Perpignan as a big favorite
Best attack and best defense of Pro D2, Usap is in the last four in the longest favored for the direct rise to Top 14, which it left in 2019 at the end of a nightmarish season.
The Catalan club should be able to count on one of the revelations of the season in the antechamber of the elite, the 21-year-old back Melvyn Jaminet, well surrounded with the Argentinian international center Jeronimo de la Fuente or the winger Jean- Bernard Pujol, co-top scorer in the championship with 10 tries.
The 1,000 spectators authorized to fill the aisles of Aimé-Giral should push behind their team while the match will be broadcast on five giant screens in the city center of Perpignan, with a limited number of places.
Beaten twice by Usap this season and came back from afar last week against Colomiers in the jump-off (28-22), Oyonnax will have absolutely nothing to lose.
Valves with biarrot developer
The second semi-final between the dolphin of Perpignan, Vannes, and the third, Biarritz, is more uncertain on paper.
The Breton club also had a great season, even occupying first place on several occasions, but its inexperience at this level could play in a final phase match.
Promoted to Pro D2 in 2016, he was aiming for an entry into the elite by 2023, but would see himself skipping the stages with players of international caliber like the English back Nick Abendanon or the Argentine third row Rodrigo Bruni.
The morbihan neophyte will host a historic French rugby club, Biarritz, in its Rabine stadium.
The five-time champion of France, who has been vegetating since 2014 in Pro D2, ended the season with a bang and made a strong impression last Saturday during his barrage against Grenoble (41-14).
Read also
Pro D2 schedule and results
