Two giants of the French game go head-to-head on Sunday as Racing 92 host Clermont Auvergne in the match of the Top14 weekend at the U Arena.
Elsewhere, Castres will be looking to build on an impressive opening day victory at Montpellier, while Vern Cotter’s men have a second tough encounter to open the year, this time against La Rochelle.
Stade Francais were another team to begin the campaign well and they have a potentially mouth-watering contest versus Bordeaux-Bègles.
Meanwhile, it could be an important weekend for both Agen and Perpignan. Those two clubs are expected to struggle this season and, after losing their first game, they will be searching for a win when they face-off at the Stade Armandie.
Saturday
Pau vs Toulon
Castres vs Lyon
Montpellier vs La Rochelle
Stade Francais vs Bordeaux-Bègles
Grenoble vs Toulouse
Sunday
Agen vs Perpignan
Racing 92 vs Clermont Auvergne
Pau vs Toulon
Stade du Hameau
Two teams who endured a disappointing opening round will look to get their campaigns kick-started in the first game of the weekend.
Simon Mannix’s charges were thrashed 41-19 by Bordeaux-Bègles while Toulon were disappointing in their 25-9 home defeat to Racing 92.
It was a poor start for Patrice Collazo having taken over as head coach from Fabien Galthie and he will demand a response on Saturday in what should be a tough challenge. Although Pau struggled against UBB, there is plenty of talent in their ranks, which will no doubt test the three-time European champions.
Last season’s result: Pau won 38-26
Kick-off: 14:45 local (12:45 GMT)
Referee: Pascal Gauzere
Assistant referees: Jonathan Dufort, Eric Soulan
TMO: Eric Gauzins
Castres vs Lyon
Stade Pierre-Fabre
Christophe Urios’ men picked up where they left off last season by defeating Montpellier 25-20 in a repeat of the 2018 final and they will look to back it up against Lyon.
It was yet another impressive performance by Castres, who once again overcame the financial disparity to beat Vern Cotter’s star-studded squad.
As a result, they will be favourites for this encounter with Lyon failing to take advantage of home comforts versus Toulouse last weekend.
Pierre Mignoni’s men could only draw with Les Rouge et Noir and the defending champions will expect to make it successive victories to start this campaign.
Last season’s result: Castres won 33-22
Kick-off: 18:00 local (16:00 GMT)
Referee: Adrien Descottes
Assistant referees: Maxime Chalon, Frederic Chazal
TMO: Eric Gonthier
Montpellier vs La Rochelle
Altrad Stadium
Following the defeat last week, Montpellier will no doubt be delighted that they have another home game to find their form.
Vern Cotter’s outfit were stunned by Castres for the second time in three months and will need to claim a victory here, otherwise the pressure could increase on their head coach.
They were almost unbeatable at home in 2017/18 but, with them succumbing to the champions in Round One, La Rochelle may sense an opportunity to inflict a second loss of the campaign.
That seems unlikely, however, with the visitors struggling to overcome Grenoble in their opening match, while they are also awaiting the arrival of new boss Jono Gibbes.
Last season’s result: Montpellier won 40-24
Kick-off: 18:00 local (16:00 GMT)
Referee: Thomas Charabas
Assistant referees: Laurent Millotte, Sebastien Hebert
TMO: Akim Hadj-Bachir
Stade Francais vs Bordeaux-Bègles
Stade Jean-Bouin
Both these sides severely underachieved in 2017/18, but they gave notice of their potential in the first game of this campaign.
After just avoiding being dragged into the bottom two last season, Stade Francais began superbly by defeating Perpignan 46-15, despite playing over 40 minutes with 14 men following Sergio Parisse’s red card.
Bordeaux also broke the 40-point mark by beating Pau at the Stade Chaban-Delmas and it appears as though these two could be genuine play-off contenders.
Saturday’s match will therefore tell us a little bit more about the teams but the Parisians, now under the guidance of Heyneke Meyer, seem to be in a particularly good place.
Last season’s result: Stade won 22-12
Kick-off: 18:00 local (16:00 GMT)
Referee: Vincent Blasco-Baque
Assistant referees: Pierre Brousset, Laurent Breil
TMO: Cedric Marchat
Grenoble vs Toulouse
Stade des Alpes
Grenoble surprised many last weekend by being very competitive against an ambitious La Rochelle team, but can they repeat that performance against Toulouse?
Les Rouge et Noir did well away at the struggling teams in 2017/18 and, against a side who are expected to reside near the bottom of the table, Ugo Mola’s men will expect to claim the four points.
Although they look slightly weaker on paper this season, Mola’s charges gained a creditable draw at Lyon in Round One and should have too much for the hosts.
Last season’s result: Did not play
Kick-off: 20:45 local (18:45 GMT)
Referee: Cyril Lafon
Assistant referees: Mathieu Delpy, Richard Duhau
TMO: Philippe Bonhoure
Agen vs Perpignan
Stade Armandie
Even at this stage of the campaign, this could be perceived as a crucial clash between two sides who are expected to struggle in the Top 14.
For Agen, they did remarkably well to survive last season but, having lost Pierre Fouyssac and Filipo Nakosi to Toulouse and Toulon respectively, it appears an uphill battle for Philippe Sella’s charges.
At Perpignan, meanwhile, hopes were higher for Christian Lanta’s men but they were completely outplayed by Stade Francais in the opening game of the season.
It was a reality check for the newly-promoted club and they will need to be significantly better this weekend.
Last season’s result: Did not play
Kick-off: 12:30 local (10:30 GMT)
Referee: Julien Castaignede
Assistant referees: Mathieu Noirot, Arnaud Blondel
TMO: Bruno Bessot
Racing 92 vs Clermont Auvergne
U Arena
The game of the weekend sees two of the Top 14 titles favourites go head-to-head attempting to build on last weekend’s impressive victories.
Clermont Auvergne looked in fine form against Agen, thrashing Philippe Sella’s outfit 67-23, while Racing 92 superbly dispatched Toulon with Finn Russell enjoying a fine debut.
After signing from Glasgow Warriors over the summer, the Scotland international settled in immediately and will hope to take that performance into this encounter.
With both teams full of star quality, it should be an outstanding contest, but the home side seem to have the edge at the moment.
Last season’s result: Racing won 58-6
Kick-off: 16:50 local (14:50 GMT)
Referee: Mathieu Raynal
Assistant referees: Laurent Cardona, Jean-Luc Rebollal
TMO: Sebastien Minery