JAMES HARRINGTON
FRENCH COLUMN
The Top 14 returned after a three-week international break for two rounds ahead of the start of the European competitions, with England head coach Eddie Jones in the south-west of the country, watching a match featuring a player in action for Montpellier he routinely overlooked.
Jones was in the stands at the GGL Stadium for the match between Montpellier and Castres, seated between the visiting side's president Pierre-Yves Revol and director of rugby Matthias Rolland.
It wasn't the host's summer signing Zach Mercer that Jones came to see, but he could not fail to be impressed by the back rower's performance and workrate in a full-throated encounter that was only decided at the death.
The England boss knows Castres' head coach Pierre-Henry Broncan, who used to be on the staff at Bath, and was at the visitors' Levezou training ground on Friday, for their final session before the 2018 Top 14 champions headed south.
Mercer has slotted incredibly well into the Philippe Saint-Andre system at Montpellier. He was in eye-catching form in the back row, alongside Fulgence Ouedraogo on his club record 332nd outing, on Saturday in both defence and attack.
Things have gone so well this season, in fact, that club owner Mohed Altrad recently namechecked the former Bath player in an interview, saying that he was no longer interested in chasing what would have been a megamoney deal for Springbok Pieter Steph Du Toit, because Mercer had been so impressive so far.
Mercer, on a two-year contract at Montpellier, has not ruled out a return to English rugby. “Coming to Montpellier was a serious challenge for me,” he told Midi Olympique in September. “I want to have fun … that's what keeps me going.
“I didn't sign in Montpellier to annoy anyone, but for me. What's got to happen will happen, and I hope people in England will figure it out, but today I'm having a blast discovering the Top 14, with a really special group of guys.”
He left the field, completely gassed, with less than three minutes left on the clock and the host's six points behind after a first score from the visitor's Teariki Ben-Nicholas. A minute later, Montpellier teammate Julien Tisseron scored the decisive try in a comeback 25-24 win.
Castres, however, will be wondering how they managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. They won the try count four-three – including two scores in the 70th and 73rd minute to open up a six-point gap with the clock rapidly ticking down. But Ben Botica had already missed two conversions, and the visitors shipped late penalties to give the hosts one last chance – which they took.
Whatever else, there will be plenty for former referee-turnedconsultant coach Cedric Clave to work on next week at Castres to tone down the penalty count, ahead of the visit of Racing 92 in the final Top 14 match before the European competitions kick off.
Clermont's young winger Cheikh Tiberghien scored the first of his two tries of the day less than two minutes into the match at Perpignan's Stade Aime Giral. But like Castres, they will be wondering how they turned a likely win on the road into defeat. Clermont went in to the break 21-10 ahead, but only scored three points in the second half, eventually losing 26-24, courtesy of a last-minute touchdown from Alan Brazo, converted by France fullback Melvyn Jaminet – one of 13 France internationals straight back into club action this weekend.
“Mohed Altrad is so impressed with Mercer that he is no longer interested in Pieter Steph Du Toit”
La Rochelle's scrum-half Jules Le Bail darted over after just five minutes of another sold-out match at Marcel Deflandre against Pau to kickstart a flurry of tries.
The hosts ran in five and the visitors one, but all the scoring was done by the 50th minute as Ronan O'Gara's side won 36-8 – killing off the game with 14 points in the opening ten minutes of the second period, after rounding off the opening half with a five-pointer.
Perpignan's win at home to Clermont meant Biarritz had to beat Stade Francais to stay in touch at the bottom of the table. An early try from Tomas Cubelli and a late score from hooker Bastien Soury – who joined the club on a short-term medical joker contract and who played all 80 minutes – helped ensure the Basque Country side won 17-14.
The Perpignan-Clermont and Biarritz-Stade Francais results meant under-new-management Toulon kicked off their match against Lyon at Stade Mayol provisionally at the foot of the table.
But they jumped back to 11th with a hard-fought 19-13 win, three second-half Louis Carbonel penalties the crucial difference after Duncan Paia'aua and Tavite Veredamu had traded tries either side of halftime.
Players and fans' thoughts, however, were with Lyon's Mathieu Bastareaud, who was stretchered off the pitch with a knee injury four minutes into his second match back from a ten-month lay-off. Fans from both sides – Bastareaud remains a cult hero at Toulon after his eight season stint at the club between 2011 and 2019 – gave him a standing ovation as he was carried off.
Toulouse, missing all but Thibault Flament of their Autumn International players, had a real scare against Brive –a side looking for their first win at Ernest Wallon in well over a decade. And, until Enzo Herve was sent off midway through the second half after his wild attempt at a hack-on hit Toulouse's Baptiste Germain in the head, they had a shot. But Toulouse, despite lacking their usual snap and discipline, maintained their perfect run at home this season with a hardfought 18-11 win that denied the visitors even a losing bonus.
Racing 92, with Gael Fickou and Virimi Vakatawa reunited in midfield, host Bordeaux at La Defense Arena tonight in what promises to be the match of an already entertaining Top 14 weekend.
