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Preview: Top 14, Round 14

The second half of France’s Top 14 starts this weekend when Bayonne visit redoubtable Toulouse. The Basques won at home in Round One but one cannot see them repeating the feat as they have collapsed somewhat and internal problems.

Possibly the most interesting team news is the return of Springbok hardman Bakkies Botha to the field of play. There were some who believed he would not play again but he is in the squad to play Biarritz.

Agen, who are having a good season, will want to get back on track against a Brive side which is already looking desperate as the relegation spook walks again.

The last match of the weekend could, in theory, be closest and yet Biarritz have made such a habit of losing of late that one cannot see them succeeding against the ambitious men from the Mediterranean even without scrumhalf Toulon, Sébastien Tillous-Borde and hooker Jean-Philippe Genevois.

Fixtures:

Friday, 30 December:
21.00: Toulouse vs Bayonne at Stade Ernest Wallon

Saturday, 31 December:
14.05: Montpellier vs Racing-Métro at Stade Yves du Manoir (Montpellier)
14.15: Castres vs Perpignan at Stade Pierre Antoine
14.15: Bordeaux vs Stade Français at Jacques Chaban-Delmas (Bordeaux)
14.15: Agen vs Brive at Stade Armandie
14.15: Lyon vs Clermont at Matmut Stadium
16.15: Biarritz vs Toulon at Parc Des Sports D’Aguilera

Log after Round 13:

1 Toulouse 47
2 Clermont 44
3 Toulon 39
4 Castres 35
5 Stade Français 34
6 Racing Métro 34
7 Agen 32
8 Montpellier 27
9 Perpignan 25
10 Brive 23
11 Bayonne 22
12 Bordeaux 21
13 Lyon 18
14 Biarritz 15

Predictions:

Not that they are necessarily significant but the results between these two teams in Round One were, winner at home unless otherwise stated:
Agen vs Brive, 20-19 in Brive
Bayonne vs Toulouse, 18-13
Clermont vs Lyon, 22-13 in Lyon
Perpignan vs Castres, 25-6
Racing-Métro vs Montpellier, 30-22
Stade Français vs Bordeaux, 41-20
Toulon vs Biarritz, 30-5

We forecast victories for Agen, Toulouse, Clermont, Castres, Montpellier, Stade Français and Toulon.

The teams:

Toulouse lost Gary Botha last weekend to a broken leg and Stade have been compelled to employ a ‘medical joker’, in this case the Georgian veteran Akvsenti Giorgadze. Toulouse have also lost three props – Jean-Baptiste Poux and Springboks Daan Human and Gurthrö Steenkamp. 21-year-old prop Yassin Boutemane will come into the side.

Bayonne have Neemia Tialata back for the Toulouse match. The All Black was a late withdrawal last weekend because of a troublesome back. He replaces Renaud Boyoud.

For Biarritz Imanol Harinordoquy is again missing but Clément Poitrenaud is happy to be back.

Clermont have several top players back, which must make struggling Lyon nervous. Jamie Cudmore’s damaged ribs may be keeping him out, but back march Wesley Fofana, Sitiveni Sivivatu, Gonzalo Canale, Benjamin Kayser and Jason White. Lyon, on the other hand, are without their flyhalf and principal goal-kicker, Romain Loursac.

Jean Monribot and Marc Giraud are back for Agen but hooker Julien Janaudy is out with a neck injury.

Biarritz are without scrumhalf Luix Roussarie who has been playing in the stead of Dimitri Yachvili.

Toulouse: 15 Maxime Médard, 14 Vincent Clerc, 13 Florian Fritz, 12 Luke McAlister, 11 Yves Donguy, 10 Lionel Beauxis, 9 Luke Burgess, 8 Louis Picamoles, 7 Thierry Dusautoir, 6 Jean Bouilhou, 5 Romain Millo Chlusky, 4 Yoann Maestri, 3 Census Johnston, 2 William Servat, 1 Jean-Baptiste Poux.
Replacements: 16 Jereym Falip, 17 Yassin Boutemane, 18 Gregoyr Lamboley, 19 Sean Sowerby, 20 Jean Marc Doussain, 21 Yannick Jauzion, 22 Timoci Matanavou, 23 Yohan Montes.

Bayonne: 15 Cédric Heymans, 14 Joe Rokocoko, 13 Thibault Lacroix, 12 Lionel Mazars, 11 Sam Gerber, 10 Benjamin Boyet, 9 Mike Phillips, 8 Sione Lauaki, 7 Julien Puricelli, 6 Jean-Joseph Marmouyet, 5 Abdellatif Boutaty, 4 Rob Linde (captain), 3 Neemia Tialata, 2 David Roumieu, 1 Aretz Iguiniz.
Replacements: 16 François Da Ros, 17 Vitolio Manukula, 18 Troy Flavell, 19 Marc Baget, 20 Cédric Garcia, 21 Clément Otazo, 22 Marvin O’Connor, 23 Denis Avril.

Montpellier: 15 Martín Bustos Moyano, 14 Timoci Nagusa, 13 Thomas Combezou , 12 Santiago Fernandez, 11 Yoan Audrin, 10 François Trinh-Duc (captain), 9 Julien Tomas, 8 Masi Matadigo, 7 Mamuka Gorgodze, 6 Fulgence Ouedraogo, 5 Thibaut Privat, 4 Drikus Hancke, 3 George Jgenti, 2 Agustin Creevy, 1 Na’ama Leleimalefaga.
Replacements: 16 Rassie Jansen van Vuuren, 17 Mikheil Natriashvili, 18 Mickaël De Marco, 19 Rémy Martin, 20 Benoît Paillaugue, 21 Paul Bosch, 22 Lucas Gonzales Amorosino, 23 Maximiliano Bustos.

Racing-Métro: 15 Juan Martín Hernández, 14 Sireli Bobo, 13 Henry Chavancy, 12 Virimi Vakatawa, 11 Julien Saubade, 10 Jonathan Wisniewski, 9 Nicolas Durand, 8 Sébastien Chabal, 7 Jacques Cronjé, 6 Rémi Vaquin, 5 Lionel Nallet (captain), 4 Santiago Dellapè, 3 Mikaele Tu’ugahala, 2 Thomas Bianchin, 1 Andrea Lo Cicero.
Replacements: 16 Benjamin Noirot, 17 Eddy Ben Arous, 18 François Van der Merwe, 19 John Leo’o, 20 Mathieu Lorée, 21 Fabrice Estebanez, 22 Antoine Battut, 23 Juan Pablo Orlandi.

Castres:: 15 Romain Teulet 14 Romain Martial, 13 Thomas Sanchou, 12 Romain Cabannes, 11 Maxwell Evans, 10 Seremaia Bai, 9 Rory Kockott , 8 Chris Masoe, 7 Steeve Malonga, 6 Ibrahim Diarra, 5 Scott Murray, 4 Matthias Rolland, 3 Luc Ducalcon, 2 Mathieu Bonello, 1 Anton Peikrishvili.
Replacements: 16 Marc Rallier, 17 Saimone Taumoepeau, 18 Jannie Bornman, 19 Yannick Caballero, 20 Thierry Lacrampe, 21 Pierre Bernard, 22 Paul Bonnefond, 23 Karena Wihongi.

Perpignan: 15 Joffrey Michel, 14 Rudi Coetzee, 13 David Marty, 12 Maxime Mermoz, 11 Farid Sid, 10 James Hook, 9 Florian Cazenave, 8 Damien Chouly, 7 Gerrie Britz, 6 Bertrand Guiry, 5 Robins Tchale Watchou, 4 Olivier Olibeau, 3 Nicolas Mas, 2 Guilhem Guirado, 1 Jérôme Schuster.
Replacements: 16 Marius Tincu, 17 Kisi Pulu, 18 Ovidiu Tonita, 19 Romain Taofifenua, 20 Grégory Le Corvec, 21 David Mélé, 22 Gavin Hume, 23 Benoît Bourrust.

Bordeaux-Bègles:15 Bruce Reihana, 14 Rafaël Carballo, 13 Julien Rey, 12 Felix Le Bourhis, 11 Blair Connor, 10 Camille Lopez, 9 Heini Adams, 8 Matthew Clarkin, 7 Hugh Chalmers, 6 Justin Purll, 5 Cameron Treloar, 4 Daniel Leo’o, 3 Silviu Florea, 2 Wayne Avei, 1 Hikairo Forbes.
Replacements: 16 Fabien Rofes, 17 Laurent Delboulbes, 18 Louis Madaule, 19 Adam Jaulhac, 20 Julien Seron, 21 Gérard Fraser , 22 Thierry Brana, 23 Albert Toetu.

Stade Français: 15 Paul Warwick, 14 Francis Fainifo, 13 Morgan Turinui, 12 Martin Rodriguez, 11 Julien Arias, 10 Felipe Contepomi, 9 Jérôme Fillol, 8 Sergio Parisse, 7 David Lyons, 6 Antoine Burban, 5 Pascal Papé, 4 Tom Palmer, 3 Stanley Wright, 2 Aled De Malmanche, 1 Rodrigo Roncero.
Replacements: 16 Laurent Sempéré, 17 Rabah Slimani, 18 Gerhard Mostert, 19 Pierre Rabadan, 20 Julien Dupuy , 21 Jules Plisson, 22 Paul Williams, 23 David Attoub.

Agen: 15 Silvère Tian, 14 Saimoni Vaka, 13 Junior Palesasa, 12 Miguel Avramovic, 11 Brice Dulin, 10 Conrad Barnard, 9 Maxime Machenaud, 8 Ueleni Fono, 7 Adri Badenhorst, 6 Jean Monribot, 5 Lisiate Fa’aoso, 4 Dewald Senekal, 3 Gert Muller, 2 Jalil Narjissi, 1 John Schwalger.
Replacements: 16 Semisi Telefoni, 17 Laurent Cabarry, 18 Damien Lagrange, 19 Marc Giraud, 20 Alexi Bales, 21 Jamie Robinson, 22 Manu Ahotaeiloa, 23 Martin Scelzo.

Brive: 15 Scott Spedding, 14 Jacques Boussuge, 13 Arnaud Mignardi, 12 Jamie Noon, 11 Julien Caminati, 10 Mathieu Belie, 9 Jean-Baptiste Pejoine, 8 Julien Ledevedec, 7 Alexandre Bias, 6 Simon Azoulai, 5 Arnaud Méla, 4 Retief Uys, 3 Patrick Barnard, 2 Virgile Lacombe , 1 Davit Kinchagishvili.
Replacements: 16 Iuri Natriashvili, 17 Vasil Kakovin, 18 Thibault Dubarry, 19 Olivier Caisso, 20 Petrus Hauman, 21 Agustin Figuerola, 22 Riaan Swanepoel, 23 Pablo Cardinali.

Lyon: 15 Mark van Gisbergen, 14 Mosese Ratuvou, 13 Latu Fatafehi, 12 Lee Thomas, 11 Rémy Grosso, 10 Xavier Sadourny, 9 Enrico Januarie, 8 Sisaro Koyamaibole, 7 Juan Leguizamón, 6 Eugene N Zi , 5 Coenie Basson, 4 Arnaud Marchois, 3 Philemon Toleafoa, 2 Jean-Philippe Bonrepaux, 1 Xavier Fiard.
Replacements: 16 Antonio Testa , 17 Guram Kavtidze, 18 Arnaud Dorier, 19 Gerald Gambetta, 20 Tewis de Bruyn, 21 Nicolas Raffault, 22 Régis Lespinas, 23 Anthony Roux.

Clermont: 15 Jean-Marcellin Buttin, 14 Sitiveni Sivivatu, 13 Aurélien Rougerie, 12 Wesley Fofana, 11 Julien Malzieu, 10 David Skrela, 9 Morgan Parra, 8 Julien Bonnaire, 7 Julien Bardy, 6 Gerhard Vosloo, 5 Nathan Hines, 4 Julien Pierre, 3 Clément Ric, 2 Benoît Cabello, 1 Lionel Faure.
Replacements: 16 Ti’i Paulo, 17 Raphaël Chaume, 18 Loïc Jacquet, 19 Elvis Vermeulen, 20 Kevin Senio Gonzalo Canale, 21 Brock James , 22 Gonçalo Canale, 23 Danie Kotze.

Biarritz: 15 Iain Balshaw, 14 Takudzwa Ngwenya, 13 Charles Gimenez, 12 Damien Traille, 11 Ilikena Bolakoro, 10 Marcelo Bosch, 9 Dimitri Yachvili, 8 Raphaël Lakafia, 7 Benoît Guyot, 6 Wenceslas Lauret, 5 Manuel Carizza, 4 Jerome Thion, 3 Francisco Gomez Kodela, 2 Arnaud Heguy, 1 Eugene van Staden.
Replacements: 16 Xavier Argagnon, 17 Sylvain Marconnet, 18 Pelu Taele, 19 Florian Faure, 20 Julien Peyrelongue, 21 Benoît Baby, 22 Dane Haylett Petty, 23 Thomas Lebrequier.

Toulon: 15 Benjamin Lapeyre, 14 Christian Loamanu, 13 Mathieu Bastareaud, 12 Gabriele Lovobalavu, 11 David Smith, 10 Jonny Wilkinson, 9 Fabien Cibray, 8 Jone Tawake, 7 Steffon Armitage, 6 Joe van Niekerk, 5 Dean Schofield, 4 Simon Shaw, 3 Davit Kubriashvili, 2 Sébastien Bruno, 1 Eifion Lewis-Roberts.
Replacements: 16 Mickaël Ivaldi, 17 Laurent Emmanuelli , 18 Bakkies Botha, 19 Christophe Samson, 20 Pierrick Gunther, 21 Geoffroy Messina, 22 Mathew Henjak, 23 Carl Hayman.

Match officials:

Toulouse vs Bayonne at Stade Ernest Wallon
Referee: Laurent Cardona
Assistant referees: Sébastien Minery, Sébastien Hebert
Television match official: Bruno Bessot

Montpellier vs Racing-Métro at Stade Yves du Manoir (Montpellier)
Referee: Pascal Gauzere
Assistant referees: Akim Hadj Bachir, Didier Dussaut
Television match official: Laurent Valin

Castres vs Perpignan at Stade Pierre Antoine
Referee: Frank Maciello
Assistant referees: Christophe Berdos, Régis Gabard
Television match official: Gérard Borreani

Bordeaux vs Stade Français at Jacques Chaban-Delmas (Bordeaux)
Referee: Cyril Lafon
Assistant referees: Stéphane Boyer, Jean-Michel Schutz
Television match official: Daniel Gillet

Agen vs Brive at Stade Armandie
Referee: Cédric Marchat
Assistant referees: Nicolas Datas, Benoît Escoubet
Television match official: Jean-Pierre Pellaprat

Lyon vs Clermont at Matmut Stadium
Referee: Salem Attalah
Assistant referees: Christophe Labaune, Bruno Fiche
Television match official: Philippe Bonhoure

Biarritz vs Toulon at Parc Des Sports D’Aguilera
Referee: Jérôme Garces
Assistant referees: Jérôme Lamirand, Patrick Beuriot
Television match official: Jean-Marie Piraveau

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