Two teams who currently reside in playoff position in Conference A of the D1 French Elite league look to prove dominance over each other as the La Courneuve Flash (2-1) and Rouen Leopards (1-1-1) still feel as though a first round bye is in their future.
The Flash have started their season off in great fashion by picking up a victory over the currently second place Asnieres Molosses in a 21-14 contest before giving arch rivals and defending champions, the Thonon Black Panthers, a taste with a 21-7 victory. But their campaign took a knock in their last game as they lost by a single point to the Saint-Ouen Cougars 14-13. Even though the loss wasn’t ground breaking it certainly threw a wrench into the works of La Courneuve as that loss boots them from having an undefeated season.
The Leopards on the other hand have had a truly mixed three games racking up a 1-1-1 record with their first game versus the Cougars went the way of Rouen 21-12.They then lost to the Molosses 26-18 and then tied 34-34 with the Black Panthers. Though not a season of heartbreak as they are still in playoff position, the Leopards would like to take a much more concrete step to the post season and they can do it with a win this weekend.
The Flash have taken the win in four of their last five matchups with Rouen with that rogue fourth being a 27-27 draw in the 2019 season. With two shutouts also on that board, it looks as if the Flash are going to be the favorites going into this game but only by a slight edge.