Probably the top match of the weekend is that between champions Biarritz, who have not been having everything their own way, and former champions Toulouse who have been having little their own way of late.

This year Biarritz have slipped to third behind Stade Français and Clermont Auvergne but Toulouse are now fifth, behind Perpignan, 11 points below Stade Français.

There is talk of a crisis at Toulouse. They would like to convince the world that there is no crisis but going across into the Basque country may well not be the easiest way to do so.

Bourgoin are next on the table and they have no easy task in playing Montauban away, for at home Montauban have accounted for Biarritz and Stade Français amongst others this season.

At present the standings in the Top 14, with league points, are:

1. Stade Français 55
2. Clermont Auvergne 50
 3. Biarritz 47
 4. Perpignan 45
 5. Toulouse 44
 6. Bourgoin 40 
 7. Montauban 33
 8. Castres 33
 9. Agen 33
 10. Brive 31
 11. Narbonne 30
 12. Albi 28
 13. Montpellier 28
 14. Bayonne 26
 
 There is a form of excited anxiety at the top as sides vie for knock-out spots and in some cases for qualification for next season's Heineken Cup. Down below there is desperate anxiety as the long drop back to Pro D2. For Brive, Albi, Montpellier and Bayonne that anxiety has a good foundation.
 
Round 17 is a lateral inversion of round 4.

The fixtures for Round 17 are:

Agen vs Castres
Montauban vs Bourgoin
Perpignan vs Bayonne
Montpellier vs Clermont Auvergne
Stade Français vs Narbonne
Albi vs Brive
Biarritz vs Toulouse

At the reverse venues in Round 4, the results were:

Perpignan vs Bayonne, 20-9
Brive vs Albi, 6-3
Castres vs Agen, 31-26
Toulouse vs Biarritz, 20-3
Bourgoin vs Montauban, 35-22
Stade Français vs Narbonne, 33-24
Clermont Auvergne vs Montpellier, 55-7

Making allowance for the great advantage of home venues, it would seem that Albi have a good chance of lifting themselves away from the bottom of the table, for even if Montpellier are at home, they got a thumping from Clermont Auvergne last time and the Auvergnats are riding high at the moment and have the carrot of glory.

Narbonne, too, could well be heavily defeated by Stade Français who are not sitting as comfortably at the top of the tree as they were before Montauban introduced them to defeat.

That means that Albi could end the weekend in 10th position.

Bayonne could end the weekend further bemired as they go across to take on the Catalans in fort Aimé-Giral.

At the top then a lot depends on what Toulouse, who must be smarting after comments made about them especially after their spectacular capitulation to Llanelli last weekend, manage away in Biarritz. If Biarritz lose, Perpignan and Toulouse could well climb above them. They would not like that at all.

The mid-table movement could well belong to Agen who would be pleased to claw their way back into the top eight.

Teams:

Agen: 15 Pépito Elhorga, 14 Manu Ahotaeiloa, 13 Arnaud Mignardi, 12 Sylvain Mirande, 11 Rupeni Caucaunibuca, 10 Jérôme Miquel, 9 Billy Fulton, 8 Adri Badenhorst, 7 Thomas Soucaze, 6 Peïo Som, 5 Willem Stoltz, 4 Kiril Koulemine, 3 Kees Meeuws, 2 Jalil Narjissi, 1 Eusebio Guiñazu.
Replacements: 16 Ace Tiatia, 17 Laurent Cabarry, 18 Colin Yukes, 19 Matthieu Lièvremont, 20 Nicolas Morlaes, 21 Morrisson Faaletino, 22 Conrad Stoltz

Albi: 15 Frédéric Manca, 14 Justin Mensah-Coker, 13 Dimitri Senio, 12 Thomas Sanchou, 11 Patrice Serre,  10 André Hough,  9  Sébastien Pagès, 8 Vincent Clément, 7 Yohan  Misse, 6 Franck Maréchal, 5  Arnaud Méla, 4 Paul Guffroy, 3 Forrest Gainer, 2 Mickaël Ladhuie, 1 Boris Stankovich.
Replacements: 16 Guillaume Ribes, 17 Stéphane Delpuech, 18 Martin Gady, 19 Philippe Guicherd, 20 Stanislas Krzesinski, 21 Kevin Boulogne, 22 Paul Delvin.

Bayonne: 

Backs: Benjamin Thiery, Sam Gerber, Juan Martín Berberian, Henri-Pierre Vermis, Richard Dourthe, Yoan Audrin, Gérard Fraser, Sebastien Inigo, Julien Tilloles

Forwards: Marc Baget, Jacques Deen, Vlatcheslav Gratchev, Louis Massabeau, Guillaume Bernad, Cedrci Bergez, Mikaera Tewhata, Rob Linde, Jean-Marie Usandisaga, Eduard Coetzee, Augustin Lopresti, Aretz Iguiniz, Grant Hill, Christophe Laurent. Brive: 15 Johan Dalla Riva, 14 Farid Sid, 13 Ludovic Valbon, 12 Sébastien Bonetti, 11 Yves Donguy, 10 Luciano Orquera, 9 Jean-Baptiste Péjoine, 8 Vincent Forgues, 7 Fabien Domingo, 6 Simon Azoulai, 5 Mitu Petre, 4 Johan van Zyl, 3 Petrisor Toderasc, 2 Julien Campo, 1 Luke Harbut.
Replacements: 16 Amédée Domenech, 17 Simon Lemalu, 18 Charl van Rensburg, 19 Aurélien Beco, 20 Tim Clark, 21 Maxime Petitjean, 22 Terry Fanolua.

Biarritz: 15 Nicolas Brusque, 14 Philippe Bidabé, 13 Romain Cabannes, 12 Damien Traille, 11 Jean-Baptiste Gobelet, 10 Julien Peyrelongue, 9 Dimitri Yachvili, 8 Imanol Harinordoquy, 7 Thomas Lièvremont, 6 Serge Betsen, 5 David Couzinet, 4 Stephen Hall,  3 Benoît Lecouls, 2 Benoît August, 1 Petru Balan.
Replacements: 16 Benjamin Noirot, 17 Denis Avril, 18  Yohann Carpentier, 19 Mohamed Dridi, 20 Julien Dupuy, 21 Marcelo Bosch, 22 Sereli Bobo

Bourgoin:
 
Forwards: Olivier Milloud, Davit Kinchagishvili, Benoît Cabello, Rémy Vigneaux, Olivier Sourgens, Pablo Cardinali, Bryce Williams, Carlo Del Fava, Fevre, Brice Monzeglio, Julien Bonnaire, Mark Rennie, Wessel Jooste
 
Backs: Morgan Parra, Mickaël  Forest, Benjamin Boyet, Sébastien Laloo, Jean-Francois Coux, Guillaume Boussès, Rudi Coetzee, Glenn Davis, Matthieu Nicolas, Salesi Finau, Florian Denos

Brive: 15 Johan Dalla Riva, 14 Farid Sid, 13 Ludovic Valbon, 12 Sébastien Bonetti, 11 Yves Donguy, 10 Luciano Orquera, 9 Jean-Baptiste Péjoine, 8 Vincent Forgues, 7 Fabien Domingo, 6 Simon Azoulai, 5 Mitu Petre, 4 Johan van Zyl, 3 Petrisor Toderasc, 2 Julien Campo, 1 Luke Harbut.
Replacements: 16 Amédée Domenech, 17 Simon Lemalu, 18 Charl van Rensburg, 19 Aurélien Beco, 20 Tim Clark, 21 Maxime Petitjean, 22 Terry Fanolua.

Castres: 15 Romain Teulet, 14 Laloa Milford, 13 Phil Christophers, 12 Steve Kefu, 11 Rafael Carballo, 10 Cameron McIntyre, 9 Pablo Canavosio, 8 Patrick Tabacco, 7 Alex Manta, 6 Gerhard Vosloo, 5 Lionel Nallet (captain), 4 Pascal Papé, 3 Jérémy Castex, 2 Romain Terrain, 1 Carl Hoeft.
Replacements: 16 Danie Saayman, 17 David Roumieu, 18 Federico Capo Ortega, 19 Florent Fourcade, 20 Gordon Ross, 21 Christophe Laussucq, 22 Jean-Baptiste Peyras- Loustalet.

Clermont Auvergne: 15 Anthony Floch, 14 Aurelien Rougerie, 13 Gonzalo Canale, 12 Seremaïa Baï, 11 Julien Malzieu, 10 Brock James, 9 Pierre Mignoni, 8 Sam Broomhall, 7 Elvis Vermeulen, 6 Alexandre Audebert, 5 Thibault Privat, 4 Loic Jacquet, 3 Martni Scelzo, 2 Mario Ledesma, 1 Laurent Emmanuelli.
Replacements: 16 Brice Miguel, 17 Davit Zirakashvili, 18 James Cudmore, 19 Gonzalo Longo, 20 Alessandro Troncon, 21 Pierre-Manuel Garcia, 22 Vilimoni Delasau

Montauban: Bogdan Balan, Pablo Lemoine,  Pablo Henn, Benjamin Sa, Grégory Arganèse, Camille Traversa, Juan Carlos Bado, Matthias Rolland, Lyonel Vaïtanaki, Rowan Frost, Fabrice Soldan, Marc Raynaud,  Yannick Caballero, Matthew Clarkin, Petre Mitu, Cédric Garcia, Sébastien Fauqué, Rida Jahouer, Jean-Philippe Viard, Ryan Smith, Mike Pyke, Jean-Emmanuel Cassin, Sylvain Jonnet, Denis Cech 

Montpellier:

Forwards: Philémon Toleafoa, Joan Caudullo, Olivier Diomande, Anthony Vigna, Clément Baïocco, Sébastien Petit, Mickaël Bert, Jharay Russell, Drikus Hanke, Sébastien Galtier, Michel Macurdy, Cédric Mathieu, Fulgence Ouedraogo, Martin Durand.
 
Backs: Sébastien Buada, David Aucagne, Julien Tomas, Alessandro Stoica, Rickus Lubbe, Olivier Sarraméa, Ali Koko, Olivier Sarraméa, Régis Lespinas, Sébastien Kuzbik.

Narbonne: 15 Nicolas Nadau, 14 Thomas Bouquié, 13 Olivier Bénassis, 12 Lionel Mazars, 11 Julien Candelon, 10 Cédric Rosalen, 9 Laurent Balue, 8 Benjamin Beaux, 7 Dwayne Haare, 6 Lei Tomiki, 5 Andrew Springgay, 4 Ludo Michaux, 3 Jason Hooper, 2 Thibault Algret, 1 Arnaud Martinez.
Replacements: 16 AN Other, 17 Luc Ducalcon, 18 Bonzolé Mololo, 19 Henk Eksteen, 20 Vincent Noutary, 21 Jean-Marie Bisaro, 22 Julien Seron.

Perpignan:

Forwards: Sébastien Chobet, Nicolas Mas, Vincent Debaty, Michel Konieck, Marius Tincu, Guilhem Guirado, Rimas Alvarez-Kairelis, Olivier Olibeau, Colin Gaston, Guillaume Bortolaso, Richard Parks, Grégory Le Corvec, Viliani Vaki, Ovidiu Tonita

Backs: Nicolas Durand, Sylvain Dupuy, Nicolas Laharrague, Gavin Hume, David Marty, Jean-Philippe Grandclaude, Thomas Anies, Pascal Bomati, Christophe Manas

Stade Français: 15 Nicolas Jeanjean, 14 Julien Arias, 13 Geoffroy Messina, 12 Thibault Lacroix, 11 Denis Dallan, 10 David Skrela, 9 Agustin Pichot, 8 Pierre Rabadan, 7 Frans Viljoen, 6 Antoine Burban, 5 Boela du Plooy, 4 Sadike Samo, 3 Pieter de Villiers, 2 Benjamin Kayser, 1 Rodrigo Roncero
Replacements: 16 Mathieu Blin, 17 Yohan Montes, 18 Mike James, 19 Sergio Parisse, 20 Alexandre Albouy, 21 Olivier Borges, 22 Brian Liebenberg

Toulouse: 15 Clément Poitrenaud, 14 Vincent Clerc, 13 Yannick Jauzion, 12 Maleli Kunavore, 11 Cédric Heymans, 10 Jean-Frédéric Dubois, 9 Jean-Baptiste Elissalde, 8 Yannick Nyanga, 7 Isitolo Maka, 6 Thierry Dusautoir, 5 Patricio  Albacete, 4 Romain Millo-Chluski, 3 Omar Hasan, 2 Yannick Bru (captain), 1 Salvatore Perugini
Replacements: 16 Virgil Lacombe, 17 Jean-Baptiste Poux, 18 Grégory Lamboley, 19 Jean Bouilhou, 20 Valentin Courrent, 21 Maxime Medard, 22 Florian Fritz, 23 Trevor Brennan

Fixtures with match officials:

Biarritz vs Toulouse
Referee: Jean-Christophe Gastou
Touch judges: Henri Claverie, Jacques Laplace
Assessor: Daniel Gillet
Goal judges: Stephan Pomarède, Jean-Marie Piraveau
 
Montpellier vs Clermont Auvergne
Referee: Joël Jutge
Touch judges: Patrick Dellac, Franck Florens
Assessor: Patrick Robin
Goal judges: Alain Monteux, Laurent Delorme
 
Albi vs Brive
Referee: Frank Maciello
Touch judges: Maurice Duny, Gilbert Darrieutort
Assessor: Joël Dumé
Goal judges: Pascal Gauzere, René Roustany
 
Stade Français vs Narbonne
Referee: Eric Darrière
Touch judges: Didier Dussaut, Jean-Christophe Clot
Assessor: Marc Daroque
Goal judges: Christophe Dutreuilh, Pascal Moreau
 
Perpignan vs Bayonne
Referee: Bernard Dal Maso
Touch judges: Pierre Masson, Didier Barnagaud
Assessor: Marc Desclaux
Goal judges: Cédric Marchat, Stéphane Boyer
 
Montauban vs Bourgoin
Referee: Christophe Berdos
Touch judges: Patrick Bellet, Claude Tajan
Assessor: Serge Marzullo
Goal judges: Jérôme Lamirand, Nicolas Datas
 
Agen vs Castres
Referee: Didier Mene
Touch judges: Bernard Vals, Didier Bart
Assessor: Michel Lamoulie
Goal judges: Laurent Sclafer, Mathieu Raynal