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There are to be Pumas and a Cóndor starting in France this weekend. Racing 92 are to face Bayonne in a postponed fixture. The Parisians are in search of turning around their poor season. Bayonne, meanwhile, are out to survive as the club is reading towards relegation.
Racing 92 has 8 wins from 16 matches. The club was dumped out of the Champions Cup in the pool stage, a dour return for the 2016 finalists. As such the Top 14 is focus of the club this season.
Starting on the left wing for Racing 92 will be Juan Imhoff. His involvement with Los Pumas in 2017 remains out of the question. It is not for ability or form but rules. No player based in Europe is eligible to play for Los Pumas.
The same rule saw Manuel Carizza miss out on tests in 2016. His form for Racing 92 certainly merited consideration. Injuries also saw Javier Ortega Desio moved from flanker to start tests for Los Pumas. Carizza will play from the bench vs Bayonne.
Starting for Bayonne will be two South Americans. Former Puma Martín Bustos Moyano is to play fullback. The start goal kicker will be looked to by the Basque side to score points. Chileans Pablo Huete will play in the second-row. His country would play him if available for Saturday’s test match against Canada. The same is true of Ramón Ayarza. He will play from the bench.
RACING 92
15 Brice Dulin, 14 Juan Imhoff, 13 Henry Chavancy, 12 Albert Vulivuli, 11 Teddy Thomas, 10 Franck Pourteau, 9 James Hart, 8 So’otala Fa’aso’o, 7 Bernard le Roux, 6 Wenceslas Lauret, 5 Leone Nakarawa, 4 Gerbrandt Grobler, 3 Luc Ducalcon, 2 Dimitri Szarzewski, 1 Viliamu Afatia
Replacements: 16 Camille Chat, 17 Khatchik Vartanov, 18 Manuel Carizza, 19 Chris Masoe, 20 Antoine Gibert, 21 Marc Andreu, 22 Joe Rokocoko, 23 Cedate Gomes Sá
BAYONNE
15 Martín Bustos Moyano, 14 Martin Laveau, 13 Félix Le Bourhis, 12 Gabiriele Lovobalavu, 11 Romain Martial, 10 Willie du Plessis, 9 Emmanuel Saubusse, 8 PJ van Lill, 7 Baptiste Chouzenoux, 6 Johnnie Beattie, 5 Adam Jaulhac, 4 Pablo Huete, 3 Aretz Iguiniz, 2 Manu Leiataua, 1 Jérôme Schuster
Replacements: 16 Simon Labouyrie, 17 Ramon Ayarza, 18 Tom Donnelly, 19 Jean-Jo Marmouyet, 20 Bastien Duhalde, 21 Raphaël Lagarde, 22 Bastien Fuster, 23 Toma Taufa
