Top 14: who are the winners and losers of the duplicate period?

Seven weeks without internationals. The Six Nations Tournament has just ended and the Top 14 will return to action this weekend, on the 19th day of the championship. A long tunnel that the clubs managed with varying degrees of success. The Six Nations had not yet started when the big players in the Top 14 were already deprived of their best elements for the 13th day, the first “false duplicate”.

Five days of the championship have been scheduled between the first France-Ireland match and the Crunch between France and England last weekend. The elite clubs had to deal with three real duplicates, during the Blues' matches against Ireland (February 3), Italy (February 25) and Wales (March 10). But the managers of the Top 14 also had to deal with weekends where the internationals were “protected”: a week before facing the XV du Trèfle in Marseille, but also the weekends of February 17 and March 2 . According to the FFR-LNR agreement, 6 of the 34 players summoned to Marcoussis were nevertheless released and made available to their club before each match of the Tournament.

A few years ago, Toulouse, number 1 supplier of internationals for the French XV, was struggling during the international window of the Tournament. After complaining about it a lot, particularly at the end of the Guy Novès period (1993-2015), Stade Toulousain managed this period perfectly despite a significant number of players retained (Baille, Mauvaka, Marchand, Aldegheri, Cros, Lebel , Ramos) or absent (Dupont at 7, Ntamack injured). With 23 points gleaned in six days (out of 30 possible), the Haut-Garonnais club is the one that is doing the best and is at the top of the ranking (2nd).

During this period, the young guard of the Rouge et Noir brilliantly held the house. Young hooker Guillaume Cramont explained that there was “no particular points objective, it’s mainly about the state of mind. We want to show that we all have our place here. Let it remain Stade Toulousain, not the B team.” And Thibaut Flament, the essential second row of the Blues, confided to Le Figaro: “We know that we have great players, but they really impressed me. When I started training again, I was amazed by the level of the sessions. It played well, fast, connected. It was ultra-positive.”

The other big winner of the affair is Stade Français Paris, which has scored five victories in the last six days of the Top 14 and climbed to the leadership position (tied on points with Toulouse). Before this long international window, the capital club had only won two of its ten matches (plus one draw), in all competitions. However, Paris was much less impacted than Toulouse with only two players retained: second-row Paul Gabrillagues (starter in the first two matches before disappearing) and full-back Léo Barré, lined up against the Welsh and the English. But, for the rest of the season, coach Karim Ghezal was clear: “We all want to show that we are not just a team of doubles!”

Hard learning. Arriving this season at the head of Racing 92, English manager Stuart Lancaster discovers the joys of the Top 14 and the constraints inherent to French rugby. His team was leader of the championship before the Tournament, it fell to 6th place after conceding five defeats in a row, before recovering (a little) last weekend against Toulon (20-6). Only four points collected over the period, the worst total in the elite. Like Toulouse, Racing launched young people but the mayonnaise did not take. The absence of the hinge Le Garrec-Gibert and the executives Gaël Fickou and Cameron Woki (released at the end of the Tournament) was cruelly felt. But Lancaster, whose team is still in the top 6, wants to be positive: “I know from my time at Leinster that titles are won in June, not in February…”

The problem was the same for Bordeaux-Bègles. Having become the second team to provide the most internationals, Yannick Bru's team experienced a brutal halt, collecting only 9 small points (two victories, three defeats). Before that, the UBB had not lost in the championship since November 19 in La Rochelle (25-21), remaining on five consecutive victories. Deprived of a large part of its “Galactics” attack line (Lucu, Jalibert, Bielle-Biarrey, Penaud, Moefana, Depoortère), Bordeaux nevertheless remains fourth in the ranking and has only lost two places in the ranking. Before moving forward?

Just behind Toulouse and Stade Français, the team that did the best during the Tournament period was Montpellier. Red lantern after the 12th day, the MHR then gleaned 21 points (only one setback in six days) and moved away from the red zone. Excellent operation for Lyon who compiled 18 points, moving up from 13th to 11th place to give themselves some breathing space. At the same time, Oyonnax “inherited” last place, with only 5 points collected in 6 days. The gap is now widened with Perpignan, 13th with 10 more points. Usap did rather well over the period, with 14 points collected.

RC Toulon continues its chaotic journey, unable to string together performances (2 wins, 4 losses). In a climate that remains as conflictual with some of its supporters, the Var club nevertheless remains within striking distance of the qualifying places (3 points from Racing, 6th). But the battle promises to be fierce to secure a place in the top 6: Castres (14 points, 5th), Pau (13 points) and Bayonne (15 points) have not said their last word. Clermont (12 points, 10th), for its part, is still unable to initiate a positive dynamic.

1. Toulouse: 23 pts (2nd in the ranking, 2 places gained)2. Stade Français: 22 pts (1st, 2)3. Montpellier: 21 pts (12th, 2)4. Lyon: 18 pts (11th, 2)5. La Rochelle: 15 pts (3rd, 5). Bayonne: 15 pts (9th, 1)7. Castres: 14 pts (5th, 2). Perpignan: 14 pts (13th, -2)9. Pau: 13 pts (7th, -1)10. Clermont: 12 pts (10th, -1)11. UBB: 9 pts (4th, -2). Toulon: 9 pts (8th, -3)13. Oyonnax: 5 pts (14th, -2)14. Racing 92: 4 pts (6th, -5)