The first place of the Top 14 will be at stake on Saturday between La Rochelle and Toulouse, one of the three late matches scheduled for this weekend. Postponed at the end of January due to cases of Covid-19 within the Toulouse workforce, this duel at the top between two of the great animators of the season will not have quite the same flavor without their respective Blues.
The stakes are nonetheless high since only one point separates the leader from La Rochelle from his rival Haut-Garonnais, who fell to third place after his defeat last week in Lyon (31-23), the first since November.
Taking back control of the standings would be a feat for Toulouse: La Rochelle is the last team still unbeaten at home this season, even if it suffered last weekend to overcome Stade Français (16-11) in its Marcel-Deflandre stadium.
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Clermont full of ambitions
In the left corner: Agen, sixteen defeats in as many matches since the start of the season, a (sad) league record.
In the right corner: Clermont, a safe bet in the Top 14, which remains on a resounding victory at home against Bayonne (73-3), punctuated by ten tries.
The two teams clearly do not box in the same category and it is difficult to see what could prevent the Clermontois from signing a new show of force.
The Auvergne club, which coach Franck Azéma will leave at the end of the season, can consolidate its fourth place and move closer to the top three in the event of enhanced success.
The final holding of the Toulon – Bayonne meeting on Friday evening is still suspended from the results of Covid-19 screening tests carried out on Thursday in Toulon, where three positive cases have been detected since last week, two among players and one among the framing.
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