M
Melhor Time
Guest
Stade Francais lost today to Biarritz and lost on Wednesday against lowly Montauban. Last weekend was a come from behind scrappy win against lowly Montpellier. SF Paris drew with Toulon in their first match and were defeated badly by Bayonne in Spain in their other match. None of these teams were semi finalists last season or the season before last. Zero good performances so far and consequently the team is in 13th place out of 14!
This is a team packed with test players. In todays loss, in which SF were very much outplayed, they had 11 current or former French internationals: Beauxis, Bastareaud, Messina, Liebenberg, Bousses, Dupuy, Rabadan, Papé, Kayser, Szarzewski and Marconnet. Plus Bergamasco (Italy), Leguizamon, Pedro Ledesma and Roncero (Argentina) and Palmer and Haskell (England) plus Ollie Phillips.
This is a team missing key players, but those missing are replaced by test players, i.e. Parisse and Taylor have been replaced by Haskell and Palmer. In the backs, however, its a different story. The team has Dupuy, Bastareaud, Beauxis and Gasnier as its star backs. Bergamasco is not at the same level and the rest are a major drop off in ability. In other words, the club has more stars in the backrow than it does in the entire backline.
This raises the question of why SF Paris recruited who they did? A back row of Juan Leguizamon, Sergio Parisse, Simon Taylor, Mauro Bergamasco, James Haskell and Pierre Rabadan is plainly ridiculous. Leguizamon was great, again, today. Great runs, breaking the line like a centre. So why have Parisse and Taylor in the squad too? the answer is to be the best possible. Yet, the teams options from 10-15 are very, very limited. The problem is there are too many rubbish backs playing for this SF team.
SF Paris are missing Juan Martin Hernandez and with each game the extent of this is becoming more and more clear. Many called for him to play 15 and play Beauxis at 10 last season but that was simply poor judgement. JMH is a vastly superior playmaker with better passing, better kicking an better defence. Beauxis cannot play fullback but this should not factor into determining where Juan Hernandez should play. Thankfully it didn't. Hernandez has left the club, giving Lionel Beauxis the chance to play 10 but there is no cover, none at all. The club needs to find someone and do so now. Liebenburg is not the solution. A few options on the market can be found in Argentina. Santiago Fernandez and Benjamin Urdapilleta. Both are capped internationals, the earlier playing 80 mins in the win over England in June. Surely a club as financially strong cannot go all season without a 10 to support Beauxis? Leicester Tigers have Flood and Vesty. Thats before playing their rubbish third 10, Staunton. Toulouse have Michalak and Skrela.
Last season was not a good one for SF Paris and the reason is the same as what has happened so far this season: the backs are rubbish. No fullback, the star young centre (Bastareaud) being clearly affected by his behaviour in New Zealand in June and since, wings who are really centres and above all else no depth. It was very unfortunate than Ignacio Corleto missed all last season with a shoulder injury and had to retire. They used Camara as his replacement and he was poor defensively. The best example being SF's loss to Harlequins at Stade de France in the Heineken Cup. Camara was out of position for a fullback twice and the Quins got lucky tries as a result. He has been 15 this season a few times already and the same thing has been happening: his position play on defence is poor. Montpellier's simple charge down kick last weekend explaining this perfectly. SF Paris has purchased a good 15, Hugo Southwell (Scotland), but he is injured. No replacement has meant Camara played there and failed so today Beauxis played 15 and again, it was a failure. Beauxis playing 15 meant a poor scrumhalf, Noel Oelschig (South Africa) played 10. A lesson learned surely. Regardless of SF Paris losing to Montauban they only have one flyhalf and that is Lionel Beauxis. Oelschig was so poor all season in 2008/2009. He only played as the club had no other scumhalf, so they bought Agustin Pichot out of retirement for the final few months of the season. Desperation indeed. Despite not playing for almost a year he was able to influence play. Oelschig should be carrying the water bottles. I remember him being dominated by Danny Care in the Quins matches.
Bousses is not a star player. Nor is Messina or Liebenburg. They are the quality of Albi not Stade Francais. The reason they play is the club hasn't bothered buying better backs. A stupid mistake. The club bought Southwell and Phillips who are both good players. Phillips is a wing though and this is where SF Paris are playing Mirco Bergamasco and Mark Gasnier. With Bastareaud being France's test 13 this just highlights my point: buying playing in wrong positions. The club has no player to play 12 so Liebenburg or Bousses play there. Neither player is anything like that of the skill that other clubs have. Could they play 12 for Toulouse? Toulon? Perpignan? Brive? Clermont? Bayonne? Montpellier? Certainly not.
The coach needs to stop meddling with the backline combination and get combinations right. Playing 3 games in 9 days is no excuse. Esp, when two were loses. Things must be organizaed so that when the injured players return the team can takeoff. Southwell missing does not mean Beauxis should be 15. The clubs has got to find a player or two for depth at 10, 12 and 15. The above mentioned Pumas 10's would be very viable options. Hernandez's departure was last minute and has influenced the team dramatically. They cannot sit back and go all season without replacing him. They do have Ignacio Mieres but he is like Boussès, in that he is not at the level of his team mates. He is not in the top five list of current flyhalves for Argentina or fullbacks. The French backs I am criticising are not likely to make the top 10 in their positions, or even top 15.
1 Roncero 2 Szarewski 3 Marconnet
4 Pape, 5 Palmer
6 Bergamasco, 8 Leguizamon, 7 Haskell
9 Dupuy, 10 Beauxis
12 Gasnier, 13 Bastareaud
11 Phillips, 15 Boussès, 14 Bergamasco
* Haskell at 7 means Parisse can return immediately at 6 with minimal disruption.
* Rabadan to cover 6 if Mauro Bergamasco is not fit.
* Boussès playing 15 to allow the backs to settle. Gasnier is not supposed to play wing, this was never the purpose of buying him. SF Paris's problems at 12 mean it is logical to play him there and use Mirco and Ollie Phillips on the wings.
Stade Français Paris vs Perpignan, 24 octobre 2009, Stade de France. Could SF Paris go into this match actually being in or close to the relegation zone? Game between now and then are all tough: Castres, Bourgoin (well relatively tough), Toulouse and Brive.
Lastly, to the forum's operators: please could you, have a table of the Top14 like you do for the Guinness Premiership. That would be great.
This is a team packed with test players. In todays loss, in which SF were very much outplayed, they had 11 current or former French internationals: Beauxis, Bastareaud, Messina, Liebenberg, Bousses, Dupuy, Rabadan, Papé, Kayser, Szarzewski and Marconnet. Plus Bergamasco (Italy), Leguizamon, Pedro Ledesma and Roncero (Argentina) and Palmer and Haskell (England) plus Ollie Phillips.
This is a team missing key players, but those missing are replaced by test players, i.e. Parisse and Taylor have been replaced by Haskell and Palmer. In the backs, however, its a different story. The team has Dupuy, Bastareaud, Beauxis and Gasnier as its star backs. Bergamasco is not at the same level and the rest are a major drop off in ability. In other words, the club has more stars in the backrow than it does in the entire backline.
This raises the question of why SF Paris recruited who they did? A back row of Juan Leguizamon, Sergio Parisse, Simon Taylor, Mauro Bergamasco, James Haskell and Pierre Rabadan is plainly ridiculous. Leguizamon was great, again, today. Great runs, breaking the line like a centre. So why have Parisse and Taylor in the squad too? the answer is to be the best possible. Yet, the teams options from 10-15 are very, very limited. The problem is there are too many rubbish backs playing for this SF team.
SF Paris are missing Juan Martin Hernandez and with each game the extent of this is becoming more and more clear. Many called for him to play 15 and play Beauxis at 10 last season but that was simply poor judgement. JMH is a vastly superior playmaker with better passing, better kicking an better defence. Beauxis cannot play fullback but this should not factor into determining where Juan Hernandez should play. Thankfully it didn't. Hernandez has left the club, giving Lionel Beauxis the chance to play 10 but there is no cover, none at all. The club needs to find someone and do so now. Liebenburg is not the solution. A few options on the market can be found in Argentina. Santiago Fernandez and Benjamin Urdapilleta. Both are capped internationals, the earlier playing 80 mins in the win over England in June. Surely a club as financially strong cannot go all season without a 10 to support Beauxis? Leicester Tigers have Flood and Vesty. Thats before playing their rubbish third 10, Staunton. Toulouse have Michalak and Skrela.
Last season was not a good one for SF Paris and the reason is the same as what has happened so far this season: the backs are rubbish. No fullback, the star young centre (Bastareaud) being clearly affected by his behaviour in New Zealand in June and since, wings who are really centres and above all else no depth. It was very unfortunate than Ignacio Corleto missed all last season with a shoulder injury and had to retire. They used Camara as his replacement and he was poor defensively. The best example being SF's loss to Harlequins at Stade de France in the Heineken Cup. Camara was out of position for a fullback twice and the Quins got lucky tries as a result. He has been 15 this season a few times already and the same thing has been happening: his position play on defence is poor. Montpellier's simple charge down kick last weekend explaining this perfectly. SF Paris has purchased a good 15, Hugo Southwell (Scotland), but he is injured. No replacement has meant Camara played there and failed so today Beauxis played 15 and again, it was a failure. Beauxis playing 15 meant a poor scrumhalf, Noel Oelschig (South Africa) played 10. A lesson learned surely. Regardless of SF Paris losing to Montauban they only have one flyhalf and that is Lionel Beauxis. Oelschig was so poor all season in 2008/2009. He only played as the club had no other scumhalf, so they bought Agustin Pichot out of retirement for the final few months of the season. Desperation indeed. Despite not playing for almost a year he was able to influence play. Oelschig should be carrying the water bottles. I remember him being dominated by Danny Care in the Quins matches.
Bousses is not a star player. Nor is Messina or Liebenburg. They are the quality of Albi not Stade Francais. The reason they play is the club hasn't bothered buying better backs. A stupid mistake. The club bought Southwell and Phillips who are both good players. Phillips is a wing though and this is where SF Paris are playing Mirco Bergamasco and Mark Gasnier. With Bastareaud being France's test 13 this just highlights my point: buying playing in wrong positions. The club has no player to play 12 so Liebenburg or Bousses play there. Neither player is anything like that of the skill that other clubs have. Could they play 12 for Toulouse? Toulon? Perpignan? Brive? Clermont? Bayonne? Montpellier? Certainly not.
The coach needs to stop meddling with the backline combination and get combinations right. Playing 3 games in 9 days is no excuse. Esp, when two were loses. Things must be organizaed so that when the injured players return the team can takeoff. Southwell missing does not mean Beauxis should be 15. The clubs has got to find a player or two for depth at 10, 12 and 15. The above mentioned Pumas 10's would be very viable options. Hernandez's departure was last minute and has influenced the team dramatically. They cannot sit back and go all season without replacing him. They do have Ignacio Mieres but he is like Boussès, in that he is not at the level of his team mates. He is not in the top five list of current flyhalves for Argentina or fullbacks. The French backs I am criticising are not likely to make the top 10 in their positions, or even top 15.
1 Roncero 2 Szarewski 3 Marconnet
4 Pape, 5 Palmer
6 Bergamasco, 8 Leguizamon, 7 Haskell
9 Dupuy, 10 Beauxis
12 Gasnier, 13 Bastareaud
11 Phillips, 15 Boussès, 14 Bergamasco
* Haskell at 7 means Parisse can return immediately at 6 with minimal disruption.
* Rabadan to cover 6 if Mauro Bergamasco is not fit.
* Boussès playing 15 to allow the backs to settle. Gasnier is not supposed to play wing, this was never the purpose of buying him. SF Paris's problems at 12 mean it is logical to play him there and use Mirco and Ollie Phillips on the wings.
Stade Français Paris vs Perpignan, 24 octobre 2009, Stade de France. Could SF Paris go into this match actually being in or close to the relegation zone? Game between now and then are all tough: Castres, Bourgoin (well relatively tough), Toulouse and Brive.
Lastly, to the forum's operators: please could you, have a table of the Top14 like you do for the Guinness Premiership. That would be great.
