Top 14: Pau and Perpignan in a duel from a distance to avoid the accession box

Guaranteed to finish in 14th and last place in the Top 14, CA Brive was relegated to Pro D2, as of last week, after their home defeat against Castres (16-13), during the 25th and penultimate day. of the Top 14. But for 13th place, synonymous with an accession/relegation play-off against the loser of the Top 14 final, two clubs are under pressure: Pau and Perpignan. State of play before a final day which will be decisive.

For the Section Paloise, the deal is very simple: a success in Montpellier and the maintenance in the Top 14 will be acquired, whatever happens. But the Béarnais, twelfth with 47 points, complicated their task on the last day by losing sharply on the lawn of Bordeaux-Bègles (28-0). What Pau manager Sébastien Piqueronies had acknowledged: “This is the scenario we feared. The Section will have two cartridges to survive in the Top 14. Either he will deserve to use only one (against the MHR), or he will deserve to go to scratch luck (in the barrage).

Beware, however, of the MHR, which will not be able to participate in the final stages but which is aiming for 8th qualifying place for the next Champions Cup. “We still have one game left to end a tough, difficult and complicated season,” said Hérault manager Philippe Saint-André. It would be nice to finish in 8th place. But when you lose five games at home, it's difficult to achieve that.

Pau dynamics: Three wins in the last five matches. Section Paloise is not at all serene at home: it has already conceded 4 defeats and a draw at Le Hameau (for 7 wins), only the relegated Brive has done worse (9 losses, 4 wins).

With the official relegation of Brive, Usap has removed a thorn from its side. But nothing is done for maintenance. On the contrary, the Catalans - thirteenth 43 points - must go to impose themselves on hostile ground, on the lawn of Castres Olympique (10th), which has nothing more to play for this season. Perpignan must absolutely win and count on a faux pas from Pau. But the victory against Toulouse at Aimé-Giral (26-21) boosted the Usapistes. “This is a new march towards maintenance. We were never calm during this match but we have our destiny in our hands. Everything is possible”, assures Kélian Galletier, the third line and captain of Perpignan.

His manager Patrick Arlettaz supports: “When you are a team, you can do great things. And we are a team. But happiness will only be present if we maintain the club. In the event of a setback, the Perpignanais would therefore play the accession/relegation play-off (against the loser of the Pro D2 final between Oyonnax and Grenoble), a double or quits match that they already know. Last year, they became the first club 13th in the Top 14 to win this cleaver match in four editions. They had crushed the Stade Montois (41-16), at the Stade André-et-Guy-Boniface.

The Perpignan dynamic: Four wins in the last ten matches. Problem, the Sang et Or are traveling very badly this season with only one away victory (at Brive 22-24, at the beginning of February), for eleven defeats. Only ASM Clermont Auvergne has done worse, for the moment, with 12 losses and one success.