The ups and downs of Stade Rochelais, in the race for the final phase of the Top 14

Like a symbol. For his final game at Marcel-Deflandre on Saturday, May 31, La Rochelle scrum-half Tawera Kerr-Barlow—he'll be wearing the Stade Français jersey next season—showed all his class against Perpignan, who were beaten 38-15. With two tries, the New Zealander, sometimes maligned during his eight seasons in the ocean city, embodies better than anyone the club's alternating-current season, now in full recovery.

Because Stade Rochelais is the team in form at the end of the season. The Yellow and Blacks won their fifth straight victory against Union sportive Arlequins perpignanais (USAP). They now sit, before the final day of the Top 14, in sixth place, the last qualifier for the final phase of the championship. This position allows them to remain masters of their destiny before traveling to Pau on Saturday, June 7 (kick-off at 9:05 p.m.). A victory at the Stade du Hameau, coupled with other favorable results, could even propel the Rochelais to the foot of the podium and allow them to host the play-off match (the top two in the Top 14 rankings are directly qualified for the semi-finals, the ^3rd and ^6th as well as the ^4th and ^5th face each other in the play-off, on the ground of the higher-ranked team, to reach the last four).

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