The day after a fruitful European campaign for French clubs, the Top 14 resumed its rights this Friday with a 21st day truncated by the Covid-19 which has already caused the postponement of four matches.
After two European Cup weekends, Toulouse and La Rochelle, both qualified in the last continental square, resume their duel from a distance at the top of the Top 14.
The Toulouse leader will return to his domestic duties during a derby in Castres with a reshaped workforce. His internationals Cyril Baille, Julien Marchand and Antoine Dupont were notably left to rest.
A boon for CO? Not necessarily, according to the second line of Castres Loïc Jacquet, who is wary of the Haut-Garonnais reservoir: “If Toulouse replaces Arnold with Tekori, do you think that’s good news?”
Second in the standings three lengths from Stade Toulouse, La Rochelle will close for its part its enchanted European parenthesis with the reception of Lyon, well revived in the race for the Top 6.
Pau plays his skin
Six days from the end of the regular season, all games count for Pau in the perspective of maintenance. But the one against Bayonne on Friday evening counts even more than the others, and not only for departmental supremacy.
Seven points separate in the standings the Basques de l’Aviron, twelfth, from the Béarnais of the Section, thirteenth and penultimate.
The Palois therefore have no right to make mistakes at home, in this Pyrenees-Atlantiques derby, if they want to save themselves a downhill barrage.
It will be without their opener and playing master Antoine Hastoy, whose absence due to injury will soon be compensated by the reinforcement of the weight of the South African world champion Elton Jantjies.
Covid-19, the return
The Covid-19 was remembered this week in good memory of the Top 14 with four matches postponed.
The ax first fell on Montpellier-Toulon on Monday because of positive cases within the Var workforce. The postponement of Agen-Bordeaux-Bègles was announced to him on Wednesday after several contaminations in the ranks of Gironde.
And the Ile-de-France Racing-Stade derby, which was to be played in prime time on Saturday evening, was postponed in turn Thursday as a precaution, Racing 92 having faced the UBB last Sunday in the quarter-finals of the Coupe d ‘ Europe.
A few hours later, it was Brive-Clermont which fell by the wayside, after the CAB “found the presence of six positive cases for Covid-19 (British variant) within its workforce”.
Racing-Stade Français will be played the first weekend of May. However, for the other two matches, everything will depend on the performance of UBB and Montpellier in their semi-finals of the European Cup and European Challenge, respectively against Toulouse and Bath.
In the event of defeat, Montpellier-Toulon and Agen-UBB should be able to be held the weekend of May 22. In the event of qualification for the European final, these matches could be postponed to the week, Tuesday 11 May.
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