Top 14 Day 3

[Tony Manx]

I don't see a team outside of strong play off contenders winning away at oyonnax, like Grenoble last season.

Bit hard to say that on the evidence of one game against a weakened and disjointed opposition......

Like grenoble last season, I expect oyonnax to send weak team away to racing, and focus on their home games..

We should also field weak team..........

What's the score with joe petersen, has his contract / visa probs been cleared now?

Last I heard was http://www.rugby-transferts.com/top-14/0022174-biarritz-une-licence-debloquee.html

 

[Big Ewis]

For Yoe 91 you are allowed to disagree but you may not be right, then again i could be just as wrong. so we will have to wait and see, but you could also give your own predictions then we will all be on a level playing field making mistakes together!!!!!

Are you defying me and my astronomical Rugby knowledge to a whole-weekend-prediction-challenge ?!! HOW DARE YOU PROVOKE MEEE ?!!

....uh....ok...all home victories...except Castres and Toulon winning....

 

[gaston le gaff]

you see it was not all that hard, well done!!!!!!! we will see how wrong you are after the weekend, or even how right!!!!!

 

[Big Ewis]

you see it was not all that hard, well done!!!!!!! we will see how wrong you are after the weekend, or even how right!!!!!

I will DESTROY your predictions gaston !!

 

[gaston le gaff]

McAlister, Doussain, Fritz, Huget, Dusautoir, Picamoles. all staying in Toulouse this weekend Noves concentrating on the home match againt Racing the following Wed looks like Clermont will still have an unbeaten home record after Sat.

 

[Big Ewis]

McAlister, Doussain, Fritz, Huget, Dusautoir, Picamoles. all staying in Toulouse this weekend Noves concentrating on the home match againt Racing the following Wed looks like Clermont will still have an unbeaten home record after Sat.

OMG can you believe I'd lost track of that there looking at the matchups these past 2 days !!....That's right, Clermont and their record !! Where are they at now, like 62 or smt ?...Toulouse won't even bother huh...leaving everybody at home.....well, a chance for the seond-rowers to show what they've got.

 

[Draggs]

McAlister, Doussain, Fritz, Huget, Dusautoir, Picamoles. all staying in Toulouse this weekend Noves concentrating on the home match againt Racing the following Wed looks like Clermont will still have an unbeaten home record after Sat.

Toulouse would have had the best chance to end Clermont's home record depending on their squad. Still could happen I suppose.

 

[BasqueBete]

Yqchvili and Waenga on the the bench, party time for the stade,

Toulouse will get clermonts response to last week..

Rqcing will probably rack up 50 pts

Interested to see how brive approach this, as beign away to Toulon on Wednesday, they might try and have a go at montpellier..not saying they will get much but I have a feeling they will approach it more seriously than some of the other away teams..

 

[Tony Manx]

So Rodrigues has rested Fono, Yach and Waenga with Dubarry and Gimenez missing due to injury from last week’s team being replaced by Molcard, Lesgourges and Perylongue with Marie, stepping over Taele, after his over the top cameo appearance last week, and Baby!

Fono and Waenga are new boys so no real surprise that they rotate and Yach may be subject to rotation but, with Baby back and Yach having had his worst game for years other than with his left peg, it could be argued that he would have been dropped anyway! .

I am now sure that the management have taken the view that this side is not capable of winning and they do not really appear to reserving much for Oyonnax or Toulon next week……….They should still lose but will they get a bonus point? No...not when you see the quality on their bench!

Barcella Genevois Gomez-Kodela Lund E. Marie Molcard Guyot Lakafia Lesgourgues Peyrelongue Thomas Traille (c.) Baby Ngwenya Couet-Lannes

Substitutes: Heguy Van Staden Taele Fono Yachvili Waenga Haget Broster

Bonneval; Nayacalevu, P. Williams, Danty, Arias, (o) Plisson (m) Dupuy; Rabadan, Parisse, Burban ,Pape , Flanquart ; Slimani, Sempere, Van der Merwe.

Substitutes : Bonfils , Attoub , Mostert , Lyons , Fillo , Steyn Bosman Taulafo.

So with Toulouse throwing in the towel, we must assume that the away teams will ALL do that this weekend, due to two further games in the next 9 days, so one would be mad to argue that an away team will win! However, subject to seeing further team news, I think that Toulon have a chance to break the away dominance…I just do not believe yet the "myth" of Oyonnax building a fortress!!

 

[Big Ewis]

Toulouse would have had the best chance to end Clermont's home record depending on their squad. Still could happen I suppose.

yeah, unfortunately (and I really do mean *UNFORTUNATELY !!!!*) clubs aren't after Rugby lore and legend or what have you....Toulouse will gladly take this loss politely, put up a mediocre fight, and likely after maaaaaybe a somewhat tight first half will let Clermont go diarrhea on them in the second....
return home, regroup, and play tough there....

 

[gaston le gaff]

I think it is fairly plain to see with just one team undefeated, this season ( Toulon) that home games are not going to be lost or at least maximum effort to win them, and away games will be on selection process, or a day out for the second stringers, with a long season ahead + H Cup matches there is a reasonable amount of common sense in this but not good for away travelling supporters!!!!
As far as Clermont home victories go it's 61 with the H Cup 1/4 final against us the semi H Cup was played at La Mosson Montpellier , they were drawn at home but because of crowd capacity they played in Montpellier so i think this does not count, this match is 62rd against Toulouse this weekend correct me if i'm wrong!!!!

 

[ZeFrenchy]

I'm curious about what Stade Francais can do now that they're playing home again. Their side for tonight looks a lot better than BO's, I think, and if they get a big win, they could get their season rolling (especially after lat week's away win, after several seasons of being the worst traveler of the top 14).
I seriously think that tonight we can see the beginning of something, and we may see SF back into playoffs this year (half wishful thinking maybe, it would be nice to have H cup back in Paris).

 

[BasqueBete]

So it's the end of another week and the start of a fun packed 9 days of top14 and prod2 rugby, unless ur a player that is...

I will be knackered just watchign it all, unfortunately I will have to bare through it all as there is no rotation policy in my front room..

Still sticking with my early week thoghts on this weekends results

For prod2 , I really fancy Lyon to not lose away at Carcassonne. Fancy dax to get off to a winning start and revenge losses to colomiers last season. Pau should hammer auch. Will take a look at the teamsheets for other games, but I doubt any surprises , mostly home wins..

I see montpellier have got some injury concerns, I await their teamsheet with interest..

 

[BasqueBete]

Stade will hammer biarritz tonight, parisse will score from a scrum or back of a maul..

It's party time in Paris, in what looks like a wonderful stadium, and I'm hoping its a sell out, because the closed in design of the stadium looks like it could be a real cauldron of noise if its a full house and stade pick up some momentum..

ALLEZ Stade!

Money before heart..

 

[BasqueBete]

Not the best montpellier selection, due to injuries, but the back line looks good, they should be in the mood to let rip tomorrow...

 

[Tony Manx]

Not the best montpellier selection, due to injuries, but the back line looks good, they should be in the mood to let rip tomorrow...

Floch ; Nagusa, Tuitavake, Olivier , Dupont (o) Trinh-Duc (m) Pailaugue; Galletier, Tulou , Ouedraogo, Privat , Hamilton Mas, Ivaldi, Watremez .Substitutes: Géli , Nariashvili , De Marco , Bias, Escande , Gard, Sicart, Faamausili.

That is not a shabby team and cannot see Brive sticking with them - unless they, like Toulon and Biarritz before them, have "bought the ref" of course!

I now have a picture of BasqueBete in a "onsie" sitting in a sitting room surrounded by crates of beer and packets of Gauloise for the next 9 days either watching rugby or on this Forum...........................luckily she is rather good looking and of an age!

Now do not go spoiling the illusion by trying to put any other picture in my mind....................!!

 

[BasqueBete]

Well I'm not sure what an onsie is,

But I really don't know how much rugby I watch, already three games this week, that will probably be near 15 games come Sunday evening, I'm heavily involved in rugby betting, so all part of the process...

I'm not a lager drinker , but will have a cognac or two now and then, and yes, I smoke like a laboratory beagle...

Ps, I'm not a ladeeeee

Ha ha ha...

 

[BasqueBete]

Joe petersen is now playing at full back....

 

[gaston le gaff]

not the best Montpellier selection? so please explain where the weakness is up front!!!!! surrounded by experts story of my life!!!!! I think lots of TOP 14 teams would not say no to a team like that only 12 full or junior Internationals, Toulon did not buy the ref, they got lucky lets not fabricate boys and girls !!!!
We will see if you are all still dancing after tonight

 

[Tony Manx]

We will see if you are all still dancing after tonight

With BasqueBete on his cognac and me on my cheap Rhone and both of us sure of a thrashing before the event........not sure either of us will be capable of dancing even if we wanted to but neither of us will be blaming the ref!!

PS a "onsie" is some sort of all in one garment that the Yooth used to wear to bed when they were kids but is now adopting cult status for all sorts of people in the UK I believe!!