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Tony Manx

Tony Manx

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[TABLE="width: 100%"]
<tbody>[TR]
[TD]04/09
[/TD]
[TD]6:45 p.m.
[/TD]
[TD]Castres Olympique
[/TD]
[TD]Stade Francois
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD] -
[/TD]
[TD]7:00 p.m.
[/TD]
[TD]Union Bordeaux-Begles
[/TD]
[TD]Montpellier Hérault Rugby
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD] -
[/TD]
[TD]7:00 p.m.
[/TD]
[TD]ASM Clermont
[/TD]
[TD]Bayonne
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD] -
[/TD]
[TD]7:00 p.m.
[/TD]
[TD]Oyonnax
[/TD]
[TD]Biarritz Olympique
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD] -
[/TD]
[TD]7:00 p.m.
[/TD]
[TD]Perpignan
[/TD]
[TD]Grenoble
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD] -
[/TD]
[TD]7:00 p.m.
[/TD]
[TD]Toulon Rugby Club
[/TD]
[TD]CA Brive-Corrèze
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD] -
[/TD]
[TD]9:05 p.m.
[/TD]
[TD]Stade Toulousain
[/TD]
[TD]Racing Metro 92 BT Sports
[/TD]
[/TR]
</tbody>[/TABLE]



So soon and we must get ready for day 4 on Wednesday.

There are some very interesting matches in this round but the odds must be on all home victories again with Stade, Montpellier, Racing and perhaps Grenoble having the potential to win away.

I think Stade will have to play better than they did on Friday to beat Castres at home but they have the squad to do it if they cut out the errors and finish. Montpellier, like Gaston, will be up to it but will they have more than one eye on Saturday and the visit of Toulouse? Racing have to get their back line to sing from the same hymn sheet soon and is this the game? Grenoble have the spirit but can they play as well as in their home victory on Saturday in the cauldron of USAP…….all very interesting
 
Cheers for early post tony

The silliness of this double fixture gets even clearer, did I see u say it was to give national squad a week off before the six nations? A good cause but still...

I can't see Grenoble doing anything but send their b team..

Bayonne the same

That's a very big game for stade when they welcome clermont, there is revenge and the protection of their new stadium, and I can see them deciding that castres game needs to be sacrificed for that cause.




With fear of sounding like broken record, but god knows how BO are going to approach this , coz there really are few rotation options, and something has to give...

Oyonnax will be back to playing their best choice team on Wednesday...worrying signs when a team playing in the top flight for the first time in their history and a population of 23k has more depth than bO.

Toulouse rested key players, and others were on bench, and lets face it, they didnt really go thru the gears on Saturday v clermont, so they have a big advantage over racing , I don't see this game as the one that racing clicks...

I really only see home team wins, and followed by similar on Sunday...
 
Have to agree home wins all round bar one but you will have to guess which one, the only problem now is that not knowing the selections, and if the clubs playing away send 2nd stringers the results could be large with bonus points by the bucketfull, getting the defensive bonus point is always important and something that should be not forgotten,you will not qualify by winning just your home games, only survive. Everybody will start targetting the weaker teams but then which are these and i do not want to upset Tony AGAIN !!!! Sunday could be very different,Brive, Biarritz,Oyonnax and Stade Francais have all difficult home matches but i will leave my predictions till later on this week lets get over Wed first and see how the imfirmary are filling up!!!!!
 
I reckon Montpellier could get up over Bordeaux, especially after that tight win against Castres, could have taken it out of them.

I also think Racing Metro could get up on Toulouse, they didn't look convincing in that loss to Clermont, especially in the last 20 minutes

The rest will go to the home team I think, but as others have said, it all comes down to whose playing, first team or backups. Looks like we could get a few upsets or blowouts this round.
 
Tony Manx said:
Grenoble have the spirit but can they play as well as in their home victory on Saturday in the cauldron of USAP…….all very interesting
Click to expand...

in deed. Would love it if they showed that on Canal, will check later.
Two teams I really like the style of: not all about the big names, but some strong play and even an excellent level in potential.
No huge clash though this week...

And hey btw Tony, thanks for being our official Top 14 thread starter ! This forum would most definitely be (even) ****tier without you, and I say this from the bottom of my rect....heart. From the bottom of my heart.
 
Merci Yoe....mon plaisir!!

Now appointments close to Gaston's heart (yes he does have one!!) and it would seem, using his logic, that Monsieur Poite has done something naughty although I would think it is more likely it is his time to sit it out!!

Toulouse v Racing Christophe Berdos
Clermont v Bayonne Cedric Marchat
Castres v Stade Francais Sebastien Minery
UBB v Montpellier Cyril Lafone
USAP v Grenoble Pascal Gauzere
Oyonnaz v Biarritz Patrick Pechambert
Toulon v Brive Laurent Cardona

Incidentally, Lafone is NOT my favourite ref, Gaston, so good luck with him.................!!
 
Me thinks that Garces is on some sort of suspended sentence, hope its about 5yrs. He deserves no less. Apart from yellow fever Poite was very good on Sat he looked quite surprised when i shook his hand and said "thank you ref good job" i suppose it does not happen that often these days.
 
Biarritz team………So Lakafia is the only rested, Pieterson (after FIVE missed tackles last week) moves to the wing where Aled Brew is still injured and Couet-Lannes is back at 15 where Balshaw is still injured. Probably the best team we can put out at the moment and not far off the best period!

I would say only Lakafia and Balshaw are missing from the best with, maybe, Thomas edging Pieterson in attack. It remains to be seen if Pieterson was still jet lagged on Saturday or whether he really can’t tackle!

On the basis of this selection, I have to go with BO to win and to throw Sunday’s game with Toulon…………..said he on his knees with hands clasped in front of his closed eyes because it ain't that clever and I can see problems at scrum and line out again!!

Menini – Heguy – Broster – Lund -Taele – Furno – Guyot – Fono
Yachvilli – Waenga – Pieterson – Traille – Baby –Ngwenya –Couet Lannes
Repacements – Genevois –Van Staden – Lockley – Lakafia – Roussarie – Perylnogue – Haget and Gomez Kodela
 
Tony Manx said:
Biarritz team………So Lakafia is the only rested, Pieterson (after FIVE missed tackles last week) moves to the wing where Aled Brew is still injured and Couet-Lannes is back at 15 where Balshaw is still injured. Probably the best team we can put out at the moment and not far off the best period!

I would say only Lakafia and Balshaw are missing from the best with, maybe, Thomas edging Pieterson in attack. It remains to be seen if Pieterson was still jet lagged on Saturday or whether he really can’t tackle!

On the basis of this selection, I have to go with BO to win and to throw Sunday’s game with Toulon…………..said he on his knees with hands clasped in front of his closed eyes because it ain't that clever and I can see problems at scrum and line out again!!

Menini – Heguy – Broster – Lund -Taele – Furno – Guyot – Fono
Yachvilli – Waenga – Pieterson – Traille – Baby –Ngwenya –Couet Lannes
Repacements – Genevois –Van Staden – Lockley – Lakafia – Roussarie – Perylnogue – Haget and Gomez Kodela
Click to expand...

That is as a really **** pack on paper, not one of those would get remotely near the 2006 side. Is Ben Broster your first choice now? No wonder this side is relegation candidates.
 
Perpignan - Grenoble

USAP
1. Kisi Pulu
2. Romain Terrain
3. Giorgi Jgenti
4. Sébastien Vahaamahina
5. Romain Taofifenua
6. Alasdair Strokosch
7. Jean-Pierre Perez
8. Justin Purll
9. Dewaldt Duvenage
10. Camille Lopez
11. Joffrey Michel
12. Sione Piukala
13. Lifeimi Mafi
14. Sofiane Guitoune
15. James Hook

16. Guilhem Guirado
17. Paulica Ion
18. Dan Leo
19. Karl Château
20. Nicolas Durand
21. Tommaso Benvenuti
22. Wandilé Mjekevu
23. Sébastien Taofifenua

FC Grenoble
Caire ; Kilioni, Marrou, Barkley, Ninard ; (o) Michallet, (m) Lorée ; G. Nouhaillaguet, F. Nouhaillaguet, Beal ; Farley, Roodt ; Goze, Hegarty, David.

replacements : Dardet, Lescadieu, Rey, Chabaud, Gery, Bezy, Hart, Choirat.
 
psychic duck said:
That is as a really **** pack on paper, not one of those would get remotely near the 2006 side. Is Ben Broster your first choice now? No wonder this side is relegation candidates.
Click to expand...

I thnk I would prefer The Viking to Thion who was a bit of a lazy bugger and often a ****ly player to the disadvantage of the team whereas Erik gives it all, all the time and is calmness personified.........other than that, cannot disagree and Broster is the best tight head we have and has not done too badly......compared to the rest of the front row that is!

Thanks for the sympathy............................

I just look at the USAP team and cry............what could be done with a low budget but decent recruitment!!

This was the 2006 team (that lost to Munster) and you can see where it started to unravel.....

Brusque, Gobelet, Bidabe, Betsen and Couzinet were coming to the end of their careers at that time and Imanol, Daimien and Yach were in the middle of their superb International runs so were missing quite a lot (and, anyway, I always got the feeling that for Traille, the Biarritz team became just the platform to get him the international pay packages!)................The older players were retained though until they felt it was time to move on or retire and, for instance, Bidabe only finally retired last season when he had been past it for many a year aforehand but they just had not replaced him..................

N Brusque; J-B Gobelet, P Bidabe, D Traille, S Bobo; J Peyrelongue, D Yachvili; P Balan, B August, C Johnson, J Thion, D Couzinet, S Betsen, I Harinordoquy, T Lievremont (capt).
 
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