Preview: Clermont v Toulon
Clermont Auvergne and Toulon face off in the French Top 14 Final at Stade Francais on Sunday for French rugby's top crown.
Both sides in tomorrow night’s Top14 final at the Stade de France are in desperate need of a turning point with a recent history marked by high potential and low returns.
This is Toulon’s second consecutive final, their fifth in the last six seasons, but they have only won one of these five.
Many say they have not lived up to their potential since winning the Champions Cup three times in a row in 2012, 2013 and 2014.
This season has been unforgiving to the southern side, who finished fourth in the table under the guidance of Mike Ford and Richard Cockerill and had to battle their way through the barrages without Ford, who left in April, to make it here.
Clermont have not won the Top14 since 2010, despite making it to the final an incredible twelve times, and will feel they deserve some silverware for their efforts this season after losing the Champions Cup final three weeks ago.
Many put the loss to Saracens down to Clermont’s inability to deal with high-pressure occasions, but something was different this time. The French side did not crumble, they were simply beaten and outplayed by a better team.
All seemed lost for Franck Azéma’s men when Wesley Fofana ruptured his Achilles tendon in January, ruling him out for the rest of the season. However, the likes of Camille Lopez and Remi Lamerat have stepped up to fill the void in the backline and carry their side to a second-place finish in the regular season.
Sunday will be a battle of brains and brawn as Clermont’s creative attack meets with the sheer power of a Toulon squad that includes barrelling centres Mathieu Bastareaud and Ma’a Nonu, though Cockerill’s side will have to go without British & Irish Lion Leigh Halfpenny
.
Les Rouges et Noirs will look to barge their way through the Clermont defence and will be met with an attack which is unique in French rugby. Many criticise the Top14, saying teams prioritise reducing the number of points they concede rather than seeking tries.
But the Jaunards have confounded this criticism all season with an intelligent attack coordinated by Lopez, who positions himself perfectly to put the ball wide and flood the defence on the wings.
In team news, Clermont make just one change to the team that beat Racing 92 in the semis, with Sitaleki Timani back in the second row alongside Arthur Iturria for the first time since sustaining a knee injury a month ago.
TImani comes in to replace Flip Van Der Merwe, who was suspended after a clothes line tackle on Teddy Thomas last weekend. The front row of David Zirakashvili, Benjamin Kayser and Raphaël Chaume remains unchanged, as does the back row with captain Damien Chouly and Judicaël Cancoriet at flanker and Fritz Lee the no. 8.
Morgan Parra once more provides the link to the backline, working along fellow international Camille Lopez. David Strettle and Nick Abendanon are the English contingent, with Strettle on the right wing and Abendanon at full-back.
France star Rémi Lamerat and Damian Penaud pair up in the midfield and Alivereti Raka completes the starting XV on the left wing. Clermont also benefit from an impressive bench featuring Aurélien Rougerie, Pato Fernandez and Peceli Yato.
Meanwhile, Cockerill has named a powerful Toulon side with Laurent Delboulbès, Guilhem Guirado and Marcel Van der Merwe in the front row. Packing down behind them are the equally intimidating Juandré Kruger and Romain Taofifenua, with Juan Smith, captain Duane Vermeulen and Liam Gill in the back row.
Sébastien Tillous-Borde and Anthony Belleau pair up as half-backs with Australian James O’Connor coming in for Leigh Halfpenny in the 15 shirt. Drew Mitchell and Josua Tuisova will be looking to find a way round Clermont on the wings, with Mathieu Bastareaud and Ma’a Nonu in the centre. Toulon are blessed with an experienced bench, with the likes of François Trinh-Duc, Xavier Chiocci and Matt Giteau waiting for their chance to make an impact on the final.
Players to watch: Agile and athletic lock Arthur Iturria could be Clermont’s antidote to an overwhelmingly strong Toulon pack if he continues to perform as he has all season, repeatedly finding space to break through the opposition’s. The 22-year-old regularly contributes the most tackles for his team, making 190 in the Top 14 so far this season.
Iturria made his debut for France against England in this year’s 6 Nations and featured in the Champions Cup final so, despite his age, the Frenchman is more than prepared to handle such a big occasion.
If Toulon are going to win this game by driving their way through the Clermont line, the man leading the charge will be Guilhem Guirado. The France captain played a vital role in their 6 Nations campaign and was praised by teammates, including Louis Picamoles, for his immense leadership qualities. Making a total of 481m in carries for Toulon this season, it is clear that Guirado leads from the front and expects his teammates to follow. His guidance and ability to keep a clear head under pressure could prove the difference for les Rouges et Noirs in Paris.
Form: Toulon have plenty of experience at the summit of French rugby, having made it to the final twelve times, winning four of these. They last won the competition in 2014, when they beat Castres 18-10. Though the journey to this point has not been easy this season. Toulon beat Castres 26-22 in barrages and table-toppers La Rochelle 18-15 in the semis, just scraping through to the final.
This is Clermont’s 13th French final, though they have only lifted the Bouclier de Brennus once. The Jaunards will hope to avoid adding to their finals disappointment after they lost the Champions Cup to Saracens three weeks ago. After finishing second in the Top 14, Clermont were awarded a free pass to the semi-finals where they downed last year’s Champions Racing 92, winning 37-31.
The two teams met twice in the regular season, but perhaps the biggest blow Clermont have dealt their opponents was when they knocked Toulon out of the quarter finals of the Champions Cup, winning 29-9.
Prediction: It would be easy to rule Clermont out of this one, thinking they simply do not have what it takes to win finals. But Toulon have snuck into this one through the back door and are not the intimidating opponent they once were. Surely the depth of talent in the Jaunard’s backline will make the difference in Paris. Clermont by 10.
The teams:
Clermont: 15 Nick Abendanon, 14 David Strettle, 13 Damian Penaud, 12 Rémi Lamerat, 11 Alivereti Raka, 10 Camille Lopez, 9 Morgan Parra, 8 Fritz Lee, 7 Judicaël Cancoriet, 6 Damien Chouly (c), 5 Sitaleki Timani, 4 Arthur Iturria, 3 David Zirakashvili, 2 Benjamin Kayser, 1 Raphaël Chaume
Replacements: 16 John Ulugia, 17 Etienne Falgoux, 18 Paul Jedrasiak, 19 Peceli Yato 20 Ludovic Radosavljevic, 21 Patricio Fernandez, 22 Aurélien Rougerie, 23 Aaron Jarvis
Toulon:15 James O’Connor, 14 Josua Tuisova, 13 Mathieu Bastareaud, 12 Ma’a Nonu, 11 Drew Mitchell, 10 Anthony Belleau, 9 Sébastien Tillous-Borde, 8 Liam Gill, 7 Duane Vermeulen (c), 6 Juan Smith, 5 Romain Taofifenua, 4 Juandré Kruger, 3 Marcel Van der Merwe, 2 Guilhem Guirado, 1 Laurent Delboulbès
Replacements: 16 Anthony Etrillard, 17 Xavier Chiocci, 18 Mamuka Gorgodze, 19 Juan Martín Fernandez Lobbe, 20 François Trinh-Duc, 21 Matt Giteau, 22 Eric Escande, 23 Levan Chilachava
Date: Sunday, June 4
Venue: Stade de France
Kick-off: 20.45 local (19.45 GMT)
Referee: Romain Poite