The fight for maintenance will be tight until the end. After two games without defeat, the Montalbanais must take advantage of the arrival of the Provençals to garner crucial points for the rest of the debates.
Before the end of the year truce we wrote that the fight to maintain could concern five teams. Today this possibility is becoming more and more thick, and every weekend the smallest point taken will be worth almost gold. If we put aside Massy (19 points) there are therefore five teams (Soyaux-Angoulême, Carcassonne, USM, Rouen, and Béziers) who are tightly tied to try to avoid second place in relegated, since there are only seven points difference between Soyaux-Angoulême (15th), and Béziers (11th). With their victory against Soyaux-Angoulême just before the holidays, and the bonus point brought back from Biarritz last week, the Sapiacains have given themselves some breathing space and could get their heads above water even more with the reception of the Provencals in the basin. Four or five points if affinities which could even allow the Tarn-et-Garonnais to nibble space. But opposite, Provence rugby (current 9th, 36 points) must also react after sharing the points last week against Grenoble, with a view to continuing to eye one of the six qualifying places.
The great return of Shaun Venter
For this second consecutive game before a break, and a block of six games in a row, the staff presents a deeply reworked team with no less than nine changes in the starting fifteen. The big news is obviously the great return to the fray of South African Shaun Venter. After a most convincing start to the season, the player’s momentum came to a halt in mid-October. After the defeat in Aurillac we did not see him anymore, well supplemented by the other scrum-half Quentin Delord, Anthony Méric, and Alexis Bernadet. This evening, he will be associated with Jérôme Bosviel who leaves the position of back to return to the opening; suddenly it is the Argentinian Segundo Tuculet who will start at fullback. In the aftermath it is almost the entire back line which is turned upside down, with also the returns to the center of Paul Bonnefond, and Benjamin Puntous, the wings remaining for Semesa Rokoduguni, and Bastien Guillemin. With five changes behind, there are therefore four who intervene on the package of forwards: in the 3rd row, return as holder of Fred Quercy (who will also be captain), associated with Tyrone Viiga, and Quentin Wiit; in the second line Kévin Gimeno is renewed and will be associated with Tjiuee Uanivi; finally in the first line we change the pillars, while the hooker Arnaud Feltrin remains faithful to the position.
A minute of silence for Elhana
Shaun Venter returns
Four straight losses
Et de 150 pour Leka Tupoola
The weekend program
