Gasnier set for French encore
Mark Gasnier will be hoping to back up his impressive rugby debut when his unbeaten Stade Francais side host Montauban in French Top 14 action this weekend.
The former NRL star bagged the decisive try in Stade's 32-25 win over Bourgoin last weekend when ex-NSW Waratahs coach Ewen McKenzie thrust him on the wing for his eagerly-awaited first start in the 15-man code.
Gasnier could well be tested by Montauban's flying Fijian winger Vilimoni Delasau, who is the Top 14's top tryscorer this season with five.
Delasau was an off-season signing from Clermont, where his game time was limited.
"I'm playing a lot for Montauban, which is great," said the Fijian, whose new team are seventh in the table with three wins and three losses.
Stade, though, are equally keen to maintain their undefeated start to the French league season ahead of European Cup engagements.
The flamboyant Parisian club has notched up six wins from six outings and sit six points clear of second-placed Bayonne in the competition standings.
Fresh from launching a third shirt featuring Andy Warhol-inspired prints of Blanche of Castile - twice ruler of France in the 13th century - coach Ewen McKenzie welcomes back prop Sylvain Marconnet, hooker Dimitri Szarzewski and Italy flanker Mauro Bergamasco.
The backline welcomes the return of Noel Oelschig and Djibril Camara, who marked his return from suspension with a try for the junior team last weekend.
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