To 14 Day 16

[Tony Manx]

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[TD="class: textcenter, align: center"]24/01[/TD]
[TD="class: textcenter, align: center"]21:00[/TD]
[TD="class: textright, align: right"]Aviron Bayonnais[/TD]
[TD]Castres Olympique[/TD]
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[TD="class: textcenter, align: center"]25/01[/TD]
[TD="class: textcenter, align: center"]19:00[/TD]
[TD="class: textright, align: right"]SU Agen[/TD]
[TD]Montpellier Hérault Rugby[/TD]
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[TD="class: textcenter, align: center"] - [/TD]
[TD="class: textcenter, align: center"]19:00[/TD]
[TD="class: textright, align: right"]Union Bordeaux-Bègles[/TD]
[TD]Racing Métro 92[/TD]
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[TD="class: textcenter, align: center"] - [/TD]
[TD="class: textcenter, align: center"]19:00[/TD]
[TD="class: textright, align: right"]Stade Français[/TD]
[TD]Grenoble[/TD]
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[TD="class: textcenter, align: center"] - [/TD]
[TD="class: textcenter, align: center"]19:00[/TD]
[TD="class: textright, align: right"]USAP[/TD]
[TD]ASM Clermont[/TD]
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[TD="class: textcenter, align: center"] - [/TD]
[TD="class: textcenter, align: center"]19:00[/TD]
[TD="class: textright, align: right"]Rugby Club Toulonnais[/TD]
[TD]Mont-de-Marsan[/TD]
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[TD="class: textcenter, align: center"] - [/TD]
[TD="class: textcenter, align: center"]21:00[/TD]
[TD="class: textright, align: right"]Stade Toulousain[/TD]
[TD]Biarritz Olympique[/TD]
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This could be the day of the away wins with only Toulon and Toulouse the out and out favourites for home wins....

 

[ZeFrenchy]

Yes, very important games for the places 4 to 10 basically. I'll go with:
Castres
MHR
UBB
SF
ASM
RCT
ST

 

[gaston le gaff]

One of the most important games of the season (TOP 14) for us away at Agen, we need the min of 4 pts to carry on up into or near the top 4 Grenoble has a difficult task in Paris so we need to win at Agen and that should give us a little breathing space.

 

[ZeFrenchy]

16-12 for Bayonne and Potgieter misses a sitter. If Bayonne wins, the Top 14 will get very interesting... (from 4th spot on)

 

[Draggs]

16-12 for Bayonne and Potgieter misses a sitter. If Bayonne wins, the Top 14 will get very interesting... (from 4th spot on)

Just pushed it wide, but he has managed another three since then.

 

[Tony Manx]

Great win for Bayonne and thoroughly deserved...see I can be complimentary as a Biarritz boy about the "enemy"!

Spirit was great even when they were being out muscled in the scrum but have to say the ref was something else.....I think it was "me" old mate Cyril Lafone and counted 10 penalties in the one break by Bayonne half way through the second half and he gave none of them!! He was totally useless but consistently so!!

The team for the match against Toulouse is as follows....

Bosch; Ngwenya, Baby, Burutu, Brew, (o) Peyrelongue, (m) Lesgourgues; Lauret, Harinordoquy (cap), Lund, Taele, E. Lund, Broster, Heguy Barcella.Substitutes : Geneva, Synaeghel, Dubarry, Lakafia, Yachvili, Barn, Gimenez, Van Stade

Will be interesting to see the back line without Traille, (Hurray) and Balshaw (Boo) and Yach is rested to give more time for Lesgourges. Barraque continues his "weather man" role of in one week and out the next so in the continued, and now probably permanent, absence of Berquist, Perylongue is asked to step into the breach and stuff everythhing up!! I expect the front row to be duffed up good and proper but have not seen ST team (iother than Dussain and Beauxis being given another chance) and can only hope they are putting out their reserves and Beauxis has another 80 minutes like the first 70 of last week!! Even so they will have to go some NOT to beat this lot!!

 

[Tony Manx]

BIG surprise down at Perpignan with Clermmont downed 26.19 in a rather dull bish bash game with little back play of consequence........have to say, USAP were lucky with their try which came from a throw in 5 metres out that was clearly not straight and Clermont had a try disallowed as grounding, all most likely, was not clear on replay.

Wins for MHL, Racing, Toulon and Stade rstored normality but perhaps BO can cause the third huge upset at Toulouse that is about to start!!

A good result last night rather spoilt with wins for Stade, Racing and USAP for BO's, already, slim chances of top 6 finish.....

 

[Tony Manx]

No surprise result but there should have been!

Thought BO front five and Lesgourges had terriffic games and for long periods in the second half were, for the main part, in control but the rest of the team ranged from pretty average to poor to anonymous to wtf you doing on the pitch Imanol?......Brew did a near Leguisomon when dropping the ball over the line when it would have been easierto score, the number of penalties given was dreadful and kick offs remain a problem.

That all being said, Toulouse scrum was erratic once Picamoles went and the half backs pretty dreadful with some good runs from the back three but they will be hard pushed to win much this year against more superior teams both in France and in the Amlin.....

I thought there were a lot of encouraging signs there and that we will finish mid table with perhaps a final flourish and can await positive recruitment for next season!!

 

[oldscumbagonian]

Are Toulon creaking a bit? 15-9 over M-d-M hardly sounds convincing, especially coming after their defeat in the HC last week. Or are they just "resting"?

 

[Tony Manx]

Yeas I think they are.....the team was more or less the usual but the bench showed quite a few changes. Howver, I think their form has been indifferent for a few weeks now but they have too many good players, and Laporte has got them to play a bit more like a team, for them not to come back!

One thing i would say is that MdM are not as bad a team as their position would infer...they had some splendid performances in the Amlin and they played really well against BO. They are inconsistent but would love to measure them against, say, Sale of the APL in a meaningful game?