Top 14 Round-Up: Super Saturday!

If Sky Sports ever got hold of the rights to show French Top 14 rugby, and by God that’s one of my dreams in life, today would be SUPER SATURDAY. In the South, it’s the two fattest wallets in world rugby as Toulon travel inland to Toulouse. In Paris, at the Stade de France, Stade Francais Paris host to Racing Métro 92.

If there was ever a day that summed up the glorious excess of this league, today is that day. There are stars galore. In Paris, Juan Martin Hernandez and Felipe Contepomi return to the site of their greatest triumph, on the pitch that was theirs during the 2007 RWC. In Toulouse, it’s Wilkinson and Giteau against Beauxis and McAlister, who moves from 10 to 12 to accommodate the stocky Frenchman. The former All Black has been the best back in the league so far this season.

Racing president Jacky Lorenzetti was kicking up a fuss this week when his Stade counterpart said they would be wearing their home shirts, pink and white. Apparently this means that Racing won’t be able to wear their ciel et blanc shirts. “This was supposed to be a derby of great tradition, but sadly we are not allowed to wear our blue and white. I don’t see the problem with pink and white against blue and white...”

Stade were in a lot of financial difficulty last year and long time President, and fan of pink, Max Guazzini handed over the reins to Thomas Savare. Guazzini gave an interview last year where he acknowledged that he would never host Racing at the Stade de France as that would be an admission that they had returned to the big time. He preferred to bring Toulouse, Toulon and Clermont to the big stadium. So today is a big day for Racing. They’ll remember last year when they themselves hosted Toulouse at the Stade and put 40 points on the Toulousains. Inevitably, there will be pink flags, some sort of pre-match show and fireworks.

Back on the south coast, a world away from the Parisian bitching, change is afoot at Toulon. Last year they flattered to deceive, a shining example of a team of stars failing to gel. This year looks like it may be different. With Philippe Saint-Andre now head coach of the national team, Bernard Laporte, former national coach himself (and Sarko’s Minister for Sport...or something like that) has taken over the reins – reins held very tightly indeed by the money man Mourad Boudjellal. Toulouse should win, they just have too much class. 

Oh to be in Toulouse on a day like this. I’ve never been, so I can’t really talk, but there must be few towns on match day that beat with such a rugby pulse. Limerick, Perpignan, perhaps Toulon itself.

That’s all the razzmatazz stuff out the way, now we can focus on the proper rugby. Tough fixtures indeed in the Pro D2, the pick of which is Albi vs. Mont-de-Marsan. Waisale Serevi used to play for Mont-de-Marsan, and now William Ryder, who tore up the IRB 7s circuit for a couple of years in such style that led to him becoming the great pretender to Serevi’s crown, is now playing there himself. He is no doubt earning a lot of money, but it seems a shame that he has fallen off the world stage. The lot of the 7s specialist: 7s stardom travelling the circuit for little money or solid XVs rugby at a lower level.

It’s a fairly dull student Saturday in Exeter, with sleepy stereotypical pajama-ed students shuffling down to brunch with the prospect of essays awaiting them all afternoon. Me? I’ll be in Paris, cheering on Racing. Or maybe I’ll pop down to Toulouse. Wherever this afternoon’s rugby takes me, I’ll always have one eye on chilly Bourgoin as they welcome Beziers to their Alpine fortress. Why? I'll tell you why: because there is just as much joy to be found in that sort of gritty encounter as there is at the Stade de France. And only in France can you enjoy both.