Joe (El Abd) Blogs: 'I see the Top 14 play-off race going all the way down the last game'

Toulon flanker and FRC columnist Joe El Abd this week looks back at his first four months in Top 14 and assesses how the 2009/10 season has panned out so far after the opening 15 rounds.

Now the Top 14 is finished for Christmas I thought it would be a good time to take a look at the competition and how it is shaping up for the New Year. While I knew that the Top 14 was no pushover the number of teams challenging for a top six berth and play-off places has surprised me. The home/away conundrum in France certainly makes the competition tighter and I see the race for the top six going down to the wire.

Starting at the top, Castres have certainly been one of the surprise packages this year. With a strong kicking game and solid defence they deserve to be at the top going into Christmas. Now they are at the top, however, no-one will be taking them lightly, but I still think they will be strong come the end of the season.

Another surprise package this season has been Racing Métro 92 from Paris. Moving into a higher league is never easy, so being third position at this stage is a great achievement. They play in a similar manner to Castres with two great kickers in Wisniewski and Steyn, and two very quick wingers which makes them a very difficult team to play against. They are currently on a run of eight victories in a row so are the form team in the competition and will therefore have lots of confidence going into the New Year.

Top 14 Table  / Top 14 try-scorers / Top 14 Results / Top 14 Fixtures 

Out of the traditional four big teams in France - Stade Toulousain, Clermont Auvergne, Perpignan and Stade Francais - three find themselves in the top six going into Christmas. Champions Perpignan have been the most impressive of the big four so far, and while they might not possess as many ‘star’ names when compared to the other big four teams they are collectively a very good team. Having won it last year they also know what it takes to win the competition and will be looking for continued success in the New Year.

Stade Toulousain, on the other hand, will be disappointed that they have already lost more games this year than they did in the whole of last season. I think this shows the increased strength of the Top 14 as much as it does about Stade Toulousain. It can’t be easy for any team to lose nearly 15 players during international periods but despite these problems they still find themselves in the top six. Come play-off time they will be at full strength and a force to be reckoned with.

Clermont Auvergne have been steadily going about there business this season. They are solid in all areas of the field and are currently sitting fourth in the table. After being losing finalists in the last three years they are out to make it fourth time lucky - or 11th if you take all of their final appearances into consideration - and will be strong contenders come the end of the season.

Considering Stade Francais’ poor start to the season they have bounced back to put themselves back in contention. They will not be happy, however, that they currently lie outside of the top six positions. Like Stade Toulousain they are affected by the loss of several players during the international periods so it will be interesting to see how they get on during the Six Nations next year.

'Team spirit is strong at Brive'

The other teams currently challenging for a top six spot are Biarritz and Brive. Brive, despite starting slowly, have picked up their form and have had two good results over the past two weeks. Talking to Sean Perry recently (my old team-mate at Bristol) their team spirit seems to be good and they seem to have improved after their change in management. Biarritz currently lie in eighth place and are another very strong team in the competition. They will not be happy with anything other than a top six position so they will be hoping to pick up some results after Christmas and into the new year. 

Looking at the other end of the table is equally fascinating. SCA Albi having looked dead and buried only three weeks ago have brought themselves back into contention with nine points in their last three matches. They are still some way off safety but if they can pick up a few more home wins they will put enormous pressure on the teams above. The surprise team in the relegation zone is Bayonne. After just missing out on a Heineken Cup spot last year they will be disappointed with their return this season. The atmosphere at the Stade Jean Dauger is incredible though and I think this will save them going into the New Year. You can’t underestimate how important home form will be in the relegation dogfight.

The other teams looking over their shoulders at the bottom are Bourgoin, Montpellier and Montauban. Despite their positions near the bottom of the table all three teams are strong and have all had some very good results this year. You only need to look at Bourgoin's defeat of table-topping Castres to see how close the competition is. The difficulties for Bourgoin however are not just confined to the pitch as off-field money problems are also a concern. The players took a 15% pay cut earlier in the season and despite all these problems their on-field spirit hasn’t been affected. They will need this spirit to continue in the coming year for the battles to come.

As far as Toulon are concerned we are currently sitting in sixth position in the table. At the start of the season one of our objectives was to finish in the top six, and in this regard nothing has changed. With seven of our remaining 11 matches being at home we are in a good position going into the New Year. We have a long way to go however and we are under no illusions about how hard the competition is. Gelling 17 new players was never going to be easy so hopefully we can continue this process throughout the rest of the season and keep improving as a team.

So who are going to be the eventual champions? Well, once the top six is established it's anyone’s guess, but what is for sure is that the eventual winners are going to have earned it!

Joyeaux-Noel!

Previous columns:
24.11.09 - 'Gym-monkeys, IPGs and the pain of being sidelined by injury'
04.11.09 - Star turns and the glamour play - how to judge a performance
27.10.09 - Why I relish the role of 'gratteur', and the key to back row success
21.10.09 - 'My brothers think I'm mad when they see all my rugby scars'
07.10.09 - 'I keep telling them Rovigo is not Rome, but they're still excited'
28.09.09 - 'The three-part conundrum of winning away in France'
22.09.09 - 'There's more to Jonny than just kicking'
14.09.09 - Lesson number 1 - 'Pas de melée, pas de victoire' 
08.09.09 - 'The money's good, but so is the weather, the rugby and the crowds'