Americas Rugby News Rugby news from across the Americas!
It’s back to regularly scheduled programming as the Top 14 resumes with Week 9 on Saturday. Clermont is leading the pack but La Rochelle are hot on their heels and only marginally behind them are Montpellier, Toulon, and Bordeaux. This week will see about a dozen Americas players scattered about over the weekend.
Pau welcome Toulouse to the Stade du Hameau in the first match on Saturday, with big Argentine prop Joël Sclavi the backup tighthead. Playing the same position but in a starting role is Francisco Gómez Kodela, who runs out for Lyon in Paris. Leandro Cedaro settles for another reserve spot for La Rochelle as they travel to Montpellier.
All three Americas players on the books of Toulon will suit up when Grenoble come to town. New head coach Mike Ford will start Samu Manoa at lock, Juan Martín Fernández Lobbe on the flank, and Axel Muller on the left wing as he looks to regroup his underachieving team following the dismissal of Diego Dominguez.
Defending champions Racing 92 will also be keen to get back on track as they travel to Bayonne with Juan Imhoff wearing no11 and Manuel Carizza among the replacements. Carizza might find himself against another South American lock, Pablo Huete. The Chilean was a standout in European action last weekend but will sit on the bench this time.
Sunday’s teams have not yet been named with two matches to be played. Rodrigo Capó Ortega and Benjamín Urdapilleta are in the frame to line up for Castres against Bordeaux. Heading north we come to Brive for the last game of the weekend. Taku Ngwenya could feature for the home side while Patricio Fernández is likely to play for the visitors – top dogs Clermont Auvergne.
