The RugbyPass 'Top 14 team of the Season'
Almost 11 months after it kicked off, Castres Olympique were crowned Top 14 champions as the final whistle blew on French rugby’s epicly long season at Stade de France. So, without any further ado, here is the Rugby Pass Top 14 team of the season.
Continue reading below…
15 Julien Dumora (Castres) – Once, Dumora was regarded among opposition sides as a costly error waiting to happen. No more. Solid and brave in defence, and liquid danger in attack, he scored 12 times for his club this season – including the opener in the Top 14 final against Montpellier. Deserves his call-up to the French Barbarians.
14 Chris Ashton (Toulon) – A record-breaking 24 Top 14 tries in a single season, selected here in his preferred position rather than at fullback where he has also been pretty decent. It was far from a bad opening-campaign effort from the rookie. Have you been watching Eddie Jones?
13 Henry Chavancy (Racing 92) – Rugby purists will frown on having two battering rams in midfield, and rightly so as the game needs silk to go with the steel, but Chavancy and Bastareaud both have subtlety to go with their brute force, and the Racing man rarely has a bad game
12 Mathieu Bastareaud (Toulon) – Since taking the captain’s armband from Duane Vermeulen, Bastareaud has done nothing wrong and almost everything very right. His recall to the French squad was utterly justified and grabbed with both hands. Set to captain France on their tour of New Zealand.
11 Semi Radradra (Toulon) – While he prefers a central role, the Fijian is more than capable of doing a job on the wing, and is so hungry for work, he will pop up just about anywhere, frequently providing the break and offload for Ashton to score. No doubt Alivereti Raka would be challenging for this spot, if he’d stayed fit.
10 Ben Botica (Oyonnax) – Finished top of the Top 14 points-scorers’ list with 311 – 55% of his side’s season total of 566, and almost but not quite nearly single-handedly saved Oyonnax from relegation. Not all heroes are winners. Castres’ Benjamin Urdapilleta close to stealing Botica’s spotlight with a near-perfect second-half to the season and a personal 19-point haul in the final.
9 Baptiste Couilloud (Lyon) – A tough position to call in France right now, with Parra, Machenaud, Dupont and Serin all serious challengers for the international shirt when fit, with the likes of Coville and Meric hard on their heels. But the young Lyon 9 shades it for a fantastic breakthrough season. In the France Barbarians squad for the June tour, but must have been close to the main series in New Zealand.
7 Mathieu Babillot (Castres) – The Castres backrower, vice-captain of his club at just 24, is equally comfortable on either side of the scrum and will do what needs to be done from first whistle to last.
8 Victor Vito (La Rochelle) – Mr Consistent in an inconsistent season of two halves for the Rochelais. He was brilliant when the club was brilliant in the opening months, as they raced to the Champions Cup quarter-finals at the first time of asking. And he remained brilliant when they stuttered in the second half of the season.
6 Liam Gill (Lyon) – Although he can play 7, the abrasive Gill, a player who never knowingly takes a backward step has impressed most on the other side of the backrow since joining Lyon from Toulon. Mourad Boudjellal must regret letting him go.
5 Leone Nakarawa (Racing 92) – European player of the year. The gamechangers’ gamechanger. Ludicrously talented and immensely powerful, with an engine that will run all day.
4 Felix Lambey (Lyon) – A player who is still trekking along the foothills of his mountainous potential. If he stays fit, he could be a big part of the answer to a long-running engine-room problem in French rugby.
3 Rabah Slimani (Clermont) – Some referees and opposition loosies may not like him, but it’s hard to imagine there’s a more destructive tighthead in world rugby.
2 Adrien Pélissié (Bordeaux) – Jacques Brunel looked way down the established hooker pecking order when he plucked Pélissié from relative obscurity as injury cover during the Six Nations. The Bordeaux man did not let his former club boss down – and he’s done enough to get a seat on the plane to New Zealand.
1 Dany Priso (La Rochelle) – A mere 1.82 and 110kg, Priso is a streamlined prop with a razor-sharp beard who’s solid in the scrums and rapid and useful in the loose – a by-product of his youth when he played either in the backrow or at centre.
Coach – Christophe Urios (Castres) Urios took Castres from sixth at the end of the regular season to champions in the space of three post-season weeks, beating third-placed Toulouse at Toulouse, second-placed Racing in the semi-final in Lyon, and near-permanent table-toppers Montpellier in Paris to lift the Bouclier du Brennus. He’s a coach whose star has long been on the rise in France – and, now, he’s heading to New Zealand to coach the France Barbarians – before returning to Castres for the final year of a four-year contract … and major interest from bigger clubs.
Comments on RugbyPass
As long as New Zealand youth are involved in sport they are passionate for, and are well supported, it’s all good. I love league as well as rugby. NRL clubs have long since scouted the First 15 competitions, the NH and Japan scout super rugby and NPC. It’s a miracle there’s any players left for the all blacks to pick from.
4 Go to commentsI'm a Bok fan, so I don't say this lightly, but he is one of my all time favourite players. I am really going to miss watching him play. Thanks for many great memories. You are a true legend of the game.
3 Go to commentsBest way to deal with all of this is to play another game.
120 Go to commentsIt’s 12-15 games Luke. Ringrose has barely played in 2024 and Henshaw and Keenan have also been out for spells in the same time period. There are always injuries and for younger players to play with the likes of Barrett will be great for them. It’s just looking for negatives where there are none.
5 Go to commentsAndy Goode pushing his own agenda with very dubious considerations on refereeing performances. Luke Pearce speaking a bit of French doesn’t make him a good and adequate referee for the Champions Cup final; his latest refereeing performance in particular was not so great.
4 Go to commentsJordie knows that he has to earn the right to put on the jersey, whatever that jersey might be.
5 Go to commentsThe best outside centre in the world at one point. He will be greatly missed.
3 Go to commentsYip his great for the big moments when needed as a safa really enjoy watching him
4 Go to commentsOne that will start to come up from now on is penalties for back pushes during kick chase scrambles. Very difficult to detect. In Croke Park if you replay the Hendy NH try, you will see Furbank push Porter in the back, who collides with Larmour knocking the ball across into Hendy’s path to dot down. A more significant example was in the RWC QTR final where Arendse pushes Fickou into two other French players for the ball to spill into Arendse’s path for him to gather and run in to score SAs first try. Not cheating if you are not caught and very difficult to spot but with kicking becoming so critical I feel its an area that will referreeed/TMO-ed more.
4 Go to commentsWhat a pathetic little twit Andy Goode is, as if we care what he thinks…..😂
120 Go to commentsFoxy has been a wonderful player for the Scarlets and Wales.
3 Go to commentsNika the Georgian is the best referee in the world at the moment. Luckily we will be spared the shite SH refs and Barnes will hopefully remain retired given how shite and embarrassing he was at the RWC.
4 Go to commentsThis is the most exciting game of the summer imo, as we really won’t know in advance how both teams are going to play. - Will Robertson just reproduce his Crusaders tactics from last year, or will there be a conscious effort to borrow from the Hurricanes and Blues, and from the aspects of the ABs world cup strategy that worked well? - England under Borthwick have put in some good performances playing attacking rugby, and some good performances playing kick-oriented defensive rugby. Will Borthwick try to merge them together into a single all-court game, or will he continue switching between different approaches depending on the strengths and weaknesses of the opposition?
1 Go to commentsI’m predicting an aggregate points difference of no more than +/-10pts across both matches this series.
1 Go to commentsI’m predicting an aggregate points difference of no more than +/-10pts across both matches this series.
9 Go to commentsFinals are always tense affairs for the players so I do not expect this to be a spectacle of running rugby unfortunately.
4 Go to commentsBulls***': Ex-England international calls out Eben Etzebeth… Not to his face but from very far away… after he’d left. Checked to make sure he wasn’t in the building.
120 Go to commentsHopefully this will mean a new Auckland league team to support in the west. Big Warriors fan but it’s very, very stale on that front and I’d like the option of another team if it was to watch league again. League needs to step up BIG time if its to get anywhere, another AK team and something from the capitol or south is a must for the game.
4 Go to commentsGood, deep interview, nice job Frankie!
1 Go to commentsNRL players don’t have anywhere near the number of Tests. Some people would be happy having Rest Homes full if 40 yo ex-players walking, or hobbling more like it, into walls. It’s just a game!
4 Go to comments