Week two of the new Top 14 season features a massive clash between Toulouse and Toulon. Darry Worthington previews.
The French Top 14 certainly didn’t disappoint out of the gates with Round 1 seeing a number of upset results, including new boys Biarritz getting one over Bordeaux and Toulouse edging out La Rochelle away from home.
This week’s fixtures look rather tasty as well with the headline affairs seeing Toulouse take on Toulon and Racing squaring off with La Rochelle.
We take a look at the two aforementioned fixtures, as well as the other five games below.
Montpellier v Brive
Saturday 11 September
GGL Stadium
15:05
To Win (80 Mins)
Montpellier 1/9
Draw 28/1
Brive 58/10
Brive will be looking to make it back to back wins when they take on Montpellier who will be looking for more points having drawn with Toulon last week.
The hosts played well at times during their fixture against Toulon but they were their own worst enemy at times giving away a number of cheap penalties. They were actually pretty lucky to come away with a 24-24 draw as they scored their try a minute and a half into injury time.
Brive were far more impressive this past weekend as they beat promoted Perpignan 36-15. Fly-half Enzo Herve had a solid outing and he will be one of the players Montpellier will need to keep an eye on.
Verdict: Montpellier 1/9
I think Montpellier’s pack will be too much for Brive to handle. As such, I’m backing the hosts here.
Clermont v Castres
Saturday 11 September
Parc des Sports Marcel Michellin
15:05
To Win (80 Mins)
Clermont 24/10
Draw 25/1
Castres 33/10
Clermont will be looking to bounce back from their 28-19 defeat to Lyon when they take on a Castres outfit who beat Pau 16-12 during the opening round of fixtures.
While Castres did bag the win, they were pretty sloppy and made a number of handling errors. They will need to iron these out if they are to get one over a Clermont side that will be looking to move through the gears having stuttered throughout their fixture with Lyon.
Verdict: Clermont 24/100
I’m backing the hosts again. Castres are not the greatest side on the road and Clermont will be fired up for this one.
Perpignan v Biarritz
Saturday 11 September
Stade Aimee Giral
15:05
To Win (80 Mins) betting TBA
Perpignan
Draw
Biarritz
It’s the battle of the new boys next up as promoted Perpignan take on fellow promoted outfit Biarritz.
The two sides experienced contrasting fortunes on their return to the big time with Biarritz claiming an impressive 27-15 win over a decent Bordeaux Begles side while Perpignan went down 36-15 to Brive.
The two sides actually last met in the PROD2 final, which saw Perpignan claim the spoils as they ran out 33-14 victors.
Verdict: Biarritz
I rather fancy the away side here. Promoted teams tend to build momentum with an early win and I reckon they may well make it back-to-back victories here.
Pau v Lyon
Saturday 11 September
Stade du Hameau
15:05
To Win (80 Mins)
Pau 73/100
Draw 22/1
Lyon 23/20
Pau vs Lyon is the next offering, and with the hosts looking to bounce back from their four-point defeat to Castres, and Lyon looking to build on their win over Clermont, this one could well produce some fireworks.
The two sides have contrasting styles with Lyon playing a more open brand of rugby while Pau are a lot more conservative and are heavily reliant on their forward pack to shunt them to victories.
Verdict: Lyon 23/20
Lyon have the forward pack to keep pace with Pau’s, while their backline is a million times better. My money is on the visitors cantering to an easy win here.
Bordeaux Begles v Stade Francais
Saturday 11 September
Stade Chaban-Delmas
17:15
To Win (80 Mins) *betting tba
Bordeaux
Draw
Stade
Next up it’s Bordeaux taking on Stade. Both teams had disappointing opening rounds with Bordeaux going down to new boys Biarritz was Stade were beaten 21-36 by Racing Metro.
This is a rather interesting game as both sides tend to blow hot and cold. They were both cold last week and failed to fire on attack with Bordeaux only managing to crash over the whitewash twice and Stade also only bagging two.
Verdict: Stade
I’m actually expecting a rather big turnaround from the visitors. New signing Ngani Laumape looked good last week and I feel the Stade outside backs will be more on his wavelength this time around.
Racing v La Rochelle
Saturday 11 September
Paris La Defense
21:05
To Win (80 Mins)
Racing 47/100
Draw 20/1
La Rochelle 37/20
The penultimate game of the weekend is one of the better ones as Racing Metro take on last season’s runners-up, La Rochelle.
The visitors looked rather off the boil last week and coughed up a couple of outstanding chances during their 16-20 home defeat to Toulouse. Racing, on the other hand, capitalized on most of their opportunities which ensured they would beat Stade 21-36.
Verdict: Racing 47/100
I’m on the hosts here. If they play to a similar level to what they did last week then they should have this one in the bag with time to spare.
Toulouse v Toulon
Sunday 12 September
Stade Ernest-Wallon
21:05
To wn (80 Mins)
Toulouse 1/12
Draw 33/1
Toulon 7/1
The round comes to a close out at the Stade Ernest Wallon where reigning champions Toulouse will lock horns with Toulon.
The hosts were in fine fettle last week as their French stars came to the fore to secure a 20-16 win away against La Rochelle. Toulon gave a decent account of themselves as well but they will rue having conceded a late try that cost them a win over Montpellier.
There’s a bit of off-field stuff that will certainly heat this one up with Chelsin Kolbe – who is away with the South African national team – having switched from Toulouse to Toulon just before the start of the campaign. While the diminutive flyer isn’t there this weekend, his former teammates will be keen to get one over him by beating his current employers.
Verdict: Toulouse 1/12
I can’t see Toulouse having that many problems beating this Toulon side.
