Top 14 Day 15

[Big Ewis]

An interesting match-up on Friday night. Lyon still hanging in there thus far this season and not quite yet in the relegatable seat. Paris out there to prove they really are the top club in all of France, and out to extend their good run on the road for the season.

Saturday, we've got notably Montpypolska hosting a pride-wounded (and just, literally wounded) Toulon side. Toulon in a rough patch atm, having just been thrashed in the capital, now going into a boiling cauldron that is Altrad Stadium. They could slide into a serendipitous confusion from the locals and take advantage of it picking up another tasty road win, or they could very much run into an angry beast hungry to correct recent neglect as of this very first big test for them.
Castres as of the last two games have found good form again, and resemble the side we've enjoyed last year. They'll be looking to get valuable points and at least move away from that bottom spot, as they host the second 'worst'.
Racing Métro in a trick match. They're at home, are now one of the big stables of the Top 14 and all and are hosting a side that may not be lackluster but that are still below them. Bordeaux just put 45 on Brive and it should've been 60 easy. They've got one heck of a pack, a big scrum, good lineout, and their strength doesn't even lie up front but in the backs. Racing are off a very underwhelming performance in Toulouse, themselves dire but still victors. Depending on what side Bordeaux-Bègles sends out in the Francilian North, I could actually see an upset on the horizon here.

The Sunday fixture used to be an epic one. It doesn't seem quite as prestigious these days...Clermont; can you actually believe now third; need points and a whole five would not come as only luxury. With Toulouse this season, absolutely and I do insist absolutely no way to know what lies ahead of us for the game. Clermont are the more intelligent, adaptive, reactive and in-control side. I cannot see any way the ST has the resources to win but a DB point isn't impossible. Let's wait for the lineups.

 

[Every Time Ref]

Depending on what side Bordeaux-Bègles sends out in the Francilian North...

Is it common for Top 14 sides to send weak teams to away games? I hear a lot that away wins are "like gold dust" in T14 (looking at the table it doesn't look like they're as rare as is made out, but still) - does this mean teams, even big teams, target certain games and basically give up on others?

 

[Big Ewis]

Is it common for Top 14 sides to send weak teams to away games? I hear a lot that away wins are "like gold dust" in T14 (looking at the table it doesn't look like they're as rare as is made out, but still) - does this mean teams, even big teams, target certain games and basically give up on others?

This has been asked and answered extensively before on this very forum. So in stead of sending you on a noble quest to find those ancient archives of ancientness I will answer you in points. Once you get 5 points, you can access level 2, in which you must defeat the boss and then unlock a hidden inventory item, which will...no wait, I'll just answer you in points...:
- Top 14 is long, very long. Realistically, a Top 14 club cannot expect to play its best 23 every single week. Guys need to be rested. Staffs need to rotate, play those other guys and test out their other players and academy products. It's not that teams just give up when away like foreigners like to imagine, think, that's just a bizarre thought really. The reality is simply management of a long season, where a team realistically sometimes is happy with a defensive bonus or trying out new things successfully that will serve them later in the season, confirming aspects and players' potentials. Like, Brive for e.g. don't really have a choice and will field many of their best to even have a chance at all away; but a side like Bordeaux has enough depth to rest some major guys so they're fresher/avoid injury and can nail it the next game at home and overtime forge a more successful, efficient, less individual-dependent season.
If you take the example of Brive again, they sent out a good team to Paris and managed a super tight loss and defensive bonus, but last week went to Bordeaux and got smashed with again a nearly top squad. So they don't "throw games away" like for e.g. Castres do in the Euro Cup or most Top 14 clubs in the Challenge, but it's just season management. Clermont and Toulon (Toulouse, Paris to some extent) win away because they've got that much depth, use it that well, and are that good generally. Toulon didn't get thrashed in Paris because they didn't compete last Sunday, they just got outplayed big time.
As the season progresses, clubs will start targeting games and field top squads to go out into away arenas because points really come in handy.
- Add to that int'ls, tons of injuries...they need to try guys out and can't go crazy all year long for away games.

There, I hope you enjoyed ingesting lots of alcoholic fluids for the new year and also this most in-depth, insightful piece of information judiciously organized in successive points for your quicker reading.

Could you give me a similar (not necessarily as brilliantly written) Japanese beer for Prem ?
By Japanese beer it's possible I meant 'explanation' but I've been watchin' you, and I've got a feeling your perspicacity drove you to that conclusion anyways.

 

[gaston le gaff]

I could also add that no teams travel away from home to lose, every single team always tries to win but as is said by BE the teams are sometimes not the strongest as players have to be rested it's 26 games plus the ECC games min. 6 and if there are Internationals in the squads even more for them.
Its a battle every week with a war lasting the whole season. You only have to ask the players who are, or have been involved just how tough it really is.
Jake White at his very first press conference yesterday and i was present, he first comment was the TOP 14 is the toughest championship in the world he said that not me, and he has only been here 4 days!!!!

not sure Japanese beer has anything to do with it but there you go!!!!!!

Everyone have a great 2015 HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM MONTPELLIER!!!!

 

[Big Ewis]

 

[gaston le gaff]

Jake White's first selection for Montpellier will it be good enough find out tomorrow!!!! fast active backrow and Lucas back at 10!!!!

Le XV de départ: Berard ; Ranger, Tuitavake, Olivier, Dupont ; (o) Lucas, (m) Paillaugue ; Mowen, Tulou, Ouedraogo ; Timani, Donnelly ; Mas, Geli, Nariashvili.

Remplaçants: Ivaldi, Leleimalefaga, Tchale-Watchou, Bias, Pelissié, Sicart, Artru, Cilliers.


Toulons selection for tomorrow. 2 ex Montpellierians Eric Escande and Mamuka Gordodze

Le XV de départ: Halfpenny ; Mitchell, Bastareaud, Wulf, Habana ; (o) Sanchez, (m) Escande ; S. Armitage, Masoe, Gorgodze ; Taofifenua, Suta ; Hayman, Guirado, Chiocci.
Remplaçants: Orioli, Fresia, Williams, J. Smith, Hernandez, Mermoz, Claassens, Chilachava.

 

[Draggs]

I see Joke has already started; criticising Montauban saying they would play in front of five men and a dog. Good luck!

 

[Tony Manx]

I see Joke has already started; criticising Montauban saying they would play in front of five men and a dog. Good luck!

Lost me I am afraid!!

 

[Big Ewis]

Racing rocking their best possible pack.

VS

dat backline..

Indeed gaston, and it's el Mago's first in rouge et noir. He looked fantastic against France last November, let's see what he's got for the Var region now.

 

[FrenchFan]

Montpellier need a proper head coach not some half-baked consultant out of nowhere

Another mercenary we don't need.

Hey Jake this is not SA here. Tune in or **** off.

 

[Draggs]

Lost me I am afraid!!

Jake has started with his stupid statements:
http://www.rugby365.fr/infos-clubs/montpellier/montpellier-white-se-moque-de-montauban-1196324.shtml

He caused issues with us last year, seems he and the players didn't get on. I know some of our guys needed a kick up the backside, but he had stupid ideas like playing a 19 year old centre on the flank.

 

[Every Time Ref]

Could you give me a similar (not necessarily as brilliantly written) Japanese beer for Prem ?

A Japanese beer / explanaiton of what? I guess the team management thing is pretty similar, although I believe less so as a) the season is not so intense (there being fewer teams in the league, the extra weekends are taken up by the LV Cup, which is essentially a second team competition) and b) teams don't tend to have the same depth - Northampton / Bath / Saracens probably have notably better depth than the rest of the division but if you compare the Northampton and Toulon second XVs I can't imagine they would look comparable in terms of class, experience and numbers of proven international quality players. No Prem team could dream of signing Nico Sanchez, arguably the best ten in the world last year, as temporary cover, that's inconceivable.

Happy new year to you too

 

[Tony Manx]

Jake has started with his stupid statements:
http://www.rugby365.fr/infos-clubs/montpellier/montpellier-white-se-moque-de-montauban-1196324.shtml

He caused issues with us last year, seems he and the players didn't get on. I know some of our guys needed a kick up the backside, but he had stupid ideas like playing a 19 year old centre on the flank.

oK!! Thanks!!

Not sure that very many people really rate the guy that highly (at least nowadays) and am surprised at the Montypellier choice.....other driven by desperation but what do I know.

We have Eddie O'Sullivan now and he is doing well.....maybe MHR will come for him!!!

 

[Tony Manx]

Morne Steyn sent off (33 min) for a fairly innocuous kick at a Lyon player who seemed to have a hand on Steyn's face!

 

[gaston le gaff]

unfortunately a kick is a kick and the guy was just pushing him away !! well thats i saw it, and its similar to a head butt even if there is no connection its red dont kick its easy!!!!!! What Jake said about Montauban was absolutely inoffensive it could have been anywhere, i was present at the interview, they that is Jake and the President Altrad have apologized ON TWITTER end of story, people are so fickle these days.

 

[Tony Manx]

Good to see Steve Brett up and playing well after his shocking treatment at Bayonne...............tarred with the Phillips brush wrongly!!

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Oops can I still say that these days?

Edit....any idiot that still thinks that Top 14 is just about attrition should be watching this game and the many others I have seen this season!!!

 

[dragos03]

That was a very harsh red card. That wasn't a strong kick and the Lyon guy clearly had a hand on his face before that reaction.

 

[Tony Manx]

Januarie still has an awesome pass.................shame the LOU backs keep dropping the ball even when there is no one around to challenge them! Their mistakes against 14 men will cost them this match................

 

[dragos03]

Lyon keep dropping easy balls and giving away free penalties. It looks like they are really trying to lose this match.

 

[Tony Manx]

The only way they know how to play, seemingly, is to run run run and run some more!!!

Very entertaining but staggered they have not had at least on prop yellow carded yet!!

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Bottom beats top!!

Well done LOU!