Guy Novès: Rotating
A depleted Toulouse side go to Stade de France to take on Racing-Metro at the weekend, with the Parisian club sniffing what would be an upset win.
Qualified for the Heineken Cup quarter-finals and six points ahead of Clermont in the league, Toulouse coach Guy Novès has rested five of the eight players named in France's squad to face Italy in the Six Nations opener on February 4.
"A maximum of three will likely go with us, out of respect for the players, who give their best all year round for the team and France," said Novès.
Up-and-coming half-back Jean-Marc Doussain, Gilian Galan and 18-year-old hooker Christopher Tolofua will instead be among those given a start, perhaps giving Racing an advantage.
Racing, who crashed out of Europe in ignomious fashion having suffered home defeats against Edinburgh, Cardiff and London Irish, sit in sixth place in the league, in a battle for the last play-off place with Agen and a resurgent Montpellier side.
"Many clubs would love to have Guy Novès' second team!" laughed Racing number eight Sebastian Chabal, the former France forward.
"We don't look too much at the opponents. We've lost matches on the little things we haven't done right. We have to try to work on them, that's for sure."
Chabal, whose contract with Racing ends this year, added: "We have a tough calendar coming up: we host Toulouse, we go to Clermont and then Lyon.
"It's not easy but we've known since the start of the season that this championship is complicated. Even if we're sixth and we're still in the running, we've put ourselves in the bad position of losing at home.
"We've refound our form away from home but it'll be very tough to remain in the top six, we'll have to fight weekend after weekend. All the points will be really important."
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