Toulouse in early Biarritz showdown
Toulouse backs coach Jean-Baptiste Elissalde says he is not too worried by his side's tepid start to the Top 14 season ahead of the top-of-the-table clash with much-improved Biarritz on Saturday.
The two sides both won their opening two games, but reigning champions Toulouse failed to impress, with a one-point win over Castres on the opening day followed by a 37-22 victory over bottom side Mont-de-Marsan last weekend.
Biarritz defeated Mont-de-Marsan and won away at Agen to go top, level on nine points with Toulouse, and one point ahead of the only other undefeated side, Toulon.
Former international scrum-half Elissalde said that it was still too early in the season to draw firm conclusions about who would be the top teams.
"After just two games, you simply do not know enough," he said.
"After four games you start to get a better idea and after 10, then you have a really good idea of how things are panning out. So we will wait until then."
Still, Elissalde knows that the talent-packed Toulouse side will have to step up their game a notch if they want to keep their unbeaten record and go solo at the top of the league.
"We are looking to improve week by week," he said.
"Against Mont-de-Marsan we made a lot of technical mistakes — too many mistakes. The new rules have something to do with it and if we lose so many balls at Biarritz, we are in for a tough time of it."
There was good news for Toulouse with the return to training of star utility back Maxime Medard, who needed a knee operation in February after tearing cruciate ligaments in the Six Nations game against Scotland.
Biarritz backs coach Jack Isaac was in complete agreement with Elissalde that it was too early to say who would be the top teams this season or whether his side could continue to bounce back from last season's struggles.
"Of course it would be stupid to say that I am unhappy with our results so far, but quite honestly we are only two games into the season and now we face up to Toulouse and that will be a real test for us against a team who have the potential to again win the championship. We must not get carried away," the Australian said.
The Basque side have been hit with the news that international scrum-half Dimitri Yachvili will be out for two to three months with a slipped disc in his back.
Toulon coach Bernard Laporte has already intimated that he will hand a call-up for the first time to the former golden boy of French rugby Frederic Michalak for a place on the bench for the trip to Mont-de-Marsan.
The half-back returned to play in France in the close season after a stint with Super 15 outfit Coastal Sharks in South Africa, but was not included in the squad for the opening two games.
Michalak is currently Toulon's understudy at fly-half to England star Jonny Wilkinson, but is expected to get a place in the starting line-up soon.
"The number 10 shirt is a difficult one to manage — very strategic," former France coach Laporte said.
"Fred has been with us for just three weeks and we do not want to ask too much of him too early. He has signed up with us for three years so we will give him the time to properly adapt."
Fixtures
Friday, August 31:
Grenoble v Stade Francais
Saturday, September 1:
Biarritz v Toulouse
Castres v Bayonne
Clermont v Perpignan
Montpellier v Agen
Racing Metro v Bordeaux-Begles
Mont-de-Marsan v Toulon
AFP
