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Top 14 Final 2015: Key Battles in Clermont Auvergne vs. Stade Francais
Published: June 10, 2015
The Parisian underdogs deserve their place in the French finale following a dominant 33-16 win over defending champions Toulon, while a closely fought 18-14 victory against Toulouse saw Clermont through.
Les Jaunards will appear in their first championship clash since 2010, but it's been an even longer wait for Stade to make the playoff crescendo, making their first final in eight years.
Both teams have motivation to break their respective trophy droughts. Here, we provide a look ahead to which key battles will have the greatest bearing on Saturday's outcome.
Julien Arias vs. Noa Nakaitaci
In what was a tight affair ruled largely by the two packs, Clermont's semi-final against Toulouse saw one player gain more yardage in open space than any other—Noa Nakaitaci.
Neither back line enjoyed a tremendous amount of attacking freedom—the losers in particular—but Nakaitaci finished as one of the fixture's standout figure with ball in hand, making 107 metres, per ESPN Scrum.
Stade Francais flyer Julien Arias couldn't boast the same sort of stats in his side's win over Toulon, but his 80th minute summed up the team's relentless attitude to be up front in their approach against daunting opponents.
Clermont have their share of kicking maestros capable of pinning Stade on the back foot if all goes to plan—Camille Lopez, Morgan Parra and Brock James will all be looking to cause Saturday's enemies issues in defence.
And with that burden tracking back comes a problem for Arias, who gave away two penalties in last weekend's win that the likes of Parra and James will be only too happy to punish should they arise again.
There's no doubt Clermon...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Rugby Union
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