Top 14 preview - Biarritz

Welcome to Parc des Sports Aguiléra

We take an in-depth look at the runners and the riders of the 2005/06 Top 14 ahead of the new season. Today we tackle Biarritz.

Last time around:

Les Basques enjoyed a wonderful end to an arduous season when they avenged their heartbreaking last-gasp Heineken Cup exit at the hands of Stade Français by beating the same in the championship final in similar fashion, courtesy of a drop goal by Julien Peyrelongue and a penalty by Dimitri Yachvilli in the last five minutes of extra time. It was a suitable finale for a team that started their season in wildly inconsistent form - not helped by an extraordinary string of injuries - but managed to steady the ship and send European champions Wasps tumbling from their perch in January. They then launched a second-half assault on the French league that saw them climb from sixth at the half-way stage to second at the end, losing only three games in the return round of fifteen maches. Serge Blanco's former club was also the only team to return from Welford Road with the spoils during the whole of last season (Toulouse won at the Walkers Stadium).

This time?

They have lost several squad players to other clubs, which will weaken their position should the injury curse strike again, and with both Jimmy Marlu and Mickael Etcheverria missing to long-term injury already, the depth in the backs looks a little thin for the start of the season. Guillame Bousses' defection to Bourgoin is an especially big loss. However the hard core of the pack is still unchanged, and the first-choice XV is a battle-hardened unit brimming with international experience that will take any team on its day. They will undoubtedly be up there at the business end of the table come the end of the season. In the Heineken Cup, the draw has been kind, pitting them against Saracens, Treviso and Ulster. All of those games should be gimmes at their terrifying Parc Municipal Aguilera stadium with its raucous fans, but Biarritz are moody on the road, and much of their Heineken Cup hope will rest on how they deal with the challenge of trips to Ulster and Watford. It would be nice if they got through to a home quarter-final though, with another cracking day at the Basque country's Anoeta Stadium in San Sebastian to look forward to if they do. They must also hope for success to relieve the financial pressures which briefly threatened their participation in the Top 14 this season.

Captain: Hooker Jean-Michel Gonzalez is the oldest head in a grizzled pack at 37. Capped 35 times by his country, Gonzalez shows no sign of slowing down, and commands instant respect.

One to watch: With Yann Delaigue ageing fast, a back-up will need to be found for Frédéric Michalak in time for the World Cup in 2007, and Bernard Laporte could do much worse than look at Julien Peyrelongue. The 24-year-old conducts the old heads outside him with a calm deftness that belies his comparatively tender years. Marc Baget is also a prospect in the back row.

In: Denis Lison (Grenoble), Nicolás Cariza (Rosario, Argentinian), Benjamin Noirot (Dax), Sereli Bobo (Parma, Fijian), Thibault Duvalet (Périgueux), Haig Sare (Warringah, Australian)

Out: Guillaume Boussès (Bourgoin), Marc Lièvremont (coach), Christophe Milhères, Bruno Hiriart, Emmanuel Menieu and Mathieu Maillard (Dax), Guillaume Serres (Auch), Philippe Bernat-Salles (Tarbes), Laurent Mazas, Sotele Puleoto and Jean-Michel Gonzalez (retired), Thibault Lacroix (Stade Français).

Colours: White and red

Club info:

Parc des Sports Aguiléra (15000 seats)
rue Cino del Duca
64200 Biarritz

Tickets: ¬10-33

Travel connections: low-cost airlines serve Biarritz airport direct, and Bordeaux international is no more than ninety minutes away. Biarritz has a direct TGV link to Paris.