It's a strange 24th round that has just come to an end. On the one hand predictable. And on the other surprising.
Unsurprisingly, La Rochelle and Stade Toulousain win
In the category of trains that arrive on time, La Rochelle and Toulouse did as they do every weekend: they won.
The Maritimes beat Toulon at the Velodrome. It was a clean, straightforward victory (8-23) that confirms La Rochelle second spot in the table.
Meanwhile the Stade Toulousain, beat UBB 31-17. Toulouse remains on top of the league.
Pau and Racing 92 win big
In less expected news, Pau beat Castres 40-3 and Racing beat Bayonne 55-14.
All of which served to remind us that the Tarnais are still sick. And that the Basques are a long way from qualifying for the finals.
Brive's exploit
Finally, there is the match that belongs in the realm of the supernatural.
This Montpellier-Brive match will live long in the memories of the TOP 14 ... Because Brive was behind, because Brive was down to 14 men, because Brive was almost in ProD2, because Brive had to save its skin on the pitch of the French champions... And Brive did just that!
A miraculous comeback in the last second, a conversion in the form of crazy hope beyond regulation time.
A 26-27 win over the MHR had two contrasting consequences: the season for the Corréziens was not over. Montpellier's is already over.
