La Grande Finale de Top 14 will take place at the Stade de France in Paris on Saturday. It will be contested between Toulouse and Montpellier, the only two teams to have been crowned French champions during the decade of the 2020s.
Toulouse are the reigning champions and enter the 2026 final after having won the past three finals. Toulouse won in 2025, 2024 and 2023 while Montpellier won in 2022 and Toulouse also won in 2021. Will Toulouse extend their title streak to four consecutive years or will Montpellier pull-off an upset victory?
Toulouse enter as clear favorites. The team finished the Top 14 regular season in first spot and Montpellier were next best in second. Montpellier fought past Stade Français in their Semi Final, winning 25-15 in Marseilles while Toulouse humiliated Racing 92 with a 71-17 victory.
The Top 14 Final will see Argentina, Canada and the USA all represented. Puma Santiago Chocobares starts at inside center for Toulouse while Eagle, David Ainu’u is the team’s replacement loose head prop. They will be up a Montpellier team with former Puma Domingo Miotti at fly half and contemporary Puma Justo Piccardo on the bench.
Montpellier’s starting XV also contains a Canadian connection. 25-year-old Edmontonian, Tyler Duguid starts in the second-row. He made his debut for France last July making him not eligible for his native Canada at Rugby World Cup 2027.
| LINE-UPS |
TOULOUSE
15 Blair Kinghorn, 14 Teddy Thomas, 13 Pierre-Louis Barassi, 12 Santiago Chocobares, 11 Matthis Lebel, 10 Romain Ntamack, 9 Antoine Dupont (capt.), 8 Alexandre Roumat, 7 Jack Willis, 6 François Cros, 5 Emmanuel Meafou, 4 Joshua Brennan, 3 Joel Merkler, 2 Peato Mauvaka, 1 Rodrigue Neti
MONTPELLIER
15 Tom Banks, 14 Gabriel Ngandebe, 13 Arthur Vincent, 12 Auguste Cadot, 11 Donovan Taofifénua, 10 Hugo Domingo Miotti, 9 Ali Price, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Alexandre Bécognée, 6 Lenni Nouchi (capt.), 5 Tyler Duguid, 4 Florian Verhaeghe, 3 Mohamed Haouas, 2 Jordan Uelese, 1 Baptiste Erdocio
The post Americas Players in La Grande Finale de Top 14 appeared first on Americas Rugby News.
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