Top 14 talking point: Video glitch try leaves Toulon fuming
French rugby’s new independent video referee system has been operational for just a few weeks. But a glitch at an inopportune moment means it is already the subject of controversy
Latest
Top 14 talking points: Doubting Thomas unloads on 45-second kick rule
Toulouse’s Thomas Ramos weighs in on the shortened time limit for penalties and conversions, the honest reaction of Jean-Noël Spitzer after Vannes were bullied off the ball by Montpellier, La Rochelle’s new teenage star ... and the always remarkable Jiuta Wainiqolo
Top 14 talking points: Fightbacks a-go-go
It was, mostly, all right on the night as French rugby's Top 14 returns with a series of close encounters of the comeback kind ... except in Bordeaux
France’s Jalimack 2.0 experiment: ‘We speak the same rugby’
With no group training to tune up a new 10-15 combo, the Ntamack / Jalibert duo – reunited for Les Bleus for the first time since two tests at 10-12 in November 2021 – worked together in a single set-up session
Top 14 talking points: all over bar the play-off shouting
Who reached the Top 14 play-offs, who didn't, what they said, and what it means…
What Racing 92’s big Clermont win means for the final round of French rugby’s Top 14
The scale and manner of Racing 92’s Top 14 win on Sunday changed a host of top-six calculations for the final round of matches this coming weekend
Top 14 talking points: All about Bordeaux and Montpellier
How French Champions and Challenge Cup finalists Bordeaux and Montpellier fared the weekend before their title matches against Leinster and Ulster in Bilbao … along with the other 12 sides in the Top 14
Top 14 talking points: And then there were eight
With three rounds of the regular Top 14 season to go, eight teams are left in the hunt for just six play-off places
The other Kpoku brother
Quietly, and with little of the media fuss that has surrounded his brothers, Jonathan Kpoku is carving out a rugby career in France that he hopes will continue for a long time to come
Top 14 talking points: To the wire on a record-breaking weekend
Late drama and four away wins. French rugby's Top 14 had it all in the round before the Champions and Challenge Cup semi-final weekend
Top 14 talking points: La Rochelle want to believe again
France’s Top 14 returned with a Fan Days weekend to launch a two-match run before a hiatus for the Champions and Challenge Cup semi-finals.
Vannes, Montauban, Perpignan and French rugby’s play-off problem
French rugby is proud of its open pyramid structure that allows for any side to dream an impossibly big dream. In theory. But not, increasingly, in practice
Champions Cup
Top 14 talking points: Cup knockout dress rehearsals
How France’s Top 14 sides got on in their last domestic game before the return of the Champions and Challenge Cups
France
Top 14 talking points: Results blueshift
A total 17 of the 34 players who took part in France’s Six Nations-winning campaign were straight back in domestic action this weekend, as the Top 14 returned
France
Top 14 talking points: Street smart La Rochelle crash Castres’ big birthday party
Ronan O’Gara’s La Rochelle snap a 56-day winless streak, Toulouse hit the big 100 for the season, and Toulon step-up for recuperating manager Pierre Mignoni
France
‘Sliding doors’ moments that changed Pau fullback Jack Maddocks’ life forever
A try scored by a fellow Australian halfway across the world brought Jack Maddocks to the shadow of the Pyrenees in 2021. This is the story of what happened next
France
Top 14 talking points: Managers feel February blues
Bayonne boss nears exit door after a back-to-back Top 14 defeats at home, while Toulon manager threatens to walk unless his side’s performances improve
France
Wales v France: how Les Bleus are shaping up for Cardiff
Injuries and returns after their Six Nations’ opening night win against Ireland mean France have some decisions to make in the days before they face Wales
Top 14 talking points: Defiant Toulouse damn the doublons
Toulouse marched on without their current French internationals, Clermont tripped up at Castres, Perpignan and La Rochelle paid heavily for early frailties, and penalties cost dearly Toulon on the final weekend of the Top 14 before a short Six Nations hiatus.
France
Top 14 talking points: Bayonne’s fortress breached 595 days later
Castres ended Bayonne’s 19-month Top 14 home run, Toulon continued theirs, Perpignan opened up what appears to be a crucial lead over Montauban at the bottom of the table, and Gregory Alldritt proved a point as La Rochelle went down fighting at Clermont.
France
Finally, could this be the dawn of the Age of Dupont-Jalibert for France rugby?
It has been a long time coming, but the 2026 Six Nations could be finally see France’s long desired scrum-half, fly-half partnership start to realise its immense potential
French Rugby Explained
Coaching Philosophies 101: Castres’ Steven Setephano
What drives Castres Olympique defence coach Steven Setephano
French Rugby Explained
French rugby. Explained. Dissected. Enjoyed
There’s rugby ... and, then, there’s French rugby Hello — as that big image at the top reads — and welcome to Le Rugby, a new guide through the strange and mysterious world of French rugby. This newsletter is for ... well... anyone and everyone interested in the game in France. As