Top 14 round two: Preview
The first-round of the French Top 14 is in the books, and the second-round is set to go this weekend. Although it is early in the season several clubs already have something to prove, and will be looking forward to hitting the pitch on Friday.
Bourgoin-Jallieu vs. Clermont Auvergne
In the first match of round two Bourgoin welcomes Clermont to Stade Pierre-Rajon for their first home game of the 2010-11 season.
Bourgoin is coming off of a loss at the hands of Stade Francais, and will therefore be looking to bounce-back against an easier opponent.
Clermont are entering their second away game in as many weeks and will look for the upset against Bourgoin, having suffered a loss last week at the hands of Perpignan.
Bourgoin currently sits in 14th spot with zero points, while Clermont is housed in 12th position also with zero points.
Bayonne vs. Agen
Bayonne will welcome Augen to Stade Jean-Dauger for their first home game of the season.
Bayonne are coming off of an impressive upset of league favourite Toulon, and will be keen on maintaining their fine form.
Agen had their hands full in round-one suffering a loss to powerhouse Toulouse. Nevertheless, they were able to register 24 points against the tough side, and were not the pushovers many thought they would be.
Bayonne currently sits in seventh spot with four points, while Agen is in 13th with zero points.
Brive vs. Perpignan
Brive will host Perpignan at Stade Amedee-Domenech in their second home game in as many weeks in round-two.
Brive are coming off a tough loss to Racing Metro, and will be intent on getting into the win column for the first time in 2010-11.
Meanwhile, Perpignan defeated Clermont handily in their first game of the season, and will be eager to continue their winning ways against the underdog Brive side.
Brive is currently in ninth spot with one point, while Perpignan are in fourth with four points.
Montpellier vs. Racing Metro
Montpellier will welcome Racing Metro to Stade Yves-du-Manoir for their first home game of the season.
Montpellier put up a good fight against Biarritz last week, losing by only eight points. They will be looking to make the next step against a tough Racing Metro side in round-two.
Racing Metro just completed a round victory over Brive in the first round of competition, and were very impressive at the tee. It is unclear whether or not Frans Steyn will be in the line-up for Friday, nevertheless Metro are favoured to beat Montpellier.
Montpellier currently sits in 11th with zero points, while Racing Metro are in fifth with four points.
Stade Francais vs. La Rochelle
Stade Francais host underdogs La Rochelle in their second home game of the year at Stade Jean-Bouin.
Francais is coming off an easy win over Bourgoin-Jallieu in round-one, and will be hoping to get a similar outcome against La Rochelle on the weekend.
La Rochelle meanwhile proved they were not pushovers defeating Castres at home last week, and will want to rack up another upset win.
Stade Francais are currently in first with five points, while La Rochelle are in sixth with four points.
Biarritz vs. Toulon
Biarritz welcomes Toulon to Parc des Sports Aguilera for their second-round match on Friday.
Biarritz are coming off of a win over Montpellier, but will have their hands full with a tough Toulon side.
Toulon meanwhile lost their opening match to Bayonne, and will be interested in rebounding against this weekend.
Biarritz sit in third spot with four points, while Toulon is in eighth with one point.
Castres vs. Toulouse
In the Saturday match-up Castres takes on Toulouse at home in Stade Pierre-Antoine.
Castres will look to make up for an embarrassing loss to La Rochelle, but will find it difficult to bounce back against a Toulouse side that put on a clinic, scoring 44 points last week.
Castres is currently in 10th with one point, while Toulouse is in second with five.
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