Top 14 drilldown: And then, 29 punishing weeks later, there were two...

Castres run exhausted Toulouse into the ground as Bordeaux Begles insist there was no dressing room rift to blame for their semi-final defeat to Montpellier

FINALLY: Castres' lock Florent Vanverberghe and flanker Mathieu Babillot celebrate their French Top 14 semi-final win over Toulouse in Nice

ANS now, 29 punishing weeks and nearly 11 months after the 2021/22 Top 14 season kicked off in early September, there are two. Table-toppers Castres will face second-placed Montpellier at Stade de France this Friday.

As a swathe of southwest France blistered in a 40C-plus heatwave, the four leading sides in France’s senior men’s league - Castres, Montpellier, Bordeaux and Toulouse - battled it out this weekend in mere 30C conditions in Nice, over in the southeast of the country to decide which two sides would play for the Bouclier de Brennus in Saint-Denis this Friday night.