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Welcome to our weekly review of everything going on in French rugby which, for the first time, blends our bread and butter (the madcap world of Pro D2) with the headline-grabbing glamour of the Investec Champions Cup & EPCR Challenge Cup - and it makes for an intriguing, if confusing, juxtaposition.
Former Champions rise to the top
Three of the four pools in the Champions Cup are topped by the last five winners of the competition. A Toulouse victory at home to a weakened Sharks was to be expected, but the victories for Union Bordeaux Bègles and La Rochelle perhaps less so.
UBB’s victory at altitude in Pretoria, in probably the game of the round against a Springbok-stacked Bulls side, was a timely and resounding return to form. So far this season, not least in part down to injuries to some key men, they have struggled to put in the sort of exhilarating performances that fans will remember from their charge to the title last season. This was the first time since the Top 14 Final that they were able to field their first choice backline, and it was led magnificently by an effervescent Mathieu Jalibert. His performance was one from another planet.
Unfortunately, back on the West coast of France, we were not treated to two full strength sides - although La Rochelle won’t be complaining about the side that Leicester Tigers sent over the Channel. Those whose only sightings of La Rochelle are limited to their offerings in the Investec Champions Cup can be forgiven for thinking that this sort of performance is typical of this La Rochelle side. The reality is that La Rochelle have been poor domestically for the past couple of years, hindered further this season by an injury list of mindblowing length and calibre, and they were there for the taking. Faced with a 6-day turnaround between La Rochelle and their home game against Leinster, Tigers opted to rest the majority of their frontline stars, effectively handing the bonus point victory to La Rochelle long before it was sealed in the 44th minute.
Champions Cup flop for Top 14 sides
The good news pretty much ends there for France’s elite clubs - and not for lack of trying either. The team selections from Clermont, Castres and Toulon appeared to put an end to the old tropes about French sides not bothering away from home in Europe, yet all three kindly offered up bonus-point wins to their British hosts. Toulon went full noise for their trip to Edinburgh and were outplayed and outsmarted by Edinburgh who were outstanding on the day in horrid conditions, Castres went as strong as they could (injuries permitting) but their discipline let them down yet again allowing Gloucester romp home in the final quarter, and Clermont sent what should have been a competitive side to North London but Saracens polished them off half time.
It didn’t get much better for the other Top 14 sides Bayonne and Pau, who couldn’t capitalise on the comforts of home advantage and milder conditions in France’s South West, despite both boasting an unbeaten home record in the Top 14 this season. Both have publicly stated lofty ambitions of making the Top 14 playoffs, and their team selections certainly reflected that. Bayonne, in particular, were almost unrecognisable, and an unrecognisably weak performance from their forwards ensued in defeat to the Stormers. For a much-changed Pau, the long-standing issue of their own scrum weakness raised its head again, something they seemed to have put behind them in their outstanding start to the season. It was a rollocking game against Northampton, and with so many players missing (through injury and by choice), it was impressive Pau stayed in the fight for so long, but ultimately they came away empty handed.
Not up for the Challenge?
It was hardly a vintage opening round for the French clubs in the EPCR Challenge Cup either. Lyon and Racing should, on paper, be among the favourites for this competition (of the teams starting in it anyway), and yet both suffered embarrassing defeats. Racing’s embarrassing team selection got what it deserved and they were given a hiding by Ulster in Belfast, but arguably the worst result of all Top 14 sides this weekend was that of Lyon. Despite boasting the second-largest operating budget in France, it has become custom for Lyon to disappoint, but to lose at home to Newcastle, a side pointless in the first six rounds of the PREM, feels like a new low. It wasn’t a full strength Lyon side, but it should have had plenty given the presence of their talisman Baptiste Couilloud.
Stade Français and Montpellier are the two best-placed Top 14 sides in the EPCR Challenge Cup, and further embarrassment loomed for the Top 14 with both trailing at half-time in Paris and Tbilisi respectively. Stade Français ran out comfortable winners against Cardiff, but it was less straightforward in the Georgian capital, where Black Lion would have been eyeing up their first win in this competition when they led 13-0 at half-time. Montpellier came out firing in the second half, scoring an unanswered 24 points
Perpignan, adorned in their spectacular Jester-like patchwork kit, got their first win of the season, racking up a bonus point-securing 41 points against the Dragons (only 16 points fewer than they had mustered in their five previous home games this season). Their relegation rivals Montauban suffered an exact mirror result away at Zebre. Both sides will be using these games to try out combinations; Top 14 survival is undoubtedly their primary focus.
Colomiers & Valence Romans further their promotion charge
In Pro D2, Vannes remain comfortable favourites to take the place of whichever of Perpignan or Montauban finish bottom, but the battle to see who else could get a shot at the Top 14 is wide open, with some pre-season candidates struggling in mid-table and the form of a few early-season overachievers showing no signs of stopping.
They may each have the joint-10th biggest operating budget in Pro D2, but Valence Romans and Colomiers currently sit in 2nd and 3rd respectively, and continue to prove that their early season form is here to stay. For Valence Romans, there was an impressive fourth away win of the season at Biarritz, while Colomiers blitzed Grenoble in the final 20 minutes in the Thursday evening game (which UK & Ireland viewers may well have watched live via FRUK Rugby on YouTube).
One player who may well be playing Top 14 rugby next season, regardless of whether his team gain promotion or not, is Ray Nu’u. The Colomiers inside centre was the standout player in Pro D2 in Round 13, showcasing the full breadth of his skillset with shades of Pita Ahki, another Kiwi-born No.12 who played his rugby in Toulouse until very recently. He has been on the radar of a number of Top 14 clubs for a while, with La Rochelle the latest favourites for his signature.
Away day joy for at least some French fans
Valence Romans weren’t the only side to pick up an away win in Round 13 of Pro D2, with victory for the away side in three other fixtures. Away wins in 50% of the games may sound like a lot, especially in Pro D2, but it is less surprising given the identity of the four sides defeated on their home turf: Biarritz, Béziers, Mont de Marsan and Carcassonne currently sit in four of the bottom five places in the league.
This quartet have only two wins in their last four games between them, and desperately need to show signs that they can turn around their seasons. Luckily, they still have plenty of time - there are 17 rounds (or nearly a full season of the Gallagher PREM) still to go…
Pro D2 continues this Thursday (11th December) with Soyaux Angouleme v Agen, available to UK & Ireland viewers for free via FRUK Rugby on YouTube.