By Nell
March 26 2007

This is the eighth time the two team have played in Europe, we seem almost fated to meet each other. I don’t know if any other teams have met more times in Europe, but there surely can’t be many. We also played a friendly at the beginning of this season which Tigers won. Of the European matches Stade have won 4 and Tigers 3 so the honours are even, except that we won the big one at Parc des Princes in 2001.

Paris come into this match decimated by injuries, especially in the forwards. Definitely missing are Captain, second row, David Auradou (shouder) Prop Sylvain Marconnet (broken leg) Hooker Dimitri Swarzewski (shoulder), Number 8 Shaun Sowerby (leg) who are all crucial players. It does not help matters that two of these injuries are not rugby related, but were caused by a ski-ing accident for Sylvain Marconnet and by falling over on the ice leaving a restaurant for Auradou. I think that is one little jolly they they might not be repeating next season.

Added to this the fact that Remy Martin is only just back from a dibilitating virus that kept him out of action for seven weeks and caused him to lose 4 kilos, Mauro Bergamasco is likely to be banned and the injury that Skrela suffered with France may not be fully recovered, and Pichot is rumoured to be injured and this gives you a seemingly much diminished team, especially on paper.

I am basing this preview on them having Roncero and Skrela back, if they are not they will be weaker.

In the front row I would expect Roncero, Blin and De Villiers to start. The two props are right at the top level when at their best. However De Villiers has started to show age catching up with him in some games although he can still turn it on full throttle in others. Before he broke a rib colliding with Stade Français team mate Geoffroy Messina in the French Babas- Argentina match Roncero was playing possibly the best rugby of his life, very strong in the tight and rampaging around in the lose in a Tuilagi type fashion.

Although Mathieu Blin does not have the dynamism in the lose of Swarzewski he is a very solid reliable hooker who does very little wrong. I would expect him to captain the team as he is a natural leader.

The second row will miss David Auradou for his intimidating presence and in the line out. He always plays right on the edge and because of this can be a bit of a card machine, his behaviour does tend to rattle opposition teams however and they end up giving penalties away.

I would think the second row will be the very reliable Mike James and Boela Du Plooy a new South African recruit this season. Du Plooy has played in four of the five Heinekin Cup matches and is a player who is really seizing his chances. He took a little time settling in but is now beginning to blossom and is likely to be a handful.

The back row is interesting with Sowerby and Bergmasco out. In most teams this would be a huge loss but Stade Francais has tremendous depth in the back row.

Pierre Rabadan will almost certainly start at 8 as he is brilliant in the line out and a very disruptive player. He’s very physical and really gives 100%. He is another one, along with Blin who is likely be the next Paris Captain.

If Remy Martin is half right he will start at 7, a ferocious tackler himself, he is very difficult to tackle as he has the knack of running though tackles. He is very strong, good at staying on his feet and offloading.

Sergio Parisse, who has had a great 6 nations will be at 6 I would expect. However Rabadan can also play there so they may mix and match and swap positions.

Apart from these they also have young Antoin Burban, still under 21 and a revalation he will be a star of the french team in the future. Nothing phases him. He played against Bourgoin on Saturday and was awarded the most stars by the Paris forum. They have a star system for up to 5 players per match and he got 43 ahad of Rabadan with 39.

At half backs I would expect Fillol and Skrela to start. Skrela has had a great Six Nations. I would think Beauxis would be on the bench but likely to come on at some stage as he did really well for such a young player with the French team. Fillol had a great game against Bourgoin and apart from being a very quick nippy, scrum half with a very quick brain he has a super boot on him, if Skrela or Beauxis decide to have a bad day at the office. He had a 100% kicking record against Bourgoin yesterday. They also have Pichot and everyone knows what he can do, plus the very under-rated Albouy.

I don’t think the half backs are an area of worry for Paris.

Centres

Where to start, they have a flock of them. Mirco Bergamasco, Geoffroy Messina, Brian Leibenberg, Stephan Glas and with Skrela and Hernandez both very at home there they have plenty of choice.

Before the six nations I would have thought that probably Geoffroy and Mirco were first choice, but now I’m not so sure. Geoffroy seems to have lost some of his spark since being consigned to the dreadful experience of being one of the forgotten 12 amongst the French team at Marcoussis (nicknamed Malcatraz by the players).They were all promised game time, but only played for the Barbarians and spent seven weeks doing little but gym work. Brian Leibenberg and Stephan Glas have both come back from injury and Brian has become a much more rounded player than the bosh bang, boot it down the pitch merchant we all remember. Stephan is one of those players who does loads of work, especially in defence but seems to go unnoticed. He is always 100% reliable and rarely as a bad game. Mirco has had a good Six Nations, but has not been as outstanding as last season.

There is also the problem that they will want Hernandez on the pitch. It certainly won’t be as 10 where he once again was fairly rubbish. His best position is 15 but Nani Corletto, possibly for the first time since a long injury-riven period, was back to his best at 15 against Bourgoin. He made Julian Arias’ try and it twas a joy to behold. Might they put Juan in the centre and play Nani at full-back ? I really don’t know. Much of the rest of the team picks itself, but in the backs they are overflowing with talent if everyone is fit.

One wing spot will almost certainly go to the talismanic Dominici, with two of the main leaders in the team – Marconnet and Auradou out – they will certainly want him on for his leadership as well as his ability to expode from anywhere and leave defences standing.

I think that the other wing will go to either Julian Arias or Julian Saubade. The elegant Arias is another only just coming back to his best after serious injury but he can glide through defences and is strong in defence. The diminutive Saubade is a real little pocket rocket in the Shane Williams mould. He came to Stade Français from 2nd division last season and took some time to find his feet, but now he’s flying. I believe he is the quickest sprinter currently playing in France and like Varndell he can leave players for dead. His tiny size doesn’t stop him tacklng very effiecently and he can stop players twice his size in their tracks. Either Hernandez or Corletto could also be in the mix for the wing.

Full back will be either We might think that with the dimished forwards we will have a better chance but I think it would be very silly to count our chickensThe match against Paris at Charlety in 2005 they had a flock of players out.

Corleto, Dominici, Arias, Hernandez, Glas, Skrela and Pichot, plus Captain David Auradou , Sylvain Marconnet and Pablo Lemoine in the forwards.

They were mainly backs, but they were again missing the influential Auradou and Marconnet in the forwards and we managed to get beaten in a very uninspiring game of rugby where too very strong defences managed to wipe out any attack from the other side.

Stade Francais also have another very strong incentive to win. They have a group of players coming towards the end of their careers. This group have all been with the club since their first season back at the top level 10 years ago. Some were with them in the second division. Auradou, De Villiers, Marconnet, Dominici, Blin are at the core of Stade Francais. They have made a very long journey together from the beginnings playing in front of a few dozen to playing league games in front of 80.000 at Stade de France. They were the laughing stock of the fans from the rugby heartland of the south west, but now they have won their respect. They have won the Brennus 4 times but never the Heinekin Cup. The present club that they have helped form is one of the greats in world rugby.

One thing is missing a European Cup win. They have lost in two heartbreaking (for them) finals that they were capable of winning. This season will be the last one in Europe for some of those players and they are really hungry for it. Although two of them , Marconnet and Auradou, will play no part the younger ones really want to do it for them.

Their lineout has been a bit dodgy lately, but then again Tigers’ has not always been spot on.

Their defence is very strong but so is Tigers.



Whether this hunger results in them playing above themselves and being unbeatable or whether it results in them trying to hard and messing up remains to be seen.

I really don’t know who will win. I would tip Tigers, but then again, apart from Munster, how many times have Tigers really turned up this season?

Anyway here’s hoping for a great match.