Top 14: Round 18 preview
Domestic action returns to France this weekend leaving the title contenders to go to battle without many of their big guns.
Last Updated: 11/02/11 2:34pm
Domestic action returns to France this weekend leaving the title contenders to go to battle without many of their big guns.
The Six Nations has deprived all of the top clubs of a number of stars: Biarritz are the worst affected with nine players off on national duty. Toulouse are missing six while Clermont and Racing have each been stripped of five internationals.
La Rochelle host a Toulouse team absolutely decimated by Six Nations call -ups and injury.
Seven Toulouse players are in the French squad in Dublin while scrum-half Jean-Marc Doussain is with the U20s. David Skrela, Yves Donguy, Romain Millo-Chluski, Yannick Nyanga, Byron Kelleher and Yann David are injured while Florian Fritz is suspended.
If ever there was a chance for les Maritimes to cause an upset, this is it. The league leaders have not travelled particularly well this season and La Rochelle, who put up a good fight in Toulon last time out, will know victory will be a massive step towards avoiding relegation.
Agen will look to give their own survival hopes a boost when they travel to stuttering Perpignan.
Trailing sixth-placed Castres by 10 points, the Catalans must grab a bonus point win or forget about catching up with the play-offs pack.
The reverse fixture saw the 2009 champions throw away a 20-point lead and half-time to be held to a draw.
Agen climbed out of the red zone thanks to a win over Bourgoin - their fifth win in seven games - and will travel to the Mediterranean coast with everything to gain
Toulon and Brive will both be desperate for points at the Stade Felix Mayol.
Form
Brive are desperate for points in the relegation battle and Toulon are in danger of falling off the pace in the race for the play-offs.
With just five points separating seven teams in a congested mid-table, a slip up could cost the hosts dearly. After scraping past Agen last time out, RCT need to string a run of wins together to secure a place in the top six.
Brive's have found some decent form in recent times, beating Clermont at home in Round 16.
Toulon are struggling at fly-half with Jonny Wilkinson on England duty and both Felipe Contepomi and Gavin Henson still injured.
Joe van Niekerk and Paul Sackey do not feature in the matchday squad.
Bayonne put themselves back in the hunt for a play-off spot with victory in Brive last time out - and they will look to build on that against struggling Bourgoin.
At home to ProD2-bound Bourgoin, the Basques will back themselves to climb back into the top half of the standings for the first time since Round Eight.
CSBJ will arrive with a team packed with youngsters as the a number of first-teamers have already been sold off to try bolster the coffers.
Racing Metro will look to retain their unbeaten record at the Stade Yves Du Manoir when they entertain Castres.
Racing have flattered to deceive of late but the stats all point to another victory this week.
Parisians were well beaten when they visited Clermont in Round 17, but have not lost two consecutive games this season.
Castres also have a perfect home record but have yet to taste success on the road. But the Tarnais are one of the few clubs not to be affected by the Six Nations call ups and will take heart from their recent win over Stade Français.
Inspiration
Without Sébastien Chabal, Lionel Nallet and their Italian internationals, Racing will look to Juan Martin Hernandez and Frans Steyn to provide the inspiration.
Defending champions Clermont visit surprise package Montpellier with second place in the standings on the line.
Clermont have been in great form at home but are missing a bunch of players and have only won once on the road this season.
Having been one of the pace-setters for much of the season, the hosts have not won in the New Year and are now just two points clear of seventh-placed Toulon.
While Clermont have been stripped of seven internationals, Montpellier are missing just one, but an important one - fly-half François Trinh-Duc.
Fulgence Ouedraogo, however, is available for the hosts as he isn't part of this weekend's French squad. Head coach Fabien Galthié will be a notable absentee as he must fulfil television commentary obligations in Dublin, although he has been with the side all week and will only leave late on Friday.
Like Perpignan, Stade Français are under pressure to make the cut to for the play-offs - but it will not be easy for them against Biarritz.
Six points short of where they need to be, the Parisians must lift themselves after defeat to Castres.
Biarritz arrive buoyed by their qualification for the Heineken Cup quarter-finals but missing their keys players such as Dimitri Yachvili, captain Imanol Harinordoquy and Damien Traille. They will also be without a recognized scrum-half, with Julien Peyrelongue forced to wear number nine shirt.
Stade are also struggling with France wing Julian Arias ruled out for three months with a hand injury in addition to a long list of other injuries and international call-ups.
Lock Pascal Papé will play his first game at number eight! David Attoub will make his first start of the season.