Stade Francais v La Rochelle Prediction, Tips and Bet Builder

Eight days after Stade Francais and La Rochelle met in the final round of the Top 14 regular season, the two French rivals will clash again in the semi-final qualifiers at Stade Jean-Bouin on Sunday.

Stade Francais lost that encounter 27-22 at La Rochelle, who secured a play-off spot thanks to the success, but Les Stadistes have home advantage for this contest and will be eyeing instant revenge.

It is 11 years since the Paris-based outfit won the most recent of their French championships - a 12-6 win over Clermont delivering a 14th title - but they are back in the hunt for number 15.

As for La Rochelle, they have never lifted the trophy aloft, losing twice in the final, but the two-time European Champions Cup winners head into this fixture in terrific form and this has all the makings of a classic.

Stade Francais v La Rochelle Tips Summary

Best Bet - Stade Francais to win by 1-12 points @ 2/1
Alternative Bet - Peniasi Dakuwaqa anytime tryscorer @ 6/5
Bet Builder - Stade Francais to lead after 20:00 minutes, Jeremy Ward anytime tryscorer & Semi Lagivala anytime tryscorer @ 22/1

Stade Francais v La Rochelle Prediction

Best Bet: Stade Francais to win by 1-12 points @ 2/1

Stade Francais finished third in the Top 14 regular-season standings and a huge reason for that was their impressive attacking displays, as they scored the second-highest points with 869.

Les Stadistes have leaned heavily on their free-flowing attack to pick up victories throughout the campaign and they are unlikely to change that approach heading into this semi-final.

Fly-half Louis Carbonel has been in sensational form, scoring 273 points to sit second in the standings, and his ability to deliver under pressure, whether that be kicking penalties, converting tries or controlling territory, is key to his side.

But La Rochelle showed they can grind out results when beating Stade Francais 27-22 in the final round of fixtures, although that victory came at Stade Marcel-Deflandre and a trip to Stade Jean-Bouin is a different proposition.

Stade Francais won 11 of their 13 home matches in the Top 14 and they did get the better of La Rochelle in Paris earlier in the season, winning 26-24 in another tight meeting.

It is hard to look past the hosts picking up another win, but given three of La Rochelle's last four Top 14 defeats have been by 11 points or less, they should keep things close on the scoreboard.

Alternative Bet: Peniasi Dakuwaqa anytime tryscorer @ 6/5

Stade Francais have a number of attacking options at their disposal and one of those is Peniasi Dakuwaqa, who has nine tries in the Top 14 this season.

The Fiji international is one of the quickest in the league and he broke the 100metres record at the Cook Island Games in 2020 when clocking 10.42 seconds, evidence of the sheer pace he possesses.

Dakuwaqa has scored three tries in his last five outings and he looks set to play another starring role for his club.

Stade Francais v La Rochelle Bet Builder Tip

• Stade Francais to lead after 20:00 minutes

• Jeremy Ward anytime tryscorer

• Semi Lagivala anytime tryscorer 

  Pays 22/1

Stade Francais have been leading after the opening 20 minutes in three of their last four matches and they will look to make early inroads in front of a raucous home crowd.

Jeremy Ward crossed for the fifth time in his last seven appearances in the defeat to La Rochelle in Round 26, taking his season tally to 10 for Stade Francais. The South African centre can cross the whitewash again.

Another player capable of touching down for the third game in a row is La Rochelle centre Semi Lagivala, who dotted under the posts against Montauban and Stade Francais to move onto four tries for the campaign.

Learn more about how Bet Builders work in our Bet Builder guide.

Key Match Stats

• Stade Francais were the second-highest scorers in the regular season of the Top 14, amassing 869 points.

• La Rochelle conceded 634 points in the regular campaign, only the top two boasted better records.

• Stade Francais lost 27-22 at La Rochelle in the 26th and final round of the regular season to secure a play-off spot.

• That victory was the sixth in a row for La Rochelle.

• Stade Francais lost just one of their 13 Top 14 matches at home (W11 D1).

• La Rochelle won five and lost eight of their 13 away games in the league.

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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.