The difference a week makes

 

It is a rare occurrence to see the visiting team celebrating at Stade Marcel-Michelin, but Oyonnax were able to do just that after pinching an 11-10 triumph in the Top 14 to maintain their push for a top six finish.

 

But where was the Clermont team that had ripped the heart out of the English champions, Northampton Saints, in the Champions Cup quarterfinals the previous weekend? 

 

Putting their feet up in the stands!

 

Coaches Franck Azema and Jonno Gibbes decided to prioritise this weekends' Champions Cup semifinal against Saracens in St Etienne by opting to rest their star names in a bid not to suffer a similar fate to last season when they were beaten 46-6 by Saracens at Twickenham Stadium.

 

They went into the game with none of the starting XV who swamped Saints 37-5.

 

Seven of the replacements started and three of the starting XV were on the bench against Oyonnax.

 

The defeat meant they lost ground on Top 14 leaders Toulon, who picked up an away win in Grenoble to move three points clear at the top. Clermont remain in second place and are still in the hunt for a home play-off.

 

It was a similar story for Leinster, who followed up their 18-15 home win over Bath in the Champions Cup quarterfinal with a 25-22 defeat at Rodney Parade against Newport Gwent Dragons.

 

The Welsh region breathed too much fire in the second half for the Irish province as they recovered from 8-22 with 14 minutes left to win 25-22.

 

Leinster head coach Matt O'Connor used only three of his starting XV from Europe, Ben Te'o, Jimmy Gopperth and Mike McCarthy and only included three others on the bench.

 

Even though they picked up a losing bonus point, Leinster are now eight points shy of the play-off places in the Pro12 with three regular season games remaining.

 

That means they face a real battle to hold onto their title and maintain their bid to win a hat-trick of Pro12 titles. 

 

Now everyone is hoping that the old adage that a bad dress rehearsal means a good opening night will apply this weekend!

 

 

15 Nick Abendanon, 14 Noa Nakaitaci, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Wesley Fofana, 11 Naipolioni Nalaga, 10 Brock James, 9 Ludovic Radoslavjevic, 8 Fritz Lee, 7 Damien Chouly (captain), 6 Julien Bonnaire, 5 Sébastien Vahaamahina, 4 Jamie Cudmore, 3 Davit Zirakashvili, 2 Benjamin Kayser, 1 Vincent Debaty.

Replacments: 16 John Ulugia, 17 Thomas Domingo, 18 Clément Ric, 19 Julien Pierre, 20 Julien Bardy, 21 Thierry Lacrampe, 22 Mike Delany, 23 Aurélien Rougerie.

 

 

15 Jean-Marcellin Buttin, 14 Zac Guildford, 13 Aurelien Rougerie (captain), 12 Benson Stanley, 11 Julien Malzieu, 10 Mike Delany, 9 Thiery Lacrampe, 8 Peceli Yato, 7 Alexandre Lapandry, 6 Julien Bardy, 5 Loic Jacquet, 4 Juien Pierre, 3 Clement Ric, 2 Ti'i Paulo, 1 Thomas Domingo.

Replacements: 16 John Ulugia, 17 Raphael Chaume, 18 Paul Jedrasiak, 19 Julien Kazubek, 20 Charlie Cassang, 21 Brock James, 22 Noa Nakaitaci, 23 Davit Zirakashvili

 

 

15 Rob Kearney, 14 Fergus McFadden, 13 Ben Te'o, 12 Ian Madigan, 11 Luke Fitzgerald, 10 Jimmy Gopperth, 9 Isaac Boss, 8 Jamie Heaslip(captain), 7 Sean O'Brien, 6 Jordi Murphy, 5 Mike McCarthy, 4 Devin Toner, 3 Mike Ross, 2 Sean Cronin, 1 Cian Healy.

Replacements: 16 Richardt Strauss, 17 Jack McGrath, 18 Marty Moore, 19 Tom Denton, 20 Dominic Ryan, 21 Eoin Reddan, 22 Gordon D'Arcy, 23 Zane Kirchner.

 

 

15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Dave Kearney, 13 Ben Te'o, 12 Gordon D'Arcy, 11 Darragh Fanning, 10 Jimmy Gopperth, 9 Eoin Reddan, 8 Jack Conan, 7 Shane Jennings (captain), 6 Dominic Ryan, 5 Mike McCarthy, 4 Ben Marshall, 3 Martin Moore, 2 Richardt Strauss, 1 Jack McGrath.

Replacements: 16 Aaron Dundon, 17 Michael Bent, 18 Tadhg Furlong, 19 Ross Molony, 20 Jordi Murphy, 21 Luke McGrath, 22 Noel Reid, 23 Luke Fitzgerald.

 

Source: @ChampionsCup