To Paris for yet another “Top 14 choc”.

It’s a classical for the french championship. But nowdays less than in the past, because of the bad position of Stade Francaise, which is really performing one of its worste season .

That’s way also the few “bulls” performing for Stade Toulousain colours, in the end, will by large gain their win…

Show before the start is amaizing, with dancers and men flyng and wearing Stade Francais colours. More than 78.000 spectators.

Stade Toulousain is impressive as team: very regular, no faults, very concrete, precise. Stade Francais simply inexisting.

Among payers, Clement Poitrenaud and Yannick Jauzion, the “Equipe de France” full back and centre, are very good, togheter with “bleu” hooker Servat (ST pack is largely the strongest for all the match long). Also the former “bleu” Outside Half Skrela performs a very good match.

Good luck to France for the rest of its 6 nations effort to play for yet another “Grand Echelem” then…

6th March 2010 16:30
Stade de France Paris Top 14
Stade Francais 0 v 29 Stade Toulousain

“He may not be 100 per cent match fit but he still has probably the best pass in Northern Hemisphere rugby and is a big physical presence so we know he won’t let us down.”
Wales boss Warren Gatland, talking about 27 years old Lions scrum-half Mike Phillips, who has been named among the replacements of tomorrow 6 Nations clash with France at the Millenium Stadium (after he made his comeback from a four-month lay-off with a 40-minute stint for the Ospreys on Sunday)

It’s always a pleasure, for me, to go for some interesting rugby matches around.

But what I like the most in this french team, estabilished since 1882, is that 2/3 of the forwards are italians, both former players of the Italy squad. Both of them are friends of mine, and one of them, hooker Carlo Festuccia, comes from my same Region (the other one is prop “Il barone” Andrea Lo Cicero).

They played together for L’Aquila, in the italian first division, for several seasons. And they are the forwards core of this team since three seasons now. The manager himself, Pierre Berbizier, is the former Italy squad manager.

There is a lot from Italy there, especially from my Region, then. And even their colors are so familiar … in fact white and “blu ciel” are the same as my City’s, Pescara.

I follow Racing Metro 92 since Pro D2 season 2007/2008, when new President Jacky Lorenzetti took over.

Meanwhile, other italians players has joined the team, full back-centre Andrea Masi, same from L’Aquila, and back row-lock Santiago Dellapé (both still in the Italy Squad).

Starting from the season 2009/2010, racingmen are finally back into the Top 14… and as they are playing very well so far, they are already at the top of the ranking, 5th position with 54 points and 6 matches not particularly tough still to play before “barrage”/semifinals stage.

Yesterday was the biggest “choc” of the top 14 week-end. Racingmen received Castres Olimpique, the championship leader.

With two very important players out, back row-lock Lionel Nallet and full back/centre Andrea Masi, and some others not at their top (especially number 8 Sebastien Chabal) the task was not simple.

In front of them, full back/centre Romain Teulet (I hear someone around call him “Robocop”, but I don’t figure out why… he’s not so big, actually), which seems particularly good today, along with one of the best french teams, as “ensemble”, of the entire season.

Excellent wing Sireli Bobo to remark from racingmen side.

The final score is 24-24, with a penality scored for racingmen by Jonathan Wisniewski just at the last second.

Yet another very nice afternoon of rugby then. Waiting for the final, most likely very surprising, stage of the season…

20th February 2010 14:15
Stade Yves-du-Manoir Colombes Top 14
Racing Metro 92 24 v 24 Castres Olympique