Dewi Morris on Racing 92 v Toulon and Sale v Montpellier

By Dewi Morris, Rugby Union Expert & Columnist

Image: Matt Giteau vs Dan Carter: Who will triumph?

Dan Carter may be enjoying the anonymity of walking around Paris but I suspect that he is going to be the most watched man of the field on Sunday.

Carter's Racing 92 host defending champions Toulon at the Stade Yves Du Manoir and what a clash it is going to be. As far as I am concerned we will see two of the most influential rugby players come up against each other as Carter and Matt Giteau clash.

They are two of the highest paid men in rugby and for good reason. They are able to control the game and push people around the pitch, both Carter and Giteau have remarkable rugby brains as well as the skill-sets to put their ideas into action. Show any weakness and they will punish you.

Image: Toulon celebrate their last-gasp 21-20 win over Racing 92 in the Top 14

As a team I think that Racing have really settled down and it is not all about offloading - they know how to grind out a win and have realised that they cannot be flamboyant all of the time.

Racing want to repay the investment that Jacky Lorenzetti has made to the club and they want to achieve what Toulon have achieved.

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Toulon? When they get a bit of steam up then they are almost unstoppable. It doesn't always go their way as we saw in the Top 14 against Clermont last weekend but they are one heck of a formidable side.

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They are going for an unprecedented four Championship trophies in a row. It will be an amazing feat if they pull it off - something that I doubt will ever be repeated.

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It is going to be a bruising encounter and while both sides have injuries, they also have very strong squads with plenty of depth. They have some impressive firepower to call upon but I think that whoever wins the battle between Carter and Giteau will decide the outcome of this game. 

Sale up against it

Danny Cipriani is hoping Sale Sharks can continue their impressive home form when they take on Montpellier

The weekend actions starts on Friday night when Montpellier travel to Sale Sharks - Sale are raring to go and this should be a great game.

Sale will want to keep their 100 per cent home record and would also love to add some silverware to their trophy cabinet.

Success comes at a price though and there will be a fixture backlog if Sale do manage to beat Montpellier. They will have Bath next Wednesday and then four days later play Bath again!

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Wednesday's fixture was originally scheduled to take place in January but was postponed to allow Bath's Round 1 European Rugby Champions Cup game against Toulon, which was postponed in early November due to the Paris bombings, to take place.

Unfortunately I think Sale's success will hamper them getting into the Top six in the Premiership table and a place in the Champions Cup next year.

Up North they always think that the odds are stacked against them but in this case it does seem as if they are, but I know what Sale are like and they will really go for it.

Montpellier bring plenty of power and strength - they have won their last six games in the Top 14 which is some going. Jake White has got an incredible squad at his disposal - plenty of South African muscle and plenty of experience.

Image: Montpellier's Pierre Spies is hard to stop

Bismarck Du Plessis is a powerhouse while Pierre Spies seems to be getting back to his best. Against Agen he made nine breaks and averaged 15 metres a carry. They bring a typical South African power game, and if Sale cannot stop that, then they will be in trouble.

Brive showed the way in diffusing their power game which will give Sale something to work on. They will need to catch them cold and use the AJ Bell stadium to their advantage.

It will be a hard day at the office for Sale, and the reward for winning will be a bit of a fixture nightmare for them but that is professional sport and Sale won't be worrying too much about that.

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