Two notable events marked the week in French rugby – limited crowds returned to stadiums for the first time since October, and a new broadcast deal means Top 14 rugby has finally returned to TV screens in Britain and Ireland.
Pay-TV broadcaster Premier Sports will show four live games every weekend during the season to the end of the 2022/23 campaign, as well as a half-hour highlights show.
And they clearly couldn’t wait until next season to get started – picking up four games in the penultimate weekend of the season, just as the business of play-off qualification and relegation escapology becomes red alert serious.
Premier Sports could not have asked for much more from their opening French rugby game.
Stade Francais and Lyon ran in four tries apiece in an enthralling match at Stade Jean Bouin. The boot of the Paris side’s 24-year-old fly-half Joris Segonds was the difference, as he got the better of more experienced international opposite number Jean-Marc Doussain. While the latter’s kicking boots let him down, Segonds converted all his side’s tries, and added six penalties.
The 46-27 result was double-edged. It catapulted Stade Francais provisionally into the play-off places, and ended Lyon’s hopes of a top-six finish with one game remaining.
Premier Sports had done well to avoid the first match with a crowd. Philippe Saint-Andre had raided Montpellier‘s academy set-up to take a 23 to Bordeaux for a catch-up match on Tuesday, four days after the club had lifted the Challenge Cup title at Twickenham.
A glance at the two sides at Chaban Delmas was enough to predict the outcome. While Saint-Andre gave his European heroes a rest, Bordeaux’s Christophe Urios went all-in with his selection as he searched for a crucial win.
The result was … inevitable. Montpellier’s future stars were brave and diligent, and quick and inventive. In a few years, some of them will form the core of a formidable squad. On Tuesday, they were comprehensively outgunned. Bordeaux ran in eight tries in front of 1,000 baying fans, to win 57-9 and move level on points with La Rochelle.
Montpellier’s three-games-innine-days run ended with a 23-19 win at home against Bayonne. The losing bonus point for the visitors just about ensures their safety, after Pau fell to a 51-27 defeat at La Rochelle.
Former Munsterman Darren Sweetnam scored his first and second tries to ensure Ronan O’Gara’s side picked up a bonus point.
It was Louis Carbonel v Mathieu Jalibert in a battle of the France 10 hopefuls at Toulon‘s Stade Mayol yesterday afternoon. Both showed more than a few flashes to impress Fabien Galthie as he plots his touring party for Australia – more of which anon.
But it was Facundo Isa who scored the decisive try late in the game, blunderbussing through scrum-half Maxime Lucu from close range to take the hosts out of range.
The 25-19 win meant Toulon reclaimed the sixth and final playoff place that Stade Francais had taken from them less than 24 hours previously. Bordeaux, despite picking up no points yesterday, are assured a play-off place for the first time in their history.
Agen’s top-flight misery continued as they lost 14-54 at home to Racing 92, conceding their 1,000th point of the season in the process.
Castres, meanwhile, kept their play-off hopes alive with a 33-28 win at Brive – their twelfth victory in their last 15 games. Ironically, a home loss against Jeremy Davidson’s side back in December was the catalyst for the Castrian turnaround in fortunes. But the 2018 champions still need results elsewhere in the final round of the season to go their way.
Four teams – Toulouse, La Rochelle, Racing 92 and Bordeaux – are now certain of the play-offs. Clermont had a chance to join them but fell to Toulouse at Stade Ernest Wallon in last night’s late match.
Stade Francais, Toulon and Castres, meanwhile, remain in the hunt for the final play-off slot.
The Top 14 may be over for the week, but this is not the end of the weekend’s rugby. This afternoon, Perpignan entertain Oyonnax and Vannes face Biarritz in the ProD2 semi-finals.
Next weekend, all seven Top 14 matches are at the same time – 9pm on Saturday evening. Clubs were hoping to persuade broadcaster Canal Plus to bring forward the kick-off time to avoid the Covid curfew that is still in place so they can allow fans into the grounds. But for now it looks as if the broadcaster is holding firm and keeping its primetime live sports package.
Back to the tour. World Rugby this week formally confirmed all the July internationals. France’s tour of Australia is, as expected, listed. But there was concern this week that stringent health requirements demanded by the Australian government, the size of the squad wanted by Fabien Galthie to play three Tests in 11 days, and the added costs involved could force its cancellation.
The FFR remains confident the tour will go ahead as scheduled – but Galthie wants 42 players at his disposal. All of them would be guaranteed a ten-week break before playing again, meaning several clubs would be without their internationals for the first four weeks of the season.
JAMES HARRINGTON
The best betting sites
