On to the show! Still just as dense and open, the Top 14 set off with a bang this weekend with defending champion Montpellier moving to European champion La Rochelle and the clash in the South-West between Bordeaux-Bègles and Toulouse. The very first points of the 2022-2023 season will however be scored under the roof of the Arena, where Racing 92 and Castres will have the honor of launching hostilities on Saturday, from 3:00 p.m.
A pre-World Cup
The 2022/2023 season will be a pre-World Cup year (organized in September 2023 in France). After eight days of championships, the season will experience a first three-week break in November for the autumn tour of the XV of France, which will face Australia, South Africa and Japan). Then four weekends will be reserved for the European Cup, two in December on the 10th and 17th, and two in January, the 14th and 21st.
During the 6 nations tournament, Days 17 and 19 will be played in conjunction with the matches of the French team. This year, the Top 14 semi-finals will be played in Spain, on the Basque coast, in San Sebastian.
Maintenance, a hard-fought fight that promises to be in the Top 14 this season
After a 2021/2022 exercise which saw Montpellier win its first Brennus shield in its history at the expense of Castres Olympique, the battle for the final phase (the 6 best teams in the standings) will once again be very intense. Between the European champions Rochelais, Stade Toulousain, Racing 92, Union Bordeaux-Bègles, Lou, Clermont or even Toulon, the fight will be tough until the last day.
As in previous years, the first 2 teams in the standings at the end of the 26 days of the top 14 2022 / 2023 calendar will be directly qualified for the 1/2 finals, which will be played in San Sebastian, Spain.
If the race for the top 6 promises to be intense, that for maintenance promises to be just as tough. Pau, Stade Français, Brive, Perpignan, who fought last season, could do it again, with Bayonne.