Top 14 day 20

gaston le gaff · Mar 31, 2016

Et Voila this weekends fixtures we open the debate Fri. evening v Brive lets keep the winning streak going !!!!!!

Last edited: Apr 3, 2016

unrated

First XV

TRF Legend

Mar 31, 2016

#2

I have been attracted here by the big wins of Montpellier. I hope they can get a sixth win. I'm glad Francois Steyn is playing well again i have always considered him the best player South Africa has produced in the last 15 years but he seemed to struggle with motivation issues down south and was injured more often than not.
Also looking forward to the Toulon vs Clermont game and i hope Clermont lose their streak

gaston le gaff

First XV

Mar 31, 2016

#3

Teams for tomorrow evenings game v Brive. Montpellier selecting a very strong team once again!!!!

Le XV de dÃ©part: Fall ; Nagusa, Tuitavake, Steyn, O'Connor ; (o) Lucas, (m) Paillaugue ; Qera, Spies, Ouedraogo ; Willemse, Jacques Du Plessis ; Jannie Du Plessis, B. Du Plessis, Watremez.
Les remplaÃ§ants: Ivaldi, Nariashvili, Privat, Galletier, Wright, Ebersohn, Floch, Kubriashvili.

Le XV de dÃ©part: Germain ; Mafi, Mignardi, Petre, Masilevu ; (o) Ugalde, (m) Pejoine ; Luafutu, Hauman, HirÃ¨che ; Mela (cap), Snyman ; Buys, Ribes, Pointud.
Les remplaÃ§ants: Acquier, Asieshvili, Lebas, Steenkamp, Whetton, Duhalde, Laranjeira, Jourdain.

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unrated said:
I have been attracted here by the big wins of Montpellier. I hope they can get a sixth win. I'm glad Francois Steyn is playing well again i have always considered him the best player South Africa has produced in the last 15 years but he seemed to struggle with motivation issues down south and was injured more often than not.
Also looking forward to the Toulon vs Clermont game and i hope Clermont lose their streak

What ever problems Francois may have had are no longer with him, he is playing out of his skin and an excellent recruit for us. He is very motivated and is a very important part of the team already.

die_mole

International

TRF Legend

Mar 31, 2016

#4

toulon vs clermont this week but yest ESPN (who i believe uses sky sports broadcast) is showing two games that no one cares about... also halfpenny is set to return so it will be interesting to see what lineup Toulon throws out there

gaston le gaff

First XV

Apr 1, 2016

#5

themole25 said:
toulon vs clermont this week but yest ESPN (who i believe uses sky sports broadcast) is showing two games that no one cares about... also halfpenny is set to return so it will be interesting to see what lineup Toulon throws out there

you may think no one is interested in the some of the games but i can assure you that all the games are watched by many people, as all games are televised in France, and all games are of great interest, no game is a fore gone conclusion, upsets are often the order of the day, so no game is taken for granted. Toulon will be fielding their strongest team as they are still needing points to gain a 1st or 2nd place finish if possible, but there are many who could relieve them of one of those positions.
Halfpenny has not finished with his injury problems and will not be ready before the game v Pau 16th April at the earliest.

Gastons predicktions for this weekends games
Home wins for Toulon, Castres, Bordeaux, La Rochelle.
Away wins for Grenoble, Pau as I think that Agen and Oyonnax have now lost the plot and are more or less relegated.
We host Brive but the team for tonights game is nowhere near the one that lost to Brive last season and it was under GALTHIE so nothing was good at this moment. I dont like announcing bonus point wins but tonight it would not surprise me if we get the 5 points as the team is full of confidence, morale excellent and we are playing out of our skin at the moment, but we will give Brive the necessary respect.

Last edited: Apr 1, 2016

Tony Manx

TRF Season Ticket Holder

TRF Legend

Apr 1, 2016

#6

gaston le gaff said:
you may think no one is interested in the some of the games but i can assure you that all the games are watched by many people, as all games are televised in France, and all games are of great interest, no game is a fore gone conclusion, upsets are often the order of the day, so no game is taken for granted. Toulon will be fielding their strongest team as they are still needing points to gain a 1st or 2nd place finish if possible, but there are many who could relieve them of one of those positions.

Gastons predicktions for this weekends games
Home wins for Toulon, Castres, Bordeaux, La Rochelle.
Away wins for Grenoble, Pau as I think that Agen and Oyonnax have now lost the plot and are more or less relegated.
We host Brive but the team for tonights game is nowhere near the one that lost to Brive last season and it was under GALTHIE so nothing was good at this moment. I dont like announcing bonus point wins but tonight it would not surprise me if we get the 5 points as the team is full of confidence, morale excellent and we are playing out of our skin at the moment, but we will give Brive the necessary respect.

How the world is changing......such humility!!!

gaston le gaff

First XV

Apr 1, 2016

#7

tony manx said:
how the world is changing......such humility!!!

did you ever have any doubt my friend!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

die_mole

International

TRF Legend

Apr 1, 2016

#8

gaston le gaff said:
you may think no one is interested in the some of the games but i can assure you that all the games are watched by many people, as all games are televised in France, and all games are of great interest, no game is a fore gone conclusion, upsets are often the order of the day, so no game is taken for granted. Toulon will be fielding their strongest team as they are still needing points to gain a 1st or 2nd place finish if possible, but there are many who could relieve them of one of those positions.
Halfpenny has not finished with his injury problems and will not be ready before the game v Pau 16th April at the earliest.

Gastons predicktions for this weekends games
Home wins for Toulon, Castres, Bordeaux, La Rochelle.
Away wins for Grenoble, Pau as I think that Agen and Oyonnax have now lost the plot and are more or less relegated.
We host Brive but the team for tonights game is nowhere near the one that lost to Brive last season and it was under GALTHIE so nothing was good at this moment. I dont like announcing bonus point wins but tonight it would not surprise me if we get the 5 points as the team is full of confidence, morale excellent and we are playing out of our skin at the moment, but we will give Brive the necessary respect.

without a doubt I will be watching both games, probably on replay due to exams and my game, since I find the Top 14 absolutely fascinating to watch
it's a shame about halfpenny I thought he was coming back

gaston le gaff

First XV

Apr 2, 2016

#9

3 tries disallowed for Montpellier but in very heavy rain throughout the match, Montpellier come out winners 19-3, 2 tries by Marvin O'Connor and Qera but the weather spoilt the game with many handling mistakes but we will take the 4 pts and move into 2nd place awaiting the result of Toulon v Clermont.

gaston le gaff

First XV

Apr 3, 2016

#10

B

Brushie

Academy Player

Apr 3, 2016

#11

You keep doubting the mighty ASM in your predictions Gaston. Very disappointed that this game wasn't shown in the UK so will have to settle for the highlights tomorrow night.

gaston le gaff

First XV

Apr 4, 2016

#12

Brushie said:
You keep doubting the mighty ASM in your predictions Gaston. Very disappointed that this game wasn't shown in the UK so will have to settle for the highlights tomorrow night.

Not at all, i look at what i think will win, no favouritism except for Montpellier of course, everybody gave Toulon as winners, even myself, who was wrong 2 weeks running,( Bordeaux and Toulon) but they were away from home and often the home team is the winner. We were actually wanted Clermont to win as it would help our cause and keep us in 2nd place. Also Clermont is probably my 2nd team as i never miss a match v Montpellier i enjoy the locals and love the city and know plenty of th players. Next match the 16th of April i will be giving Clermont the win v Agen, you see not biased at all. In fact in my inner dreams i am quietly wishing for a Montpellier v Clermont final in Barcelona on the 24th June.

Last edited: Apr 4, 2016

B

Brushie

Academy Player

Apr 4, 2016

#13

gaston le gaff said:
Not at all, i look at what i think will win, no favouritism except for Montpellier of course, everybody gave Toulon as winners, even myself, who was wrong 2 weeks running,( Bordeaux and Toulon) but they were away from home and often the home team is the winner. We were actually wanted Clermont to win as it would help our cause and keep us in 2nd place. Also Clermont is probably my 2nd team as i never miss a match v Montpellier i enjoy the locals and love the city and know plenty of th players. Next match the 16th of April i will be giving Clermont the win v Agen, you see not biased at all. In fact in my inner dreams i am quietly wishing for a Montpellier v Clermont final in Barcelona on the 24th June.

Presumably with a Clermont win?

unrated

First XV

TRF Legend

Apr 4, 2016

#14

I wonder if they will be able to fill up the Camp Nou for the final. If they can it would be an amazing atmosphere in that legendary stadium.

ratsapprentice

Hall of Fame

TRF Legend

Apr 4, 2016

#15

It's already sold out.

Tony Manx

TRF Season Ticket Holder

TRF Legend

Apr 4, 2016

#16

ratsapprentice said:
It's already sold out.

Apart from tickets which will be made available to the finalist supporters that is?!!

gaston le gaff

First XV

Apr 5, 2016

#17

Originally Posted by gaston le gaff

Not at all, i look at what i think will win, no favouritism except for Montpellier of course, everybody gave Toulon as winners, even myself, who was wrong 2 weeks running,( Bordeaux and Toulon) but they were away from home and often the home team is the winner. We were actually wanted Clermont to win as it would help our cause and keep us in 2nd place. Also Clermont is probably my 2nd team as i never miss a match v Montpellier i enjoy the locals and love the city and know plenty of th players. Next match the 16th of April I WILL BE GIVING CLERMONT THE WIN v Agen, you see not biased at all. In fact in my inner dreams i am quietly wishing for a Montpellier v Clermont final in Barcelona on the 24th June.

Presumably with a Clermont win?

AS IT SAYS IN THE POST !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

- - - Updated - - -

Exactly all tickets available to general public have been sold, only tickets for the 2 finalists clubs Montpellier v Clermont are held back for the supporters and club officials (thats me !!!)

unrated

First XV

TRF Legend

Apr 5, 2016

#18

Do you think the stadium is going to be filled up with majority French people or Spanish/Catalan people. Just curious because Spain is not really known for their rugby so i would assume most of the supporters would travel from France.

gaston le gaff

First XV

Apr 5, 2016

#19

There is always going to be a % of Spanish people there, even if its just pure curiosity, but as the tickets for Finals are very hard to come by, there will be plenty of French going who normally would never get a ticket, and with a capacity of 92,000 i think, that will give many more people the chance to see a once in a life time final.
This is a one off as the Euro footie is on in France, and there are no large stadiums available. They looked at Twickers? Rome? and Barcelona, the latter was chosen, easy access from most of France by road, TVG, or plane.