1. Toulouse - 71 points
Remaining fixtures: Bordeaux (h), Perpignan (a), Brive (h)
Toulouse are the only side currently to have officially qualified for the end-of-season play-offs. Their target now, regardless of yesterday’s defeat in Dublin, is to make sure they finish in the top two, and win a bye week to the semi-finals in San Sebastian. With two home matches out of their last three, the odds are very much in their favour.
2. La Rochelle - 70
Remaining fixtures: Toulon (a), Montpellier (a), Stade Francais (h)
Last year’s Champions Cup was nothing like enough for La Rochelle. Ronan O’Gara and his squad want it all. Exeter Chiefs this afternoon is their first challenge. Then they resume their fight for a play-off place, and – like Toulouse – seek a bye to the last four.
Their route isn’t as straightforward as the 2021 double winners, but it would probably be foolish to bet against them.
3. Stade Francais - 64
Remaining fixtures: Clermont (a), Lyon (h), La Rochelle (a)
Gonzalo Quesada, in the closing weeks of his second stint in charge at Stade Jean Bouin, is doing all he can to ensure it finishes as successfully as his first, with a title. The truth is, he’s already exceeded expectations this season. Laurent Labit and Karim Ghezal have some big shoes to fill when they join the club after the World Cup.
4. Bordeaux - 58
Remaining fixtures: Toulouse (a), Pau (h), Toulon (a)
Bordeaux – a side awaiting a new coach in Yannick Bru – face a tough end of season fixture list. With current joint interim head coaches
Denne historien er fra April 30, 2023-utgaven av The Rugby Paper.
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Denne historien er fra April 30, 2023-utgaven av The Rugby Paper.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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England show who's No.1
ENGLAND women’s head coach John Mitchell says his side will take valuable lessons from the 24-12 win over world champions New Zealand as they build towards their WXV1 title defence.
Skivington: We're going to roll dice and go for it
THE Cherry and Whites are the enigmas of the Premiership.
Looking to go one step beyond this time around
NE small step is what it will take for Bath to go one better than last season and secure the Premiership for the first time, but it would be one of the biggest taken by the club in the professional era.
Four-try England make it 17 wins on the spin
ENGLAND women opened the Allianz Stadium era at HQ with a victory over New Zealand to make it 17 wins on the bounce before their WXV title defence.
Time for Borthwick to prove his worth
HONEYMOON periods are not set in stone and in my estimation Steve Borthwick’s ends this summer. Don’t get me wrong, he’s still in good shape.
Barrington ready to power up the Mob
RICHARD Barrington has signed up to the Ampthill “Mob” reassured that he’ll still have a target on his back most weeks.
Skivington keen to build identity
GLOUCESTER won their first trophy for nine years last season and reached the Challenge Cup final, but when George Skivington went on holiday the day after the campaign ended the words in his head were never again.
Roebuck targets England success
WINNING a maiden England Test cap to top the best season of his career will not be enough for Sale winger Tom Roebuck.
Booth: Tough telling players I was leaving
TOBY Booth admits telling his Ospreys players that he would be leaving at the end of the season was one of the hardest things he has had to do in his career.
Stephens' debut try sees off old rivals
DORKING had to dig deep in another tight game between two old rivals, with the lead changing hands twice and result in doubt right up to the final whistle.