Top 14 Round 15: Preview

Damien Traille: Will skipper Biarritz against Agen

Biarritz will look to build on their 25-6 win over Toulon when they entertain the Top 14 surprise package Agen on Friday.

Biarritz, the 2010 Heineken Cup finalists, finally found their form when they totally dominated Toulon - and based on that form, it's hard to see them remaining in trouble for long.

The trip to Agen will offer Biarritz a chance to climb off the foot of the table since Lyon are unlikely to pick up any points in Toulouse.

But it would be wrong to bet your house on Biarritz this weekend, especially since fifth-placed Agen have been near-unbeatable in their seven home games this season.

Biarritz's record on the road isn't great either with just two wins in 17 visits to Agen and only one success in seven away games this season.

Damien Traille, who failed to make France's Six Nations squad, returns at inside centre for Biarritz and will captain the side. Fabien Barcella and Romain Terrain are back from injury and on the bench.

Toulouse insist they will not take Lyon for granted despite being big favourites to beat the minnows.

Lyon are just a point off the bottom but they proved they are a dangerous proposition for most sides holding Clermont to a draw last week.

Toulouse, though, will be bolstered by the return of full-back Clement Poitrenaud, Yann David, Patricio Albacete and South African prop Gurthro Steenkamp.

Wobble

However, Daan Human, Rupeni Caucaunibuca, Ruslan Boukerou, Gary Botha and Gilian Galan are all still out injured, while Vincent Clerc, Florian Fritz, Maxime Medard and Yoann Maestri are rested.

Stade Français coach Micheal Cheika has called on his side to bounce back from their defeat to Bordeaux when they entertain Castres.

Stade, whose six-game winning run came to a halt against Bordeaux, face one of the most important games of the season as victory would bring them within touching distance of the leading quartet while defeat is likely to see them drop out of the play-off places.

Third-placed Castres seem to have got their campaign back on track after putting 33 points past Perpignan last week following a midseason wobble.

All the movement behind the scenes has yet to pay dividends for Bayonne, who are winless in four games and just two points clear of the relegation zone.

And they now face a Bordeaux side that produced the shock of Round 14 when they hammered Stade Français.

The good news for Bayonne's expensively-assembled squad, though, is that their visitors on Saturday have yet to win two games in a row this season and have won just once on the road in six attempts.

Dwayne Haare comes into the Bayonne side in the place of injured Julien Puricelli.

Brive's victory in Montpellier at the start of the season was the biggest upset of Round Two but they have failed to build on that result and are currently sitting on a six-game winless streak.

Nightmare

Brive's saving grace has been their ability to pick up a bonus point in nearly all of their games. It's a sign that they are competitive, but if they can't turn narrow losses into successful results soon, they are in real danger of being relegated.

By contrast, Montpellier have bounced back from a nightmare start to the season to climb back into play-off contention. Montpellier have won four of their last five games and have the second-best away record in the league.

Two heavyweights of the French game face off in Catalonia after disappointing defeats last week - with Perpignan comprehensively beaten in Castres and Racing Metro losing to Montpellier.

With the worse defensive record in the championship and just one win in nine games, the pressure is mounting on Perpignan.

Racing have had an inconsistent season, marked by poor form on the road and troubles off the field that saw Simon Mannix ejected from the coaching staff recently.

Their injury woes seem to be drawing to an end however and the return of Frans Steyn to the group for the first time this season is a major boost.

The big game of the weekend sees Toulon travel to the most difficult ground to win at in France - Clermont's Parc des Sports Marcel Michelin.

Neither side has impressed of late with Clermont managing just five penalties in their last two games, whist Toulon were outplayed by bottom side Biarritz last week.

But Clermont remain the championship's top try-scorers and are - as usual - unbeaten at home this season.

Toulon's record in the Auvergne suggests another home victory since they have lost on all 13 of their previous visits to volcano country.