Top 14: What to watch on Saturday during the first day

Oyonnax in 2024, Vannes in 2025 and... Montauban in 2026? Pro D2 champion to almost everyone's surprise after finishing in sixth place in the regular season, can USM break the curse of being promoted and relegated a year later? Since Bayonne in 2023, none have managed to stay up and the mission looks arduous for Sébastien Tillous-Borde's men. With, by far, the smallest budget in the Top 14 (€14M, while the average in the Top 14 is €34M) and a squad that has barely changed, Montauban starts as the favorite for the last place, while the thirteen other teams are aiming for, at least, the top 8.

"This team was able to excel three months ago to upset the odds (in the final phase of Pro D2) , Tillous-Borde recently confided. They can do it again. Maybe not stay up straight away, but at least win 6 or 7 matches to snatch 13th place and play in the play-off ." Stade Français, which is coming off a difficult season (12th), is one of those teams that the Sapiacains hope to tickle. This first meeting at Jean-Bouin therefore seems like a revelation of what Montauban's hopes could be.

The last time USAP won its first match of the season was in 2019, against Béziers (23-13), when it was in Pro D2. Since then, Perpignan has developed a bad habit of getting off to a poor start to its season. This didn't stop it from returning to the Top 14 in 2021 and remaining there ever since, but the false starts in the top flight have each time put it under pressure from the struggles at the bottom of the table.

The goal of hosting Aviron, last season's semi-finalists, is therefore obvious for Franck Azéma's men. "Getting into a good dynamic is essential," confirms the manager. " If we want to move up the rankings, it starts with winning our home matches." Thirteenth in 2022, 2023, and 2025, and tenth in 2024, Perpignan wants to go higher. A year ago, the Sang et Or lost in their opening match to Bayonne (21-19) and waited until the fourth matchday to finally win. Everything you shouldn't do to avoid fighting (again) for survival.

It's an understatement to say that LOU and Racing are hoping to quickly put a difficult 2024/2025 season behind them. Both clubs have had in common the reshuffling of their staff during the season, which is never a good sign. Fired from Stade Français a few weeks earlier, Karim Ghezal returned to Lyon in December, righting the ship with a rather comfortable maintenance (11th) and a good run in the Challenge, all the way to the final. The same fight (won) at Racing by Patrice Collazo , who replaced Stuart Lancaster.

The two managers, who are hoping for a little stability in their respective careers, are as vengeful as their teams and are openly aiming for the top 6. This time they have had the advantage of preparing for their season normally and this first meeting sounds like a test of good resolutions.

This summer, there were clubs whose squads changed a lot, including Castres and Pau, who have a meeting on Saturday at Pierre-Fabre. The Pau team have only recruited three players: right-back Thomas Laclayat, Argentinian hooker Julian Montoya (currently with the national team), and his compatriot, number 8 Facundo Isa. Only the former is in the lineup this weekend.

Castres fans won't be disoriented either, as only Teddy Durand is a newcomer among the fifteen starters. The hooker, who arrived from Oyonnax, replaced Gaëtan Barlot, who left for Bordeaux. The other three Castres recruits, Fijian flanker Veresa Ramototabua and wingers Adam Vargas and Vuate Karawalelu, are not on the team sheet. This is a bonus for stability in both squads.

French champion with Montpellier in 2022, and subsequently voted the best Top 14 player of the season, Zach Mercer is back in the Top 14, wearing the Toulon jersey. By happy coincidence, he will return to the French Championship in Montpellier, where the Septeo Stadium (formerly GGL Stadium) should give him a warm welcome.

The English number 8 (28 years old, 2 caps) left the MHR in 2023, convinced that his return to Gloucester would allow him to rejoin the XV De la Rose. A lost bet since he has never been on a match sheet by Steve Borthwick for two years. Toulon managed to attract him, hoping to find the flamboyant Zach Mercer of 2022, while the player is coming off a long convalescence after having surgery on both knees at the end of 2024.

European champion and Top 14 finalist Bordeaux-Bègles returned to training late on August 6th and has since been hit with bad news, with injuries during preparation to Maxime Lucu (thumb, 2 months) and Yoram Moefana (shoulder, 3 months) who joined a well-stocked infirmary (Coleman, Swinton, Retière, Uberto, Buros...). The bad luck has even extended to their South African summer recruit, flanker Jean-Luc du Preez, who injured his knee in international duty and could be out for several months. In short, we don't really know what state UBB will be in at a sold-out Chaban-Delmas, but despite the injuries, the starting lineup looks good.

On the other side, the feedback from La Rochelle's preparations is more positive. Firstly, because Ronan O'Gara's men, absent from the final phase for the first time since 2018, were able to resume earlier (on July 14) and carried out a "real" preparation. The arrivals of Nolann Le Garrec at scrum and Davit Niniashvili at full-back are also expected to boost La Rochelle. Only the former will start. Another attraction of the evening: the start of Paul Boudehent in the second row.