Scandal and apathy mar Top 14 semis
The 'Jaunards' topped the regular season standings and are favourites to progress past European Champions Cup finalists Racing 92 in Rennes on Friday night. But the match will be played under a cloud following a damning verdict from former France coach Marc Lievremont of the fare offered so far in last weekend's two play-off quarterfinals.
"We've fallen back into our quirks despite having everything to produce a magnificent spectacle. The teams care little for attacking development but prefer a calculated rugby, minimalist, closed. It's served by great players with quality [but] who produce little," he moaned.
Racing's 21-16 victory over Toulouse was particularly turgid despite New Zealand legend Dan Carter's perfect kicking performance, knocking over six penalties from six attempts. That, though, was one of the problems. His accuracy and consistency discouraged the Parisians from playing a more expansive game and Toulouse scored the match's only try through Gael Fickou.
Montpellier crossed the whitewash three times in their 28-9 defeat of Castres but theirs was a performance based on South African muscle rather than the famous old French flair.
European rugby's stilted and at times unimaginative offering was only highlighted on Tuesday night when the touring Wales team was humiliated 7-40 by a six-try performance from a Chiefs team missing eight All Blacks.
The problems are different for three-time European champions Toulon, Montpellier's semi-final opponents on Saturday. Toulon's Georgian hooker Iuri Natriashvili has been called into a National Rugby League disciplinary hearing for breaking betting rules.
The 31-year-old is one of seven players set to be disciplined, but the only one playing in the Top 14. He was unlikely to have been part of the starting XV but it is an unwelcome distraction at a crucial stage in the season for the 2014 champions.
Wales fullback Leigh Halfpenny is nearing a return for Toulon but this match may come too soon for the British and Irish Lions hero, who is unlikely to feature. Halfpenny has yet to play this season and his future competition, new signing for next season Ayumu Goromaru of Japan, will be watching in the stands in Rennes.
Both matches are being played in the same stadium in Brittany but the trip has not caught the attention of Clermont fans. Of the 2,000 tickets allocated to the well-supported club from the Auvergne region, only half have been sold.
"Normally for semi-finals we fill up trains, this time it will be two buses. The Friday night programme suits no one," said Thierry Fraisse, president of a group of supporters' clubs, adding that many supporters will have saved their money for a trip to the final in Barcelona instead.
Racing are not likely to bring any more supporters and have booked only three buses to take their fans.
Fixtures (both at Rennes)
Friday
18.45 GMT – Clermont v Racing 92
Saturday
18.45 GMT – Toulon v Montpellier
Agence France-Presse
