La Rochelle-Racing 92, Montpellier-Toulouse, shocks in stock
In the limelight: the 5th day of the Top 14, this weekend, will be marked by XXL shocks with the displacement of the ambitious Racing 92 on the ground of the La Rochelle European champion or the Toulouse ogre visiting at the champion of France Montpellier.
. Racing 92 facing its exes
We meet once again. From Teddy Thomas to Yoan Tanga via George-Henri Colombe and even Ronan O’Gara, the Racing 92-La Rochelle axis is running at full speed. But no question of ‘tea party’, Saturday in Marcel-Deflandre, for two teams which remain on a bitter defeat.
A week after being defeated in Toulouse (37-10), Racing 92 (10th, 8 pts) will therefore try to revive in the terror of the start of the season La Rochelle (3rd, 13 pts), fallen, it, in front of Clermontese (22-13).
“It’s a team that knows how to wear down the opponent, who are really up for the challenge. They are able to combine power and speed. When they have worn you down, they are able to shift, to put on speed. They are not European champions by chance”, admitted the Ile-de-France technician Laurent Travers. The Sky and White had to align their new recruit, the Springbok Warrick Gelant. A plus for winning in Charente-Maritime for the first time since Ami 2016?
. Montpellier to the Toulouse developer
Chic, a shock. MHR coach Philippe Saint-André knows it: the defending champions have the opportunity to shine with the reception of co-leader Toulouse (1st, 14 pts).
“It’s a huge match, because Stade Toulousain remains the reference in French rugby, because even if, last year, we were champions of France, we lost twice against them… For us, it’s going to be very good to measure yourself against the best”, posted PSA.
Because Montpellier (2nd, 14 pts) can display its ambitions in the event of victory against the Rouge et Noir. And for that, they will count on their nugget Léo Coly, newly named ‘revelation of the season’ and ‘best player of Pro D2’ for the last season. With the third line Zach Mercer, ‘best player’, and the ‘best staff’, the Héraultais seem to have the weapons to dethrone Toulouse.
. Clermont wants to put the cover back
A week after bringing down the armada of La Rochelle (22-13), Clermont will try to confirm its improvement in front of Lyon, the other European champion.
Undefeated at home in the Top 14 for more than a year and the reception of Castres (34-30) on September 11, 2021, the Auvergnats will again want to make an impression while giving credit to their ambitions.
But the opposition of style will be very different against the LOU. “Their forwards have good hands, played in contact and the three-quarter line have fast and powerful players like Tuisova. We will have to be very attentive to contain the speed they can put on the pitch,” warned scrum-half Sébastien Bézy.
In the other meetings of the day, Bordeaux-Bègles (13th, 6 pts) will try to find the taste of victory in front of the French Stadium (6th, 8 pts) while Castres (8th, 8 pts) moves to Perpignan (14th , 5 pts), the red lantern. Finally, Pau (11th, 8 pts) and Brive (12th, 7 pts) will want to go up the slope ahead of Toulon (7th, 8 pts) and Bayonne (10th, 8 pts) respectively.