Top 14: Round 21 preview
The Top 14 will be missing a whole of top stars, with the latest rounds of the RBS Six Nations and the emerging nations tournament.
Last Updated: 11/03/11 1:30pm
The Top 14 will be missing a whole of top stars, with the latest rounds of the RBS Six Nations and the emerging nations tournament.
Perpignan and Bayonne escape the worst of the absentees when they get the latest round of fixtures underway on Friday.
Perpignan will be buoyed further by the return of Bertrand Guiry and Joffrey Michel from injury although Henry Tuilagi has been ruled out.
Bayonne have been hit by off-field strife again - and the players will need to regain focus if they are to halt Perpignan's late play-off charge.
Biarritz will welcome back Erik Lund and Pelu Taele for the visit of Racing Metro.
Lund and Taele have both passed late fitness tests with Biarritz knowing they need to tighten up after the scare against La Rochelle.
Racing's hopes will not be helped by the loss of several international stars - including four Italians.
Threat
Argentina playmaker Juan Martin Hernandez is also missing after suffering a serious knee injury.
Stade Français know they need a bonus-point win against Agen if they are to remain in the hunt for the knockout stages.
However Agen are desperate for points, themselves, with the threat of relegation hanging over them.
Toulon need to rediscover their form when they entertain Bourgoin.
Too many mistakes have cost Toulon but a home fixture against the Top 14 bottom club should give them the perfect chance to bounce back.
Toulon, though, will be missing the likes of Jonny Wilkinson - while there is still no sign of Gavin Henson making his debut.
La Rochelle face an uphill battle against Montpellier as they look to climb out the relegation places.
A four-match losing streak has seen them slip into the bottom two despite coming close to upsetting Biarritz last time out.
François Trinh-Duc and Julien Tomas are both missing for Montpellier, who have been the surprise package of the season.
Six internationals will be missing from the Toulouse line-up for the visit of Brive.
The Heineken Cup champions are also without Nicolas Vergallo and David Skrela so Nicolas Bézy and Frédéric Michalak are likely to be involved.
Castres will look to maintain their unbeaten home record when they face Clermont.
Their cause will be helped by the face Clermont will be without nine frontline players, while Castres are largely unaffected.
