Stade Gerland.

Lyon 1/8.

Montpellier 1/9 | Draw 33/1 | Brive

Saturday’s penultimate fixture sees tenth-place Montpellier take on cellar-dwellers Brive. The hosts really need to start picking up wins if they are to grab a play-offs berth while the visitors will be consigned to the relegation scrap if they lose this one.

Montpellier have hardly set the lights out in recent weeks bombing out of the Champions Cup courtesy of an extra time defeat to English outfit Exeter and then 19-28 to Castres and 33-30 to Bayonne on their return to Top 14 action.

Brive have been slightly better than their opponents giving Stade Francais a real run in Round 22 of the Top 14 where they went down 22-27 to the Parisians. They then beat Pau 22-17 in Round 23 of the league.

They need the points here and I can see them getting them. My money is on Montpellier winning this one by 15 points or more.

Get on the defending champs here.

Toulon 2/7 | Draw 22/1 | La Rochelle 28/10

Saturday’s final serving is a succulent dish with fifth-placed Toulon taking on second-placed La Rochelle. While Toulon are unlikely to catch AL Rochelle before the regular season ends, they could give themselves a chance of claiming one of the home play-off berths by registering a win here.

Toulon have enjoyed a good month or so particularly on the European front where they have advanced to the final of the Challenge Cup final with wins over Lyon (48-23) and Benetton (23-0). Their domestic form during the same period has been more patchy as they went down 31-18 to Castres in Round 23 having beaten Perpignan (37-15) in Round 22.

La Rochelle have also enjoyed a successful jaunt in Europe and have given themselves a chance of defending their Heineken Cup title with wins over Saracens (24-10) and Exeter (47-28) seeing them book a spot in the final. Unlike their opponents for Saturday, they have also managed a solid run of domestic form, beating Bayonne 26-6 and Clermont 26-13 in Rounds 22 and 23 of the league.

They’re in marvelous touch at the moment and I can’t see Toulon breaking their solid run of form.

La Rochelle to win away.

Sunday 7 May

Toulouse 2/11 | Draw 28/1 | Bordeaux 4/1

Our final fixture should be an absolute cracker with ladder-leaders Toulouse playing host to the fourth-placed Bordeaux Begles. This game is a big one for both sides with Toulouse looking to keep or extend their one point lead over La Rochelle at the summit of the ladder, while Bordeaux are trying to ensure they have a home play-off spot.

Toulouse come into this one off the back of a disappointing April which saw them bomb out of the Heineken Cup with a 41-22 defeat to Leinster this past weekend. They also lost their Round 23 Top 14 fixture against Stade, going down 19-10 to the Parisians.

Bordeaux have enjoyed a slightly more positive few weeks claiming a losing bonus point from their 31-28 Round 22 loss to Racing and then beating Lyon 23-9 in Round 23.

I reckon this will be the game to watch and it should be very tightly contested. My money is on the hosts winning it by no more than five points.

Toulouse to win.

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