Top 14 Day 15

[Tony Manx]

I would go with you BE other than for Bayonne to beat Toulouse.......depending on the team they travel with always! Bayonne have not played anywhere near their potential and there is, without doubt, a confidence issue which works against a home win.

I would like to see another spirited and whole hearted performace from BO as per last week where they defended as if they were tigers looking after their cubs for 60 minutes but could only offer the very odd glimpse of anything in attack. Consequently, a couple of scores and game over as there was no way back. I can see them playing a similar game this week but eventually losing to whatever team Montepellier put out to end their 5 match losing sequence.........mind you they might not if they include Ranger and he defends as well as he does!!!

A Bayonne win and a Biarritz loss will create a gap that surely cannot be bridged in the relegation battle leaving the only question as who will join them in the drop........for Basque rugby, I really hope it is not Bayonne as the Top 14 should include a team from the real South West.

On the other hand, if they do go down, maybe they will realise that a merger really is not only good for both teams, and Basque rugby, but necessary and they will stand up to their small minded siupporters who hijacked the discussions forcing the termination on spurious grounds!

Interesting Blanco exonerated Afflelou of any blame when AB were claiming financial problems at Biarritz as the headline reason especially since BO have been reviewed by the League's financial overlord and are still playing............!! That is not to say that BO are in the best financial state but did not everyone know that at the beginning of the season when the municipality stepped in with a last minute donation.................!!!

 

[Big Ewis]

yeah I know but Toulouse just haven't won a single one on the road, nearly lost at home themselves against a mediocre side, and have lost many winnable games on the road already this year, it's just clearly a tendency. Even Bayonne should win being at home and against Toulouse. It would clearly be breaking a very rooted tendency at this point on Day 15.

Of course personally I hope Toulouse put 35 on em, but Toulouse has got to be the most comically typically-French side in the Top 14.
While Clermont play their beautiful, almost ethereal candy-for-the-eyes Art Rugby, and Toulon are steady as a rock with fundamentally sound ball, Castres have been a strong side with good flexibility and are now finally 2nd on the table, and another example would be Stade Français errrr sorry *Funchal who've hung in there at the Top 5ish spot.
Then comes Toulouse. Almighty one day, and then completely self-castrated the next. And every time I think "okay, they're going to win this one" in a relatively easy road match, they lose it. It's like they play half or more their matches on cruise-control, they're not really all there.

Could you imagine if Biarritz ACTUALLY win though ?! Montpellier would just have to give up on the season altogether, like, just stop...just stop.
Uh oh, Gaston's going to react to this like I'm serious now.