Wilkinson's Toulon face test of mettle in the Auvergne

Jonny Wilkinson's Toulon face a daunting task away to Clermont, French rugby's perennial runner-ups, knowing full well that every point will matter in the race to clinch the sixth and last qualifying spot for the play-off stage of the Top 14.

By News Wires (text)

AFP - Struggling Stade Francais face a tricky away game against Montauban on Sunday with the players under pressure to step up a gear after slipping to midtable in the Top 14.

Stade last week suffered a heart-breaking 25-23 loss to Montpellier after leading 23-9 on the hour mark and coach Jacques Delmas was scathing in his review of the game.

"When you lead by 14 points you cannot hide behind the referee," Delmas said. "We just let everything go, we simply lacked ambition and the boys refused to play.

"We gave away too much ball. There were too many bad choices made by us."

To make matters worse for the Parisian giants, for whom victory is essential to remain on course for European Cup qualification, they will be without influential South African scrum-half Noel Oelschig.

The third highest scorer in the Top 14, Oelschig broke his hand in the defeat to Montpellier and is expected to be out for six weeks.

Stade's Parisian cousins Racing-Metro are sitting in an all-together more comfortable position, having notched up 11 wins in their 16 games so far this season for third place in the table.

Racing, on the back of a 23-19 win over Bayonne, host Bourgoin, struggling third from bottom after losing 23-6 to Biarritz.

Surprise Top 14 leaders Castres could consolidate their position atop the table when they host bottom club Albi.

Castres put Montauban to the sword on Wednesday with coach Laurent Labit praising his side for the patience they showed in building their game.

Second-placed Clermont, fresh from crushing Brive 52-10, host fifth-placed Toulon and international winger Julien Malzieu said

"We wanted to finish the year in style and I think we did that," said Malzieu of the seven-try demolition of Brive.

"We've been trying to play a bit in our last three matches," Malzieu told La Montagne newspaper. "And when we put it all together it really causes trouble for teams.

"It creates space and we can use that to score tries. We have to continue in the same vein."

In other games, Bayonne host Toulouse, Biarritz welcome Montpellier, and Perpignan travel to Brive.