Top 14: Round 19 preview
With the dust barley settled after a European weekend, Clermont visit Racing on Wednesday while the Basque derby headlines on Thursday.
Last Updated: 27/01/10 9:43am
Just four days after running Viadana ragged in Europe, leaders Clermont face a stiffer challenge when they head to Paris to take on in-form Racing Metro.
Despite having nothing to play for, Racing dug deep to beat Wasps in the Challenge Cup on Thursday.
After consecutive defeats to Bourgoin and Perpignan ended their nine-match winning streak, les Franciliens would obviously be looking to get their challenge for the play-offs back on track - no easy task against a free-scoring Clermont side bubbling with confidence.
Good news for the hosts however is Clermont's decision to rest skipper Aurélien Rougerie, prop Thomas Domingo, hooker Mario Ledesma, locks Jamie Cudmore and Thibault Privat and wing Napolioni Nalaga.
All of Racing's stars are fit for action (Nallet, Chabal, Steyn, Massi etc).
Toulon will be in high spirits after running six tries past Castres to qualify for the Challenge Cup quarter-finals - and they now have their sights sets on beating Montpellier and close in on a play-off spot.
Jonny Wilkinson is away at an England training camp in Portugal but Toulon are by no means short of firepower as Pumas playmaker Felipe Contepomi is set to wear number ten. Back row Fernandez Lobbe, scrum-half Pierre Mignoni and centre Sonny Bill Williams also return to the squad.
Montpellier have been in good form of late, claiming the scalps of Stade Français and Castres at home, but the question marks over the ability to travel remain. French internationals Francois Trinh-Duc and Fulgence Ouedraogo will start.
After a massively disappointing European campaign - they didn't win a single game - Brive's hopes of salvaging their season lie in their slim, but realistic, chances of making the Top 14 play-offs.
Riot act
Off the back of wins against Toulouse, Perpignan and Abli the Corréziens have a golden opportunity to throw their name into the play-offs hat, especially considering that rivals Stade Français and Biarritz have tricky away matches.
Of course it'll all mean nothing if they can't beat a Montauban side that has won just once in seven games.
Brive welcome back recently called-up France squad members Alexis Palisson and Fabrice Estebanez after they were rested for the Scarlets' visit last weekend.
If Stade Français play with the same boring predictability they did in Edinburgh, they have little chance of picking up points in Castres on Thursday.
Coach Jacques Delmas has been reading the riot act all week as another defeat could see the Parisians fall off the pace in the play-offs race.
Despite setting the pace for most of the season so far, only one Castres player (prop Luc Ducalcon) has made France's Six Nations squad, meaning the Tarnais are a solid bet to finish the regular season in the top two. Off the back of an away losses to Montpellier in the Top 14 and Toulon (albeit with a below-strength team) in the Almin Challenge, the co-leaders will be out to rebuild some momentum.
The form stats don't look good for the Stade Français who have yet to win on the road this year (although they have picked up four draws) while Castres are unbeaten at home.
At least the Parisians will have a specialist scrum-half, for a change, after young Benjamin Tardy was unable to play in the Heineken Cup. Hugo Southwell should move back to full-back.
Since the creation of the Top 14, Albi have never beaten Toulouse at the Stadium Municipal and with a group of the visitors smarting from being dropped from the national side, things could get messy.
Romped
Albi have nothing more than a mathematical chance of avoiding relegation while Toulouse will be putting the pedal to the metal to catch the leaders.
The hosts have however shown signs of life at home. Wins against Perpignan and Biarritz are worth noting, as well as their impressive performance in Toulouse is September when they came desperately close to a huge upset.
After four straight losses in all competitions, Perpignan romped a moral-boosting victory over Racing-Metro in the last round.
However, defeat to Northampton would have rubbed salt into their European wounds (meaning they've loss six of their last nine starts) so expect the defending champions to come out and make a statement.
That's not good news for relegation-threatened Bourgoin, who were 17-6 winners when the teams met in September. It's been an up and down ride for the Berjalliens since then but qualification for the Challenge Cup quarter-finals is a positive sign.
One of the most fiery rivalries in world rugby is set to get even more explosive as Bayonne fight to save their Top 14 lives and Biarritz grapple to stay in play-off contention.
Already six points behind Bourgoin in the first non-relegation position, another loss for Bayonne would spell disaster. Since the arrival of new head coach Christian Gajan, the Bayonnais have scored moral-boosting but largely meaningless wins against Racing-Métro and Roma in the Amlin Challenge. Time for the real stuff.
In eighth place, Biarritz are in a spot of bother themselves. Despite looking good in Europe, their domestic campaign is on the verge of being completely derailed after their loss at the Stade de France in Round 18.