Marcos Kremer has been banned for four weeks for a late tackle on Rob du Preez during Clermont's defeat at Bayonne on 19 September. The entry point was six weeks, raised to seven by his record and then cut by three for his guilty plea. He will miss four matches.
Toulouse have secured their two first-choice locks, Emmanuel Meafou on a long-term deal and Clement Verge until 2031 according to La Depeche. Both are injured, one after knee surgery, the other with a ruptured cruciate ligament suffered on 28 August. The club is looking for a medical joker in that position.
Geoffrey Doumayrou will become France's defence coach until the end of the 2028 Six Nations, according to L'Equipe. The 37-year-old former international centre will keep his job at Montpellier and join the national side during international windows. He replaces Shaun Edwards, who left in mid-June.
France host Canada on 26 September at 5.45pm at the Stade Marcel-Deflandre for their third WXV Global Series match. Francois Ratier has made three changes, forced by the suspensions of Ambre Mwayembe and Cloe Correa. Marie Ibanez starts on the wing for her first cap, with four more uncapped players on the bench.
Rabah Slimani has broken a thumb, an injury picked up in the defeat at Castres on 19 September, and will miss several weeks. Beka Gigashvili, who had surgery on his left foot in early September, has yet to return. Toulon have used only two tightheads in the first three rounds.
Brive beat Colomiers 41-26 on Thursday night to open round five with a fifth win in five matches. The club had never started a Pro D2 season this way in eight attempts.
The Brive back is retiring after repeated concussions. The withdrawal of his licence bars him from playing at any level, and he describes lasting effects in daily life, ten months after his last blow.
Matthieu Jalibert's absence opens up the fly-half shirt for Hugo Reus. At 22, he has already played for La Rochelle, Montpellier, Perpignan and Bordeaux-Bègles: 52 matches and 258 points in the Top 14.
The league settled the shape of the 2027-28 season on Wednesday. Eight rounds before the World Cup knockout stage, a fortnight off, then twelve matches in a row. The cap of eight loans per club does not move.
Five days after extending until 2032, Emmanuel Meafou injured his left knee on the final play in Rennes. La Dépêche reports an absence of around ten weeks, which would rule him out of the November Tests.
Both sent off against Australia, Cloé Correa and Ambre Mwayembe have been suspended for two and three weeks. They will miss France v Canada in La Rochelle on Saturday, where Marie Ibañez could win a first cap.
Rodrigo Marta has scored in each of his first three Top 14 matches for Pau, five tries in all. The Portugal wing, signed from Pro D2 this summer, leads the try-scoring chart on his own.
Six to eight weeks out had been reported on Monday. On Tuesday, Matthieu Jalibert announced a four-week lay-off himself, a timeframe that brings him back before France assemble. Last year, an injury in the same place cost him the November Tests.
The Septeo Stadium pitch, damaged by the summer heat, will not be fit to host Toulon on 4 October. Montpellier will play at La Mosson, home of the city's football club, just as the same fixture was moved to Béziers in February 2025.
Lyon's English number 8 has torn his right triceps after the win over Pau. Out for around a month, he will miss Stade Français, Bordeaux-Bègles, La Rochelle and the Challenge Cup opener.
Damian Penaud spent ten minutes in the sin bin on Sunday for an offence he did not know existed. He thought sending the ball towards his own line kept him legal. The tackle law looks at something else: where the player comes from.
Handed a start for his first Top 14 match in Louis Bielle-Biarrey's position, Hugo Avogadro scored in the 10th minute against Stade Français. At 19 years and 7 months, he is the youngest try scorer of the season.
15 matches, 990 points, 154 tries. The WXV Global Series has completed two rounds, with a single draw, the one that cost England their first points of the season.
Stade Nantais and Graulhet are the only teams with three wins from three. The round produced five scores above forty points and three games decided by three points or fewer, including a 23-22 in Geneva.
Lyon beat Pau 51-25 and have 14 points from a possible 15. Red cards for Baptiste Pesenti and Marcos Kremer preceded two defeats by more than 20 points, Racing won at Deflandre, and Toulon sit 13th despite losing three matches by four points in total.
