The first of this weekend’s Top 14 play-offs should be an absolute cracker with a repeat of the 2020/21 Grand Final. Will La Rcohelle get revenge for their defeat on the big stage last season or will Toulouse get the better of Les Mariners once again?
Toulouse 5/10 | Draw 20/1 | La Rochelle 7/4
While it has been far from a vintage season from Toulouse, the reigning Top 14 champions have come good at the right time and assured themselves of a home play-off fixture by hammering Biarritz 80-7 this past weekend. While Biarritz are pretty much cannon-fodder, Toulouse were still very impressive with ball-in-hand which bodes well for them as La Rochelle are a tough nut to crack defensively.
Unlike their play-off opponents, La Rochelle had a much tougher time of it during the final set of round-robin fixtures as they managed to scrape a 26-29 win over Lyon. They really should have lost that match as Lyon had a great opportunity to score in the dying moments only for Toby Arnold to cough up the ball with the try-line at his mercy.
These two sides met twice in the round-robin phase with Toulouse claiming two narrow wins. The first victory was at the Stadium Municipal where Toulouse won 23-16 and the second was a 16-20 win at the Marcel Delfrandre.
Verdict: Toulouse
They are seemingly starting to hit their straps and have had La Rochelle’s number this season. My money is on Toulouse ending La Rochelle’s hopes of a double trophy hall.
