The 2019/20 French Top 14 season will get underway on Saturday the 24th of August. Darry Worthington takes a look at the season's first set of fixtures.
We are in for yet another wild ride in the French top tier this season with the highly unpredictable domestic tournament set to be even more volatile this term with the Rugby World Cup robbing a number of the big-name teams of their star players for the opening three months.
With the above in mind, there will certainly be some great value on offer during the opening few weeks, and Round 1 will be no exception as teams look to find their feet.
Pau v Brive
Saturday 24 August
Stade du Hameau
18:00
To Win (80 Mins)
Pau 1/4
Draw 20/1
Brive 3/1
The Top 14 season will kick-off with a clash between Pau and promoted club Brive.
Pau had a rather tough time of it last season finishing 11th on the table with only nine wins from their 27 games. They have done some smart business during the off-season bringing in All Blacks Ben Smith and Luke Whitelock. Neither player will be available this weekend, however, as Smith is in the All Blacks World Cup squad, while Whitelock will finish the Mitre 10 Cup season with Canterbury before travelling to France.
Brive, who returned to the French Top tier by beating Grenoble in the Promotion/Relegation game, have also made some shrewd acquisitions bringing in vastly experienced players such as Scott Higginbottom, Ben Botica and Remi Lamerat.
Verdict: Brive 3/1
The early throws of the season are going to be unpredictable and I really think we might see an upset first up. Pau are missing a number of players, while Brive have the majority of their squad together. As such, I'll be having a very small strike on the new boys bagging a win.
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Racing 92 v Bayonne
Saturday 24 August
Paris La Defense Arena
18:00
To Win (80 Mins)
Racing 1/14
Draw 30/1
Bayonne 6/1
Next up we have a clash between Top 14 big guns Racing Metro and new boys on the block, Bayonne.
Racing had a rather subdued 2018/19 campaign with the Parisians finishing the regular season in fourth place which saw them secure a home 'Barrage' play-off. Their dream of Top 14 glory would come to a close at the aforementioned play-off stage as they went down 13-19 to La Rochelle.
This weekend's hosts have lost a number of players to retirement with Patrick Lambie, Joe Rockocko and Dimitri Szarzewski hanging up their boots. They have tried to negate the loss of these international stars by bringing in local players with the likes of former Toulon fly-half Francois Trinh-Duc now on their books. Unfortunately for Metro, Trinh-Duc recently broke his arm so they will be reliant on youngster Antoine Gibert to fill the void at pivot.
Bayonne enjoyed a solid run of it in the PRO D2 last season as they finished the regular season in third-place before beating Oyannax in the division's semi-finals and then causing a massive shock by defeating regular-season table-toppers, Brive. The win over Brive secured them a place in the Top 14.
Verdict: Bayonne 6/1
I sense a major upset here. Racing are missing a number of their international stars and will be fielding a rookie at fly-half. Bayonne are a dogged side and may just grind out a win here. Obviously, the smart play is to back them on the plus and have a very small strike on the win.
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Castres v Montpellier
Saturday 24 August
Stade Pierre-Fabre
18:00
To Win (80 Mins)
Castres 5/10
Draw 20/1
Montpellier 33/20
Castres will be looking to put the misery of the 2018/19 season behind them when they take on a much-changed Montpellier outfit.
The hosts, who won the 2017/18 edition of the tournament, failed to deliver last term as they missed out on the play-offs having finished in seventh place. Ironically, they were pipped to the final play-off spot by this weekend's opponents who finished the regular only two points ahead of them on the table.
As alluded to earlier, Montpellier have undergone some substantial changes during the off-season with Ruan Pienaar and Alexandre Dumoulin having left the club. They will also be without international backline stars Francois Steyn and Nemani Nadolo for the first couple of months with the duo representing their countries at the Rugby World Cup.
Verdict: Castres 5/10
While Montpellier do have some quality players to still call upon - the Du Plessis brothers and Aaron Cruden are all raring and ready to go - they may well struggle against a Castres side who have no problems mixing it up upfront.
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Lyon v Stade Francais
Saturday 24 August
Stade Gerland
18:00
To Win (80 Mins)
Lyon 1/4
Draw 20/1
Stade 28/10
Lyon will be looking for a fast start to the Top 14 season when they take on a Stade Francais side that is going through a transition period.
The hosts enjoyed yet another fine campaign last season as they advance all the way to the semi-finals where they went down 33-13 to a Clermont side that was in all-conquering form.
Lyon could well go one better this term as they haven't lost a lot of players to national call-ups and their off-season signings have been smart ones as they have brought in Fijian sensation Josua Tuisova from Toulon and Argentine Patricio Fernandez. And while Tuisova will be away with Fiji during the World Cup, the former Toulon man is likely to make a major impact when he returns from national duty.
As touched upon earlier, Stade have undergone a lot of personnel changes during the off-season with Morne Steyn, Djibril Camara and Piet van Zyl having all moved on. They have done a major recruitment drive in order to offset this bring in 15 players including Golden Lions duo Lionel Mapoe and Ruan Combrick as well as Waratahs front-rower Talu Latu.
Verdict: Lyon 4/10
Stade should be a force to be reckoned with this term but I cannot see them getting a win at the Stade Gerland, which has become a fortress for Lyon.
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Agen v Toulon
Saturday 24 August
Stade Armandie
18:00
To Win (80 Mins)
Agen 29/20
Draw 20/1
Toulon 11/20
Toulon will be looking to turn their fortunes around this term and they have an ideal chance to get their campaign off the ground with a solid win as they take on minnows Agen.
The visitors finished the 2018/19 campaign way down in ninth-place, which is simply not good enough for a club that spends so much money on World Class talent. They have tried to change their fortunes the only way they know how with owner Mourad Boudjellal once again spending big during the offseason to bring in the likes of Nehe Milner-Skudder, Bryce Heem, Duncan Paia'aua, Eben Etzebeth and Sergio Parisse.
While Etzebeth and Parisse will be at the World Cup, Heem and Milner-Skudder will be available from the outset.
Agen, who finished last season in 12th-place, have also been on a recruitment drive and have brought in a number of unknown quantities and French rugby journeymen.
Verdict: Toulon 11/20
They simply cannot afford to get their campaign off to a sluggish start after what transpired last term. I'm expecting Toulon to lay down the gauntlet here and claim a win in excess of 15 points.
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Bordeaux v Toulouse
Saturday 24 August
Stade Chaban-Delmas
19:45
To Win (80 Mins)
Bordeaux 11/20
Draw 18/1
Toulouse 15/10
Saturday's action will come to a close at the Stade Chaban-Delmas where reigning champions Toulouse will take on Bordeaux.
Toulouse enjoyed a solid return to form last season winning 21 and drawing two of their 26 regulars season fixtures. Their dominance continued into the knock-out phase where they beat La Rochelle 20-6 before beating Blermont 24-18 in the Grand Final.
They will have their work cut out for them this season as they will be without a number of their international stars who are away with their respective national sides. In fact, Toulouse are already suffering a hooking crisis with Julien Marchand out injured and Leonardo Ghiraldini and Peato Mauvaka away with the French World Cup training squad.
Verdict: Bordeaux 11/20
Bordeaux have been slightly less hampered by international call-ups and should pose a real threat this week. I expect the home side to pick up a narrow win.
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Clermont v La Rochelle
Sunday 25 August
Stade Marcel-Michelin
17:45
To Win (80 Mins)
Clermont 1/4
Draw 20/1
La Rochelle 3/1
We close out the opening round with an absolute blockbuster as last seasons' runners up, Clermont, tackle defeated semi-finalist, La Rochelle.
The hosts, as was to be expected, have been hard hit by national call-ups with the likes halfbacks of Greg Laidlaw and Camile Lopez on international duty. There are also a handful of French internationals getting geared up for the World Cup so Clermont have had to move quickly to negate this and have brought in South Africans Rudy Paige and JJ Engelbrecht on short-term loan deals.
La Rochelle have been less hard hit by call-ups with only a few players involved in World Cup action. They also have last season's top points scorer, Ihia West, available with the former Blues and Hurricanes man due for another solid campaign.
Verdict: La Rochelle 3/1
Again, the smart move is to back the away side on the plus for a substantial amount and have a small crack on the outright win.
Written by Darry Worthington for Hollywoodbets
