Stade Toulousain vs Stade Rochelais Prediction: Rochelais remain a threat for the Toulousain

The first semifinal playoff action in the France Top 14 will see Stade Toulousain play Stade Rochelais at Nouveau Stade de Bordeaux. The hosts come in as favorites here, while Rochelais are underdogs. Can Stade Rochelais turn the tables in this game?

Stade Toulousain finished the season top of the standings with 76 points from 26 matches, one point ahead of Stade Francais Paris. However, this team scored 765 goals while conceding 592, which earned them an automatic spot in this semifinal stage. In their last game of the season, Stade Toulousain lost to Lyon in a 40-28 while also drawing 31-31 in a prior encounter against Stade Rochelais. Now, heading into this game, Stade Toulousain have won five of their last seven games, losing one and drawing one.

Stade Rochelais will look to have their luck in this game despite coming in as the underdog. In the regular season, Stade Rochelais finished the season with 66 points, leaving them 5th in the standings in 26 games. In those matches, Stade Rochelais scored 595 goals while conceding 496. However, in their playoff action against RC Toulonnais in the quarterfinal, Stade Rochelais secured a 29-34 win. In that game, Stade Rochelais secured a 15-24 victory in the first half, and despite losing 14-10 in the second half, their first-half win margin was good enough to earn them a spot here. 

Despite the Stade Toulousain coming as favorites and will be at home, it is impossible to write Stade Rochelais off here. Looking at how the two teams’ prior meetings ended, Stade Rochelais have been a threat, and in this one, we can expect them to cover the spread. Also, with both teams expected to approach this game with a lot of offensive performance, I expect it to end with high points like their most recent game.