USA PERPIGNAN / BIARRITZ OLYMPIQUE: HISTORICAL POSTER FOR THE SHIELD

 USA PERPIGNAN / BIARRITZ OLYMPIQUE: HISTORICAL POSTER FOR THE SHIELD.

USA PERPIGNAN / BIARRITZ OLYMPIQUE

The PRO D2 final takes place this Saturday (5.30 p.m.) at the GGL Stadium in Montpellier, with a prestigious poster between USA Perpignan and Biarritz Olympique. Here are five good reasons not to miss this meeting.

Never has a PRO D2 final gathered so many Brennus Shields

On the Perpignan side, there are 7 titles of Champion of France, while in Biarritz, there are 5 titles on the list. So here's a PRO D2 final that features a total of 12 Brennus Shields, and that says a lot about what these two clubs represent in the history of French rugby. They are two monuments, two pillars, they made the heyday of the hexagonal oval balloon and one of them will find the elite at the end of this so enticing final, which will bring back fond memories.

Because it is also a face to face meeting between Occitanie and New Aquitaine

In the 1930s, the USAP and the BO fought in the finals of the 1st Division, but this poster remains unpublished for the 2nd national level. And it's also a great 2000s rivalry between Catalonia and the Basque Country. If we can not speak of derby with regard to the 500 kms which separate the two cities, here are two magnificent audiences who will face each other with an overflowing passion for their colors, and this desire to see their team shine on the lawn of the GGL Stadium.

The two teams are on an incredible dynamic at the end of the season

If the USAP has only five losses on the clock this season, one was conceded on September 3 ... to Aguiléra! 9 months and 2 days later, with 30 more games on the clock, the Catalans kept pace allowing them to finish 1st in the regular season, with five wins over the last six games. As for the Basques, they have a five-game winning streak, between the end of the regular season, the play-off and the semi-final. And the BOPB also keeps pace, after its beautiful 3rd place.

Perpignan can raise this shield for the second time, after that of 2018

The Perpignanais, who came down in 2014 at the same time as the Biarrots, after 103 years of elite presence, have already regained the TOP 14 for one season. We remember the final won in 2018 against Grenoble at the Ernest-Wallon stadium in Toulouse, following a controlled match. USAP has therefore moved between the two divisions and wants to add a second PRO D2 title to its record, this time with the ambition of regaining the elite and settling there permanently.

After its descent in 2014, Biarritz is looking for a first PRO D2 title

The BOPB left the TOP 14 in their centennial, 2014, with a relegation on the day of loss to… USAP. The Biarrots also recorded the largest defeat in their history during the 2017-2018 season still against the Perpignanais, 56 to 3. Two bad memories that could be chased in the event of victory, and of the first PRO D2 title in the he history of the Basque club, whose appetite has come with eating throughout the season. Biarritz dreams of this title of Champion.

STATISTICS

Only two players have made more than eight assists in PRO D2 this season, namely Perpignan scrum half Sadek Deghmache (11) and Biarritz opener Ilian Perraux (9). They will both be starting, and this statistic shows how they are essential links in the game of their team, real hubs. So this is a more than tantalizing duel from a distance.

Since the beginning of the era of professionalism, Perpignan and Biarritz have faced each other 35 times. And the confrontation record shows 18 wins for the USAP and 17 for the BOPB. It’s a balanced poster, bearing in mind that the average score is 19-18 for Perpignan. However, the only final phase match played between the two teams was won by Biarritz, in 2006, in the semi-final of the TOP 14.