La Rochelle and Toulouse can already qualify

Clermont on a ventilator

Clermont is not at its best when it comes to playing Europe. The last few weeks have been stifling in Auvergne, between the announced departure of senior players including international winger Damian Penaud, insults and threats from the stands of Michelin, the resignation of three-quarter coach Xavier Sadourny and results in Sawtooth.

But the victory against Usap (31-20) in the Top 14 was a real breath of fresh air. The Clermontois (8th, 5 pts) breathe better and await the English from Leicester (3rd, 8 pts) firmly on Friday.

“It’s a competition that has always been close to our hearts. After mentally difficult weeks, we are all happy to return to the European Cup and ready to give everything against Leicester, ”promised center Samuel Ezeala. “We have to play it hard. We won’t let anyone come here without us fighting to defend our stadium.”

La Rochelle aims for the pass of three

Fallouts of Northampton (46-12) then Ulster (36-29), the Rochelais assume their status as defending champions. The arrival of the Irish in Marcel-Deflandre, where the maritime club remains on a demonstration in front of Toulouse (30-7) in the league, is timely.

A new success against Ulster would allow the teammates of Antoine Hastoy (42 points), the competition’s top scorer, to consolidate their place (1st, 9 pts). Even without internationals Uini Atonio and Pierre Bourgarit, injured.

Toulouse eagerly awaited

Upset by the slap received by his team in December (45-19), Sale coach Alex Sanderson immediately made an appointment with Toulouse: “I can’t wait to face them again in Manchester during an after- cold and rainy noon.

The five-time European champions, off to a good start in the competition with two successes in two matches (2nd, 9 pts), have been warned: after the tense end of the first leg, they will therefore be expected firmly on Saturday in England, under less favorable climatic conditions.

“We will be on hostile ground there, but I think we have the weapons to respond to it,” said scrum-half and Toulouse captain Antoine Dupont. “To achieve the objectives that are ours, we must be able to play in several ways”.

The Sharks, second in the English championship, will find some teeth with the international center Manu Tuilagi.

Racing 92 no longer has a choice

Outclassed by the Irish from Leinster (42-10), then dominated by the English from Harlequins (14-10), Racing 92 finds itself with its back to the wall before the 3rd day of the Champions Cup.

Business seems to be off to a bad start for the Ile-de-France club, which also remains on five matches without a win. To finish in the sixteen teams that will play the final phase, the men of Laurent Travers must win their next two matches, including the first, at home, against Harlequins. With the bonus. Impossible mission?

Montpellier (9th, 5 pts), reigning French champion, will seek revenge in Wales against the Ospreys (7th, 5 pts), while Lyon (10th, 2 pts) will try to raise their heads on the field Saracens (3rd, 9 pts).

For its part, Bordeaux-Bègles (9th, 2 pts) will go to South Africa to seek its first victory on the ground of the Sharks before Castres, which clearly gives priority to the Top 14, receives Edinburgh on Sunday.