Paris (AFP)

Cross destinies. Bordeaux-Bègles, leader of the championship with full confidence, receives Castres, his bane peeping on Sunday, on behalf of the 17th day of Top 14, while Sergio Parisse, now Toulonnais, will find the French Stadium.

. UBB and Urios face their bête noire

Indisputable leader of the Top 14, Bordeaux-Bègles (1st, 57 points, fifteen more than the 3rd) faces Sunday (12:30 pm) Castres (9th, 32 points), a team in the fight against relegation but that it has most beaten at home since the 2015-2016 season. The brain of this series is called Christophe Urios ... now on the bench of the UBB.

"When I left, I took the recipe. I took all the cookbooks," smiled the Girondin coach.

"Castres, I know by heart but I don't know how they train now. I'm not there, they changed everything. I don't really know ... After that, I have my little idea of ​​how they are going to play, obviously. They have recovered important players who helped restore some cohesion, guys who were pillars last year, very strong men. I expect a team that will play with its strengths ", he added.

Urios and the UBB had broken the Indian sign by winning, on the outward journey, in Castres (34-32). The OC has chained two wins in a row, ahead of Pau (26-16) then Agen (43-24). In Bordeaux, the Castres must continue.

. Racing in La Rochelle revealer

Two places and a single small point separate them. Between La Rochelle (3rd, 42 points) and Racing 92 (5th, 41 points), it is an ambitious duel that promises to be Saturday (3.30pm).

Les Ciel et Blanc will want to raise the bar after a narrow defeat in Lyon (29-20) to stay on track. Especially since the Racingmen seem to have - finally! - taken their ease at the Arena, where they remain on four consecutive successes at home, all competitions combined. Even without Camille Chat, Teddy Thomas, Bernard Le Roux or Virimi Vakatawa, retained by the Blues, the men of Laurent Travers have arguments.

Struggling on the conquest phases, the Rochelais will have to find a way to respond to the offensive arsenal of the Ile-de-France inhabitants, reinforced by the returns of Juan Imhoff and Simon Zebo in particular.

. Parisse finds Paris

For the first time in his career, Sergio Parisse will face Sunday (4:50 pm) the French Stadium, "his club", where he played for fourteen years before leaving angry. Absent on the outward journey (Toulon victory 33-30), the Italian will therefore face his story at Mayol.

But, at 36, the eternal third line is not one to make feelings. Exemplary on the ground, Parisse quickly established itself as an indisputable holder in the XV of the Bay. And too bad for the Roses, who must fight against relegation (13th, 24 points) without him. On the other hand, they will be able to rely on their medical joker, the wingman Alexis Plisson, a former RCT (2011-2014).

In the other meetings of the day, the international back Benjamin Fall could make his comeback after six months of absence. Good news for Montpellier, which is moving to the red lantern in Pau, with the aim of picking up in the top 6.

Finally, Toulouse, the defending French champion but only 6th, will want to chain a second success in a row on Saturday on the field of Bayonne (11th, 29 points), while the LOU, 2nd, will go to Brive.

Program of the 17th day of Top 14 disputed on Saturday February 29 and Sunday March 1:

Saturday February 29

(3:30 p.m.) Racing 92 - La Rochelle

(6:00 p.m.) Agen - Clermont

Bayonne - Toulouse

Pau - Montpellier

(8:45 p.m.) Brive - Lyon

Sunday March 1

(12:30 p.m.) Bordeaux-Bègles - Castres

(4:50 p.m.) Toulon - Stade Français

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