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The penultimate round of the Pro D2 begins today in France. The 2018-2019 French second division has been long and competitive however it is not yet known who will be competing in the play-off’s and who will be joining Massy in being relegated to the Fédérale 1.
Kicking-off week 29 will be the top of the table clash between Oyonnax and Brive. The teams are tied on 83 points and the winner of this match should, logically, be the side to qualify directly for the 2019-2020 Top 14 season. Uruguayan Manuel Leindekar will start for Oyonnax in the second-row.
On Friday Mont de Marsan will be looking to defeat Bourg en Bresse at home to close-in on a place in the play-off’s. Involved in the match will be three Argentine props. Carlos Muzzio will be the starting Mont de Marsan loose head; Victor Arias will play from the bench for Bourg en Bresse; while Jerónimo Negrotto will be a reserve for the home side. Uruguayan scrum-half Agustín Ormaechea will also feature from the bench.
In Basque country Bayonne could not be better positioned for a home win. They are up against bottom-of-the-table Massy, a side assured of relegation to the Fédérale 1. Bayonne go into the match in third place and do so with Martín Bustos Moyano named on the bench.
A club to have successfully achieved the mission of avoiding relegation is Aix en Provence. The Marseille side will be on the road against Carcassonne on Friday. Featuring for them from the bench will be Leandro Mario Assi, covering tight head.
In the French rugby heartland Montauban play host to Nevers. The fixture sees 12th vs 6th though pre-season few would have predicted that these two sides would be in these respective positions. Looking to play in another RWC is Conor Trainor. The Canadian will start in the centers for Nevers who will enter the play-off’s zone with a win over Montauban.
Finishing off week 29 will be Colomiers against Charente on Sunday. With the home side having just two points more than Bourg en Bresse they need to come away with competition points to stay outside of the relegation zone. Charente are five points outside of the play-off’s zone making this a match for them to target.
