Biarritz relegated, Montpellier under pressure, La Rochelle misses
Bad operations. The Montpellier leader, who was defeated by Lyon, missed the opportunity to validate his ticket to the final stage while La Rochelle, dominated by Toulouse, lost his weight in qualifying race, Saturday, during the 24th day of the top 14, which will leave Biarritz for good after a setback to Custer.
. Montpellier in the mouth of Lou
Montpellier can’t do that anymore. Almost guaranteed to play in the final stage, MHR, the leader, can’t take that last step to make up his ticket: With three defeats in a row, all competitions combined, Héraultais sets time and will have to wait a little long.
The latter, at Lyon (43-20), harmed Philip Saint-Andre’s men. Unable to rock Lyon, they also lost their invitation to international Mohamed Hawass, who was disqualified due to an uncontrolled interference and at full speed and head-to-head. MHR could lose their throne if UBB, their runner-up by two points, wins against Toulon on Sunday. Les Gones (5th), are back in the race for qualification.
. The confrontation over Toulouse
mission accomplished. Led by Thomas Ramos Gala (13 points), Stade Toulouse, now sixth, kicked out their opponent today, La Rochelle (23-16), who was knocked out of the qualifying positions. And so the good Maritimes streak stops at five successes in a row.
For Ronan Ogara’s men, who have not beaten Rouge and Noire since September 2019, there are two of their top 14 matches remaining, against Stade Francis and then at Lyon, to catch up. Toulouse, two, with two attempts from “Chelemars” Thibaud Flament and Antoine Dupont, are back in a climax to put their teammates in a direction to travel. With a rather favorable calendar (Brive, Biarritz), the final stage is approaching under the protection of Ugo Mola.
. There is no miracle in Biarritz
touched flowed. BO, controlled by Castries (48-13) fails to save his skin: This seventh consecutive loss in the top 14 confirms the Basque Country’s relegation.
For his part, CO2 settled on the podium thanks to his fourth success away from home this season. Their schedule (Perpignan at home, Pau away) could allow the Tarnais to dream of a place, a bit surprising, in the semi-finals.
. Race 92 is playing with fire
Against Bao (42-21), who has no more to play for, Racing 92 went on to claim victory with an improved personality after a half hug period. All too often, Lauren Travers’ men woke up in the second half.
They were also helped by the lack of discipline in the section, which was cleared by three yellow cards (Seneca 36, Corato 45, Ramsey 69). As a result, Ciel et Blancs, with a fit Juan Imhoff and successful Maxime Machenaud, finished fourth, four points behind French champion Toulouse (sixth).
. Little hope for Clermont
In the day’s other meetings, the French stadium almost sent Clermont (29-26) on vacation thanks to a disastrous second spell from Auvernaz (21-7). But a wake-up call and an attempt by Sébastien Bézy on the wires allowed ASM to win. Maintaining qualification opportunities.
Finally, Perpignan regained color by controlling Brive (27-10). In the thirteenth and penultimate position, the Catalans (39 points) will have to take, over the past two days, four points more than the Brest (42 points) to overtake them and save their skin in the top 14.
“Proud explorer. Freelance social media expert. Problem solver. Gamer. Extreme travel aficionado.”