The Top 14 season kicks off again on Friday night with the usual intrigue and suspense around what is arguably the most competitive league in the world. The difference between play off places and relegation has, in recent years, only been a handful of points. And it is a league where its notoriously difficult for the away side to win, even in the case of the heavyweights like Toulon and Clermont against the so called ‘smaller teams. All you need is to look at Clermont’s away defeat to the relegated Lyon last year or eventual champions Stade Francais’ heavy defeat away to Brive and see that nothing is a sure thing in this competition.
With little gap between the top and the bottom, the Rugby Drum will take a look at the title contenders and the teams that will likely battle it out to avoid relegation.
Title Contenders
Toulon has to be regarded as the favourite despite losing 17 players for the World Cup simply due to the quality and depth of their squad. As per usual, they have recruited well during the off-season to add to an already outstanding squad. Charles Ollivon the very promising no.8 from Bayonne, Samu Manoa from Northampton Saints with his physical presence and playing style destined to be a success over at the Stade Mayol. And if you add in the beast qualities of current internationals Ma’a Nonu and Duane Vermeulen, it’s fair to say it will take a great effort from other teams to beat the champions of Europe.
However, the Top 14 season spans over a number of international breaks (Rugby World Cup and 6 Nations) so they could be vulnerable should they lose a number of their big stars. Their scrum was also one of the team’s few weaknesses last season so it’s not written in the stars for Toulon just yet.
Clermont are always there and thereabouts come the play offs but they consistently fall short. Their reputations of ‘chokers’ doesn’t help and it’s a somewhat self fulfilling prophecy. Franck Azema did a good job last year leading his team to both finals so to call them perennial underachievers is a bit rough. But for all their good results, they have ultimately have fallen short and have no-one to blame but themselves since they were the best team in both matches however failed to bring home the bacon. At their best, they are one of the most free flowing and enjoyable teams in France to watch. However, this style of rugby isn’t suited to big finals which can be deduced from their record. Is this the year that they bury the hatchet and go one step further?
One can’t help but feel that they just haven’t got what is needed in a title winning team. Despite recruiting some big names for the upcoming season including wingers Hosea Gear and David Strettle, Scott Spedding at full back and Flip Van Der Merwe in at lock, their weakness has never been their backline so it looks as if they’ve slightly overlooked the needs of their pack. Julien Bonnaire’s departure to Lyon may hurt them and, as we saw from last year through the absence of Jamie Cudmore. Camille Gerondeau’s arrival from Racing will bring a lot to the pack and assist them in getting somewhere near to the top toward the business end of the season. However, much will depend on their performance in the playoff matches with senior player like Morgan Parra, Wesley Fofana and Damien Chouly really needing to step it up.
Stade Francais were the surprise champions of the Top 14 last year with their success built around their forward pack which was one of the best performing packs in the league. Spearheaded by inspirational veteran Sergio Parisse and Morne Steyn, their key players were hugely influential for the boys in pink though this year will be much tougher for them.
The World Cup will decimate their squad with Stade Francais not lucky enough to boast the squad depth that other teams in the league can. As we saw last season, when Stade Francais do not play their best XV, they often get hammered. Will Genia and Willem Alberts are the big names to arrive for Stade this season but it’s the arrival of the very promising Sekou Macalou which is the most intriguing. The return from injury of Hugo Bonneval will be a boost to Stade Francais and should see them make the top 6 again. But they might struggle to repeat their title winning run from last year.
Racing 92‘s change of name from the previous Racing Metro seems to symbolise their problem for the past few seasons where changes have been aplenty from players to coaches to stadium and now the name of the club. Speaking of coaches, if Racing fails to deliver again this year, we are likely to see the end of the the coaching duo of Laurent Labit and Laurent Travers who are already under pressure from the huge amount of money poured into the club from chairman Jacky Lorenzetti.
The problem for Racing has been that members of the team just don’t tend to front up consistently whereas in places like Toulon, all 15 men on the park delivers. Their pragmatic style of rugby never won admirers and that isn’t set to change with a lot of their focus set on forward domination. However they haven’t seen fit to change it as it tends to win them games.
Dan Carter is their big name signing and when he is at his imperious best, he is still one of the very best out there. But given the style of rugby in the Top 14 and how injury prone he has been, Reme Tales might turn out to be the more important fly half in this side. The addition of Chris Masoe and Yannick Nyanga will give them extra know how and strength within the loose forward trio. And the addition of big Ben Tamelfuna will also be interesting especially since scrumming has never been the biggest asset for the prop. A lot will depend on how this team gel but they should be in the top 6 at the business end of the tournament.
Montpellier‘s new coach Jake White has certainly asserted his authority since taking over from Fabien Galthie which the side now featuring mainly ex Super 15 players. New additions include the Bismarck and Jannie Du Plessis, Nic White, Demetri Catrakillis, Marvin O’Connor, Francois Steyn, Pierre Spies and Jesse Mogg who are all very good performers. But one can’t help but feel that the soul and the culture of the club has been ripped apart in a very short space of time since White took over. A club with so many new players will take time to gel and I believe Montpellier will be in for a mid table season even though they should firmly in the top 6 with the depth to go deep in all tournaments.
Toulouse‘s outgoing coach signals the end of an era with former coach Guy Noves taking the reigns of the French national team at the conclusion of the World Cup. New coach Ugo Mola has a lot on his plate in a short space of time. There has been no denying that Toulouse has been in decline for the last few years with an antiquated game style that favours the forwards searching for the golden period of days gone by. And there have been no big name signings so it’s a huge task for Mola to try and re-establish Toulouse as one of the very top French teams again after several years in limbo. However he does have his There is no doubt he has some quality players at his disposal. The likes of Luke McAllister, Gael Fikou, Medard, Huget, Picamole will walk into many sides.
Bordeaux Begles is arguably the most exciting team to watch in the Top 14 with their free flowing rugby winning so many neutral fans in France. They have signed particularly smart this summer and a play off place should be on the cards. Big name signings include Adam Ashley Cooper along with Sekope Kepu from the Waratahs in the Super 15. Furthermore, promising prop Steven Kitshoff comes in from the Stormers to add more ballast at scrum time. Much will depend on their away form this season since they often perform well yet achieve no points. If this is improved, there is no doubt they should be in the top 6 come playoffs time.
Castres somehow managed to survive relegation last year despite looking down and out but they will have a much improved campaign. The Top 14 champions from a few seasons ago have signed particularly well during the off-season and new coach Urios will bring his style from Oyonnax so you can expect a very well-drilled defensive team which is menacing at the breakdown. New signing Benjamin Urdapilleta will be ever reliable off the tee and there is a lot of points on offer with wing David Smith moving to Castres from Toulon. Alex Tulou and Rudi Wolf are another 2 players which should shine in the coming season.
Relegation battle
Brive is a team based around the excellent goal kicking of Gaetan Germain and the huge influence that Sisa Koyamaibole brings into the forwards. And given their excellent home record, Brive should remain up if their two most influential players remain fit and healthy. They have turned their home ground into a fortress in previous years and there’s no reason to suggest that this won’t continue.
Grenoble has been a team which has started the season well before tailing off around March and on-wards. However they always seem safe from relegation only to need a result in the last match. Don’t be particularly surprised if this happens again which can be said of many other French sides in this league in needing to maintain their home record to be ‘safe’. No big signings for Grenoble this season but they need Jonathan Wisniewski to enjoy another good season from the kicking tee. In addition to their grinding style of rugby, Gio Aplon is always a delight to watch from full back.
La Rochelle was the surprise package of last season with a very memorable last grasp victory against Toulon as well as their fightback win over Toulouse. Unlike Lyon who got relegated last season, the ability of La Rochelle to score points/tries last year was the reason they stayed up. And they’ll be looking for much of the same this coming season. Like Grenoble, they’ll need to maintain their excellent home record to be safe from relegation.
Oyonnax is ripe for relegation this season which is strange for a team which finished 6th last year and qualified for the European Champions Cup. The loss of their coach Christophe Urios and their kicker Benjamin Urdapilleta can not be underestimated. Add in the addition of a plastic pitch which ironically doesn’t suit their style and the signing of a host of players who aren’t top 14 quality and you get a team that will really struggle to stay up.
Pau was the runaway champion of D2 last year and they have signed two huge names in All Blacks Conrad Smith and Colin Slade. And while they are both excellent players, they’ll need time to adapt their style of game to the Top 14, especially after the Rugby World Cup. It will be intriguing to see their influence on this team.
Nevertheless, they have signed other seasoned campaigners such as Euan Murray, Julien Pierre which should give them extra nous in the cut throat Top 14 environment. They might survive given the quality players they have but as usual, a good start is vital along with a good record at home. Interestingly, the champions of the D2 have finished below the team which won the play off in the D2 in the Top 14 for the past two years.
Agen will be hoping it will occur once again for this season. Whereas Pau do not have the Top14 experience, Agen do, they have been around the blocks many times and is one of those French small town clubs which operates between the Top12 and ProD2. They will know whats required to survive in this league but whether they can carry it out is another matter.
With all teams chomping at the bit to get underway in this unusual season involving the interfering Rugby World Cup, it will be very interesting to see how it all plays out. While we don’t know what to expect from some of the top sides, we can certainly expect freakish tries, dubious refereeing decisions, scrums, up and unders and lots of cards!