The Top 14 returns Nov. 29 for Round 11 of the marathon 26-round season, as the tightly contested league in France continues to showcase clubs that — on any given week — can look like league and Champions Cup favorites, or complete conundrums.

Only 12 points separate the No. 12 team on the table (Lyon) and the No. 1 team (Toulouse, at 34). Three teams have 30 points, with Pau and Stade Français both enjoying somewhat surprising seasons, while the back-to-back runner-up and defending champion of Europe, Bordeaux, is fifth on the table with a 6-0-4 record.

• Subscribe To FloRugby To Watch Every Match Of The Top 14 Season
• 3 Must-Watch Matches In URC Round 6: Munster vs. Stormers Headlines Week
• Read the latest French Top 14 Rugby News on FloRugby

And, with the international season finished for 2025, the league is about to get even stronger. 

While most teams won’t have their international players back in the starting XV, the Top 14 slate includes at least three games that could come back and haunt the loser this round. 

Here are three must-watch matches in Round 11 of the Top 14 season:

Montpellier vs. Bordeaux-Bègles, 8:30 a.m. ET, Saturday, Nov. 29

Bordeaux is coming off a stunning 34-33 loss at home, which is starting to be uncommon in this league. One of the reasons the Top 14 is featuring so much parity this season is how good the home sides have been.

While that sentence seems evergreen for the Top 14, it’s a big reason why Lyon is 12th in the league but still has a 5-0-5 record. Only Perpignan has failed to win at home — part of a winless season so far.

UBB dropping a match to Pau at home isn’t anything to be ashamed of — Pau very well could win every competition it’s in this season. But it means that to get back on track, UBB has to steal a road win somewhere, and playing an MHR club that is ninth on the table and fighting desperately to reenter the top 8 is no easy task. Especially since MHR just won on the road itself — against the aforementioned Perpignan.

Clermont vs. Stade Français, 10:35 a.m. ET, Saturday, Nov. 29

Clermont at 11th on the Top 14 table just looks odd, as this club rarely is ever bad. But at 5-0-5, Clermont hasn’t been bad — the team simply lost twice at home, which is why it sits at .500 and would be in the Challenge Cup if the season ended today.

But it doesn’t.

It just gets worse, though, if Clermont suffers a third home loss in Michelin. Clermont lost to Toulouse in September and has played poorly on the road, losing to Bayonne 20-3 and 44-17 in two trips, and 43-24 last week against Lyon.

Two road games vs. Bayonne probably is the biggest reason Clermont isn't over .500, but picking up a win over the third-place team on the table would be massive.

Speaking of Stade Français — after a poor 2024-2025 season, the Paris club is 6-0-4, including crushing the champs back in September, 28-7, and has held firm at home all season. But Stade Français is hunting for more road wins. 

So far, the only one has been against Montauban, the new team in the league, 47-24. Clermont dropped 84 points on Montauban earlier this season.

A win here by Stade Français, and we’ll have to start looking at this group as a serious contender.

Pau vs. La Rochelle, 3:05 p.m. ET, Sunday, Nov. 30

The best match of the weekend gets the top time slot with a Sunday evening showdown between Pau — which scored the best win of the season last week against UBB — and La Rochelle, which just lost 19-17 at home to Castres.

This match is more about La Rochelle and how the former two-time Investec Champions Cup winners will respond. 

La Rochelle is 5-0-5 and three points ahead of 10th-place Clermont. Ronan O’Gara’s squad is trying to regain its dominant form, and taking a match over the No. 2 team in the league on the road would turn the vibes around.

Pau is trying to keep pace with Toulouse, which is two points ahead and has two more bonus points than Pau, with matching 7-0-3 records.

Watch The Replay: Stade Rochelais vs. Castres Olympique 2025

Watch the replay from Saturday, Nov. 22, on FloRugby.

Top 14 Rugby Standings 2025 After Round 10

1. Toulouse (34) – 7-0-3
2. Section Paloise (32) – 7-0-3
3. Stade Français Paris (30) – 6-0-4
4. RC Toulon (29) – 6-0-4
5. Union Bordeaux-Bègles (28) – 6-0-4
6. Stade Rochelais (26) – 5-0-5
7. Racing 92 (26) – 6-0-4
8. Aviron Bayonnais (26) – 6-0-4
9. Montpellier Hérault Rugby (24) – 4-1-5
10. Castres Olympique (24) – 5-0-5
11. ASM Clermont (23) – 5-0-5
12. LOU Rugby (22) – 5-0-5
13. US Montauban (7) – 1-1-8
14. USA Perpignan (1) – 0-0-10

Team(Pts.) – W-D-L

Subscribe To The FloRugby Annual Plan To Watch Every Match

Don’t miss a moment of the 2025-2026 club rugby season. 

The FloRugby annual plan gives subscribers access to every match, live and on-demand, plus exclusive coverage across European and international competitions.

European Union Rugby Lives On FloSports And FloRugby

Rugby fans can stream every match from the Top 14, Gallagher Premiership and United Rugby Championship on FloRugby, along with the Investec Champions Cup and EPCR Challenge Cup, making the platform the U.S. home for the world’s biggest club competitions and the game’s top players

How To Watch Rugby Matches In The United States On FloRugby

Professional club rugby in Europe all streams on FloRugby and the FloSports app in the United States. FloRugby and FloSports also are the U.S. home to: 

• United Rugby Championship
• PREM Rugby
• Top 14
• Investec Champions Cup
• EPCR Challenge Cup
• Currie Cup
• Super Rugby
• And more

FloRugby also is home to match archives and match replays. 

Join The Rugby Conversation On FloRugby Social

• Follow us on Twitter @florugby
• Follow us on Instagram @florugby
• Watch us on YouTube
• Like us on Facebook