Top 14 Day 9

[Tony Manx]

Clermont v Biarritz 20.50 (CET) Friday, 26th October 2012

Biarritz team that will strike fear into the heart of the Clermontaise.................

Balshaw, Ngwenya, Burotu, Traille, Baby, Barraque, Lesgourgues, Lauret, Lakafia, Lund (M), Lund (E), Taele, Kodela, Heguy, Barcella

August, Van Staden, Dubarry, Guyot, Perylongue, Bosch, Brew, Synaeghel (or Blaauw)

I have no idea what managment is doing with this team being there or thereabouts the best team (taking into account injuries) other than two or three younger players, who seem to have vanished back into the Espoirs (understand there may have been a discipline problem?). Why would you stick out these players (for an away game in France) other than where you think you have a big chance of a win or at least a losing bonus point - not sure they have read the old form guide there then!!

A big thumping is just what they need on top of their brittle, or non exisitent, confidence with Grenoble away and Perpignan at home up next.

Neither
Aim
Ambition or
F...........
Intelligence

 

[gaston le gaff]

Grenoble away in your deams my boy!!!!!!!

 

[Tony Manx]

[TABLE="width: 100%"]
<tbody style="list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; ">[TR="class: infoboxheadlite, bgcolor: #E9EAEA"]
[TH="bgcolor: #FFFFFF, colspan: 4"]Day 9[/TH]
[/TR]
[TR="class: altrow, bgcolor: #EEEEEE"]
[TD="class: textcenter, align: center"]26/10[/TD]
[TD="class: textcenter, align: center"]8:50 p.m.[/TD]
[TD="class: textright, align: right"]ASM Clermont[/TD]
[TD]Biarritz Olympique[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="class: textcenter, align: center"]27/10[/TD]
[TD="class: textcenter, align: center"]3:00 p.m.[/TD]
[TD="class: textright, align: right"]French Stade[/TD]
[TD]Toulouse[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: altrow, bgcolor: #EEEEEE"]
[TD="class: textcenter, align: center"] - [/TD]
[TD="class: textcenter, align: center"]6:30 p.m.[/TD]
[TD="class: textright, align: right"]SU Agen[/TD]
[TD]Castres[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="class: textcenter, align: center"] - [/TD]
[TD="class: textcenter, align: center"]6:30 p.m.[/TD]
[TD="class: textright, align: right"]Mont-de-Marsan[/TD]
[TD]Union Bordeaux-Begles[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: altrow, bgcolor: #EEEEEE"]
[TD="class: textcenter, align: center"] - [/TD]
[TD="class: textcenter, align: center"]6:30 p.m.[/TD]
[TD="class: textright, align: right"]Montpellier Hérault Rugby[/TD]
[TD]Grenoble[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="class: textcenter, align: center"] - [/TD]
[TD="class: textcenter, align: center"]6:30 p.m.[/TD]
[TD="class: textright, align: right"]Toulon Rugby Club[/TD]
[TD]Bayonne[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: altrow, bgcolor: #EEEEEE"]
[TD="class: textcenter, align: center"] - [/TD]
[TD="class: textcenter, align: center"]8:40 p.m.[/TD]
[TD="class: textright, align: right"]USAP[/TD]
[TD]Racing Métro 92[/TD]
[/TR]
</tbody>[/TABLE]

Thanks for the vote of confidence Gaston....trust you will warm them up for us this weekend!

Looks like the week of the away teams BO, ST, Castres, UBB, Grenoble and Racing with only Bayonne going down!!! Well, that may be the wish but probably BO, Castres and Grenoble will have a little too much difficulty making it come true.

 

[gaston le gaff]

The trouble is Tony we are playing at home if they get beaten their revenge could well be against BO, and you can hardly afford to loooooooose many more games or this could become a South West relegation battle between M de M BO and Bayonne !!!!!!

 

[Tony Manx]

Hate it when you enjoy yourself..............

 

[ZeFrenchy]

The Clermont side was announced to play BO. Kind of weird looking: e XV de départ clermontois: Byrne; Rougerie (cap.), King, Stanley, Nakaitaci; (o) Skrela, (m) Radosavljevic; Bardy, Vermeulen, Lapandry; Pierre, Jacquet; Kotze, Cabello, Debaty.Remplaçants: Paulo, Chaume, Cudmore, Chouly, Parra, James, Fofana, Zirakashvili.

I hope Lapandry re finds form. He'd be a great player for the EdF.

 

[gaston le gaff]

Still looks goog enough to beat BO and a bench that that is only full of class, on current fiorm Clermont by+15pts.

 

[gaston le gaff]

La 1ère Ligne :

Juan Figallo - Rassie Van Vuuren - Giorgi Jgenti - Agustin Creevy - Yvan Watremez - Maximiliano Bustos - Misha Nariashvili

La 2ème Ligne :

Thibaut Privat - Mamuka Gorgodze - Aliki Fakaté

La 3ème Ligne :

Fulgence Ouedraogo - Alex Tulou - Alexandre Bias - Rémy Martin

Les demis :

Benoît Paillaugue - François Trinh-Duc - Julien Tomas

Les 3/4 :

Martin Bustos Moyano - Shontayne Hape - Thomas Combezou - Timoci Nagusa - Yoan Audrin - Santiago Fernandez - Yohann Artru

Les arrières :

Lucas Amorosino.
With a group like that difficult to pick the 15 to start WATCH OUT GRENOBLE !!!!!!!

 

[Tony Manx]

Still looks goog enough to beat BO and a bench that that is only full of class, on current fiorm Clermont by+15pts.

Unfortunately, I have to agree if only because the BO squad left BY COACH on Wednesday for the 350 mile journey and seem to be stayng on for the week to go to Grenoble........not quite like Arsenal flying to Norwich!!

 

[Tony Manx]

16-6 at half time is better than I thought. BO not bad but do not think ASM up to speed really...had most of the pressure, possession, passes and territory whilst BO are winning on the tackles, errors and giving kickable penalties. I am not too confident when I look at the benches though.......

Vermeulen unlucky to be yellow carded after hit on Ngwenya when Zee hd put down on ground after catch?!

 

[Tony Manx]

Bloody internet...missed the last five minutes action but the English commentators said something about a yellow card to a ASM payer that should have been red........what do you expect from our Cyril Lafond!! What a ref....For once, BO had several players free on the left with an almost clear run and Traille actually passed it out but just as he did Lafond blew for a penalty to BO.............er advantage Cyril?!!!

ANNNYYYYWAAAYYY......losing bonus point which is like a win to us!!! Good defensive perfomance and lots of enthusiasm......plus felt Barcella improved as the game went on and that the Bo scrum gained a measure of control that has been missing.

Onwards to Grenoble the wheels on the bus go round and round......

 

[ZeFrenchy]

One point from Marcel Michelin is more than what most get. Good for BO.

 

[gaston le gaff]

In terrible conditions you deserved your point, i think you should have a word with Serge about opening his wallet, has the airport closed near your or is the bus ride cheaper or even free as next week you are back on the road to Grenoble playing with snow on the ground maybe??????

 

[Tony Manx]

I agree with the acceptability of the unexpected point but there is no need for Serge to open his wallet as their combined record of purchasing players is so bloody dire he would be, again, wasting his money by employing average or, in many cases, below average players !!

I would point to Micheal Bond, Berquist (injured all last season before coming and who so far has played less than 60 minutes), Courrant, Caprice, Baby, a string of props, Erinle and could go on and on.............the problem starts in the management and their inherent loyalty of an amateur era.

Blanco, Lagisquet and Rodrigues are obviously old team mates. Their retention of not only players, such as August and Brusque, who are past their sell by dates (I would include Traille and Perylongue in that with Imanol approaching it if not already there!!) but also trainers, such as Lagisquet himself, Jacque Delmar and John/Jack Isaacs, for too long shows touching loyalty but not commercial/professional management!

Blanco needs to take the hard decisions that he should have made when he brought in Milhas (forced upon him by Gonzales's resignation) and cleaned out the dead wood both in management and players to make better use of the talent that is coming through (and which need nuturing and conifdence) and to buy what is needed and not just what is cheap or brought to them by agents.

He got away with it last season by convincing himself that all was well by blaming Milhas's first season, the RWC with its loss of players and the flukey Amlin Cup success.

He needs to make the decisons and announce the changes now and not just wait for the inevitable continuing slide down the league this season so as to make clear that the future is bright with young players with proper coaching and recruitment when such a slide down maybe acceptable before we can see BO starting to come back up again. It is certainly not acceptable without a plan B!

As for the plane v coach, I believe the airport is still open as the temperature has not got down below the medium teens as yet althoough, as I am about 10 miles away, conditions might be different there!! The coach was no doubt picked, not because it was cheaper, oh no, but because all that singing and playing cards would encourage team spirit and it obviously worked as we got the bonus point (nothing to do with ASM being pretty c***!). This spirit of joie de vie being engendered will see them staying in the West and out on the ski slopes above Grenoble practicising snowballing for next week's game as do not believe they can have two such epic journeys in the one week and they may be able to catch snowballs or get in the right position should someone try to kick off at them!! So all is not black then...................

 

[Tony Manx]

With Dusatoir, Picamoles, Steenkamp, Medard and Beauxis injured and Tolofua suspended, Toulouse still felt able to rest completely McAlister , Jauszan and put Milo-Chluski, Dussain, Fritz, and Census on the bench for their visit to Stade de France against Stade Paris!

A very entertaining match and SF stood up to the challenge well keeping pace with the weakened ST before the marvellous Parisse scored in the 73rd​ minute with Stade Paris managing to hang on for the win. The final movement of ST to try and win the game started in the 78th minute and only eded when they lost the ball in the 84th minute........28:24 final score but many pluses for ST including he half backs Burgess and Bezy who were excellent>

Whilst watching him score, I wondered if there has ever been such a great player as Sergio Parisse who has been unlucky enough to play for such under achieving club and country sides.....even if they had a win today?

 

[ZeFrenchy]

I was at the game and it is true that Parisse is really in a different class to everyone else on the pitch. Papé had a good game (outplayed Maestri) for SF as well. For ST, Bézy totally outplayed Plisson, and Burgess and Poitrenaud had good games. Clerc's try shows he still has it. And the difference in level between Fritz and David at this moment is just too damn high. Fickou with another good game.
Also, the fijian winger from SF whose name no-one can pronounce or spell correctly is a constant threat... and he's only 22! Finally, Ive seen only good performances from the American flanker LaValla.

 

[Tony Manx]

I was at the game .

Bet it was cold - looked it!!

 

[ZeFrenchy]

Bet it was cold - looked it!!

Pretty damn cold.

 

[LittleGuy]

Wow Bayonne got destroyed!!!!! Did they even show up?

 

[Tony Manx]

Wow Bayonne got destroyed!!!!! Did they even show up?

Looks to me like Bayonne rested quite a few of their players and, from the Rugbyrama site, it would also appear they only made one substitution throughout the game?

Toulon will do this to a number of sides this season and the more they do, the more teams playing them in Toulon will field weakened sides as what is the point in trying to win even a bonus point against them - they certainly have the killer instinct