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 As the Top 14 season kicks off, we look at the prospects for the clubs battling to win the Bouclier, get into Europe or just stay out of trouble
The Top 14's big Friday kick-off has had us at Le Rugby Towers hankering for some classic tea-time telly. Come June, the 14 contenders will have been whittled down to just one champion. As Guillaume G. Stewart might have said, it's time to play..
Clermont
 Last season: Champions (3rd in regular season)
Les Auvergnats finally found their grail last season, winning the championship final at the 11th attempt. As a result, this season is that difficult second album, but coach Vern Cotter hasn't messed with the winning formula, bringing in only two new faces in Kiwi duo Siona Lauaki and Paulo Ti'i for the loss of the slightly past-it Seremaia Bai and Benoit Cabello.
Question: Will the fire for success still burn so brightly in those yellow bellies?
Nominate: Aurelien Rougerie. After years of leading his men through bitter defeat, Monsieur Clermont now has to keep them motivated to ensure a repeat of last year's success.
Perpignan
Last season: Runners-up (1st in regular season)
Having tasted final success and failure in the last two seasons, Perpignan are now an established force in French rugby. They'll be hoping to match that success on the European scene this year, but will changes at half-back (including the three-month loss of Nicolas Laharrague) hamper their attempt to succeed on both fronts.
Question: The mark of great Top 14 teams is that they can take their play-off qualification for granted. Are they up there?
Nominate: Kevin Boulogne. Nicolas Durand has been the link between the Catalans' powerful pack and its exciting back line. How he copes with the step up from Albi to USAP will be crucial to Perpignan's attempt to reach a third successive final.
Toulon
Last season: Semi-finalists (2nd in regular season)
Toulon are among pundits' favourites to win the championship final after Philippe Saint-André was seen put the finishing touches to his squad over the summer. George Smith, Carl Hayman and Paul Sackey are the marquee signings that owner Mourad Boudjellal hopes will bring the Bouclier back to town, but 'PSA' has shed a lot of talent since May, not all of it by choice.
Question: Can the new boys gel quickly enough to pose a championship challenge?
Nominate: Rudi Wulf. We know how good Smith and Hayman are, but behind the scrum can wing/centre Wulf fill the void left by fellow kiwi Sonny Bill Williams?
Toulouse
Last season: Semi-finalist (4th in regular season)
The 17-times champions had a poor domestic season by their own standards, but fuelled by the prospect of a home final, were unbeatable in the Heineken Cup. Three years after their last Bouclier, will they put right last season's disjointed form to seal an 18th title? The pundits think so.
Question: What will be Guy Noves' priority this year, retaining the H-Cup or bagging another Bouclier?
Nominate: Yann David. Despite an injury-hit first season at Ernest-Wallon, the young France centre showed some touches of brilliance. Now's his time to really shine.
Castres
Last season: Play-offs (5th in regular season)
Last year's surprise team, Castres now have to prove that it was no fluke. Coaches Laurent Travers and Laurent Labit have strengthened the squad without losing any first-teamers, with threequarters Vincent Inigo, Romain Martial and Seremaia Bai and forwards Scott Murray, Benjamin Kayser and Gambo Adamou all bringing much-needed depth to a squad that didn't quite maintain its table-topping form through to the business end.
Question: Will the enlarged squad save Castres from a repeat of last year's late-season collapse?
Nominate: Romain Martial. If Castres lacked something last year it was the ability to cross the try line. Arriving winger Martial managed 11 tries for a mediocre Narbonne - what could he do at a decent club?
Racing-Metro
Last season: Play-offs (6th in regular season)
No promoted team had done as well as Racing since their neighbours Stade Francais won the title at the first attempt in 1998. This year they face the challenge of repeating that performance while also managing their first Heineken Cup campaign. Coach Pierre Berbizier has added some depth to his squad over the summer, in particular by refreshing the half-backs with a new Durand-Hernandez axis, and adding speed and strength to the threequarters in the shape of Benjamin Fall and Mirco Bergamasco.
Question: With two former Stade heroes in their ranks, can Racing move further ahead of their stuttering neighbours.
Nominate: Juan Martin Hernandez. After a brief spell in South Africa, the Argentinan is back in the city where he made his name - but playing for the other club! His form will be key to Racing's continued development, but competition will be strong from Jonathan Wisniewski, who relegated Andrew Mehrtens to the bench for much of last season.
Biarritz
Last season: 7th
Like Toulouse, Biarritz's domestic campaign never got going last year as they put more energy into going for a first Heineken Cup win. The fell only two points short, but their progress to the final at least earned them a Heineken Cup place for this season. They obviously think the squad is strong enough for an assault on both fronts though, opting to replace neither fly-half Valentin Courrent nor full-back Nicolas Brusque, preferring to strenthen the pack with the likes of Sylvain Marconnet and Erik Lund.
Question: Was last season a blip or a sign that one of the Noughties' big three is on its way out?
Nominate: Julien Peyrelongue. Courrent's departure guarantees Peyrelongue the No.10 shirt for the season - can he maintain his form to help make the Basques a domestic force once more?
Stade Francais
Last season: 8th
Pundits have already written off the Parisians after last year's debacle, but with experienced coach Michael Chieka now at the helm, a bloated squad trimmed and no Heineken Cup to distract them, don't be surprised if Stade bounce back from their worst top-flight season since they reached the elite in 1998.
Question: Will the larger Stade Charlety draw bigger crowds to spur the Parisians back into the top four?
Nominate: Lionel Beauxis. Outside halves are still in short supply at Stade Charlety so it's crucial to Stade's hopes that Beauxis stays fit. The alternative - asking Brian Liebenberg to step into the pivot - just isn't conducive to getting the most out of powerful centres Mathieu Bastareaud and Martin Rodriguez Gurruchaga.
Brive
Last season: 9th
Brive's hopes of a second successive Heineken Cup campaign were alive until the last week of the season, but with key sponsor Derichebourg reducing its input, their budget has been cut by a massive €2m and big names Goode, Thompson, Agulla and Flutey have all headed over the Channel. Their two Montauban refugees Regis Lespinas and Mathieu Belie will make for an interesting battle with incumbent Luciano Orquera for the No.10 shirt, while the front-row additions of Pablo Cardinali and Benoit Cabello fit in with the club's best physical traditions.
Question: Will that half-back competition help or hinder a team that was short on stability for much of last season.
Nominate: Alix Popham. The Welsh international is starting his third and final year at Stade Amedée-Domenech, and suddenly finds himself in an English-speaking minority! As a veritable Brive veteran, he has a big role to play in leading Brive to Top 14 safety.
Montpellier
Last season: 10th
We're never sure whether Montpellier actually over- or under-achieve. Last season's 10th position - neither in danger of going down nor worrying the european-bound clubs - seems about their mark, and despite some pundits claiming that "this is their year", the selection of Pro D2 outcasts that Fabien Galthié has signed up over the summer isn't going to help them take that crucial step up.
Question: When will Francois Trinh-Duc and Fulgence Ouedraogo realise that they won't win anything at Yves du Manoir and finally move on?
Nominate: Martin Bustos Moyano. The young Argentinian has been brought in from the Pampas to replace his dependable countryman Federico Todeschini. Can he step into the 'Pellier stalwart's shoes?
Bourgoin
Last season: 11th
The Top 14's perennial Crisis Club probably couldn't believe their luck last season - after being threatened with demotion all year, it was Montauban who got the push. And thanks to La Rochelle's late push, Lyon, Oyonnax and Grenoble all failed in their Pro D2 promotion pushes, leaving les Berjaillens as the No.1 team in East France for at least another 12 months.
Now the bad news - the double haemorrhage of cash and confidence has seen several star players leave, including props Pablo Cardinali and Karena Wihongi, wingers Albert Vuli Vuli and Florian Denos, and half-backs John Senio and Benjamin Boyet. Boyet's departure was a bitter blow - the 30-year-old had spent his entire career at Pierre-Rajon, turning down offers from big clubs over the years, only to leave them in their hour of need.
Question: Will weakened Bourgoin finally go down of their own accord, or will they have to be pushed?
Nominate: Gaston Maulin. No matter what happens on the field, the club president will be busy again this season trying to keep the hounds of the DNACG at bay.
Bayonne
Last season: 13th
Bayonne's regular flirts with relegation became a full-on love affair last year as they ended the season in the drop zone. Too good to go down? No, but certainly solvent enough to stay up as Montauban fell into the Federale division. The close shave was enough to spur Bayonne bosses to appoint a new coaching team (led by former Dax coach Thomas Lievrement) and find another €4m for their budget. Key arrivals include Benjamin Boyet and Julien Audy, whose half-back partnership will be as vital to Bayonne's success as their passionate, now 17,000-strong, home support. Yoann Huget also has a big job on his hands - the 23-year-old moves from Agen to fill the gap left by Paris-bound Benjamin Fall.
Question: Will Bayonne 'do a Castres' and follow up their narrow escape with a push to the play-offs?
Nominate: Benjamin Boyet. Bayonne have been without a recognised fly-half for two seasons. Can the former Bourgoin man bring order to the chaos?
Agen
Last season: Pro D2 champions
Racing-Metro set an example for the successors as Pro D2 champions to follow last season, rising to the top of the table before settling for sixth place and a Heineken Cup spot. Agen won't hit those heights, but an ambitious recruitment campaign suggests they won't be caught up in the relegation dogfight either. As well as finding homes for Montauban exiles, Agen have signed up Jamie Robinson from Toulon and, most impressive of all, Valentin Courrent from Biarritz.
Question: Where's Caucau?
Nominate: Saimoni Vaka. Agen's other Fijian is as important as Caucaunibuca but doesn't hog the headlines. The 22-year-old scored 10 tries in Agen's promotion push, if he can overcome recent injuries he could be a potent force in the top flight.
La Rochelle
Last season: Pro D2 play-off winners (3rd in regular season)
"We're going down, 100 per cent," was La Rochelle coach Serge Milhas verdict soon after les Maritimes had beaten Lyon to earn their place in the top flight. It's hard to disagree with stats that reveal that the winners of the play-off final have finished in the bottom two since the current structure was put in place.
Question: Will they win fewer matches than Albi did last year (four)
Nominate: Serge Milhas. Now in his last season with the club, Milhas has already proved that he's unwilling to follow the press-conference script. Whatever his team do on this pitch, he's bound to be entertaining off it. |