French Rugby Top 14: Round 2 Results
Welcome back!
Round 2 of French Rugby Top 14 compeition saw some spirited matches and some near major upsets on a day when France was sweltering.
Little fancied Mont-de-Marsan came within a whiskers length of defeating the highly fancied Paris side Stade Francais. Stade Francais were lucky to get away with the win at home as the minnows of the Top 14 game them a real fright.
Toulon and Brive played a dour and uninspiring 3-3 draw. Neither side delivered in the warm conditions and both kickers had chances to win but neither could claim victory. Clermont and Toulouse both bounced back to win but Toulouse did it tough against another minnow in Dax. Clermont were showing signs of returning to their form of last year with a convincing 43-20 win over Montpellier.
The full results from Round 2 are below;
Toulon 3 Brive 3
Toulouse 32 Dax 25
Bayonne 22 Montauban 20
Stade Francais 27 Mont-de-Marsan 22
Clermont 43 Montpellier 20
Biarritz 32 Castres 17
Bourgoin 16 Perpignan 22
French Top 14 Round One Wrap-up
The French Rugby Top 14 competition kicked off in France yesterday and several surprise results had the season off to an interesting start. The champions Toulouse were stunned in their loss to Montpellier 16-11 and Toulon the new boys to the competition came from behind in the second half by winning 22-16 against Clermont.
Montpellier who could be a surprise packet after their win against the highly fancied Toulouse side. Toulouse will be analysing this missed chances, particularly focusing on the vital 10 minutes that Byron Kelleher spent in the bin.
Toulon were dead and buried at half-time but managed to win 22-16 after trailing 13-0. Sonny Bill Williams got Toulon back into the clash right after half-time and Toulon were able to power away with a first up victory after being promoted to the French Top 14. In other match results Stade Francais had a convincing win under new coach Ewen McKenzie. Stade Francais top the ladder after Round 1.
Results
Perpignan 34 Brive 18
Castres 26 Bayonne 27
Dax 9 Stade Français 31
Montpellier 16 Toulouse 11
Montauban 37 Mont-de-Marsan 19
Biarritz 29 Bourgoin 22
Toulon 22 Clermont 16
French Top 14 to Kick-Off on 25th August
The French Top 14 Rugby competition kicks off today in France with all fourteen sides facing off in a what looks to be a ripper start to the competition.
Many questions will be asked in the early weeks of the competition with the new ELVs in place how will sides adapt and will all the big name foreign signing’s deliver for their respective teams?
France have gone through a massive increase in foreign players and with this increase will come a greater attention and focus on the sides in action from the foreign media.
So will Toulouse reclaim the trophy? Has Toulon bought the trophy? We will include a wrap-up tomorrow of the results and give you all a brief update on how week one went.
Who do you think will win the Top 14?
The first week fixtures are;
Perpignan vs Brive
Castres vs Bayonne
Dax vs Stade Francais
Montpellier vs Toulouse
Montauban vs Mont de Marsan
Biarritz vs Bourgoin
Toulon vs Clermont
Sonny Bill Williams signs with Toulon
Sonny Bill Williams has formally signed with Toulon on a one year contract today. Sonny Bill has the option to extend this deal for another year should the option be taken up by both parties.
Williams is still not out of the woods yet as his Australian club are hoping to take him to court regarding breach of contract. A likely hearing could be as early as this Friday, the same day when Williams could play for Toulon.
I am surprised by all the fuss about Williams and his potential success in Rugby. Sonny Bill has shown great talent in Rugby League but I don’t think he will have the same impact in a more compact game with teams 5 metres apart and 15 players on the field. I suspect his flair will be dramatically diminished and his injury run in recent times has been terrible so this could plague him during his one year contract.
Sonny Bill Williams departure baffles the NRL
The Sonny Bill Williams incident has inflamed Australian sports in the last few days. Sonny Bill Williams, a player for the Bulldogs in the National Rugby League in Australia walked out on the Bulldogs without advising senior management or fellow players. It was reported on Saturday he was on a flight to Paris to sign with a Toulon. The contract was reported to be worth $3 million dollars over 2 years.
Fans in Australia and fellow players have be annoyed by the act of departing mid contract. Sonny Bill was on a five year contract and not yet two years into a near $500,000 a year contract when he walked out the door on the Bulldogs.
This story has a long way to run yet as the Bulldogs are taking legal action to stop him playing but time will tell if it proceeds or not. Do you have an opinion on Sonny Bill Williams, share your thoughts in our comments section.
Toulon sign Jerry Collins
In another coup for the French side Toulon they have signed Jerry Collins the ex All Black who shocked New Zealand recently with his announcement he will not longer make himself available to play internationals for New Zealand.
Jerry Collin, 27, will join Toulon on a three year contract and will play and be coached by his former All Black captain Tana Umaga. Toulon have spent up big in recent times securing the key signings of Tana Umaga and George Gregan last year and other major All Blacks Andrew Mehrtens and Anton Oliver. Jerry Collins will be the sixth All Black at Toulon and with rumours of Daniel Carter considering an offer as well it could be the second home of the All Blacks.
Toulon have sepnt big and it has been successful with them being promoted from the second division to the first. All the major signings will give them a good start come the commencement of the 2008-09 season. Jerry Collins in expected to join Toulon in July.