Hooked in the first period, Racing 92 had the last word against Stade Français Paris (33-22) and joined the Sale Sharks in the quarter-finals of the Champions Cup.
Racing 92 almost played at being scared. After taking a clear ascendancy in the first leg played on the lawn of the Stade Jean-Bouin, the Ile-de-France club had a complicated first half on the return before unfolding. Having to be offensive to keep their qualification hopes alive, the players of Stade Français Paris started this meeting with the bit in their teeth. It was with a touch of opportunism that Telusa Veainu opened the scoring after six minutes. While Finn Russell completely missed his clearance on foot, the Parisian rear was able to recover the ball and, very quickly, played the Ile-de-France defense to flatten the first try of the meeting. With a penalty from Nicolas Sanchez a quarter of an hour into the game, the Parisians came within three lengths of their opponents in the aggregate of the two games. It was then that indiscipline became a problem for them. Author of a cathedral tackle on Henry Chavancy, Sefanaia Naivalu received a yellow card and left his teammates at fourteen for ten minutes. However, after seeing Nolann Le Garrec close the gap, Adrien Lapègue sent a shiver through the spans of the Paris-La Défense Arena. Taking advantage of a volley ball by Harry Glover after a candle from Telusa Veainu, the Stade Français Paris winger took advantage of the opposing disorganization to flatten in a corner.
The Stade Français Paris could believe it
The transformation missed by Nicolas Sanchez then prevented the club from the Capital to regain control in this double confrontation. In the process, Camille Chat thought he had relaunched Racing 92 but the international hooker’s try was refused, the video confirming a forward from Juan Imhoff on this action. After this foul, the referee ordered a scrum but, on several occasions, both packs failed under pressure. After several warnings, the referee of the meeting decided to take action. Cedate Gomes Sa and Clément Castets received a yellow card for the example. Half an hour into the game, Nolann Le Garrec brought Racing 92 closer, then Louis Dupichot thought he could completely revive the Ile-de-France club. But, just before flattening, the back of Ciel-et-Blanc is the victim of a shoulder charge from Sefanaia Naivalu. After reviewing the images, the referee opted for a yellow card, the second for the Parisian winger, who then left his team at fourteen for the rest of the match. Having at the same time prevented a try, he offered a penalty try to Racing 92. Not losing their motivation, the Parisians concluded the first act with the double of Adrien Lapègue. Perfectly offset by Nicolas Sanchez, the winger did not miss the opportunity to offer his team a nine-point lead when returning to the locker room.
Racing 92 killed all suspense
However, these points were the last of Stade Français Paris in this meeting. Upon returning to the pitch, Teddy Thomas put Racing 92 back on track. The international winger improved the work of his forwards following a touch from five meters, resisting two tackles to go flat. James Hall then believed to restart the Parisians but the video brought to light a fault by Harry Glover in a maul on this same action, pushing the referee to reconsider his decision. Shortly before the hour mark, on penalty, Nolann Le Garrec allowed the Ile-de-France residents to come back ahead in this return match. While both teams launched their substitutes, it took until the last ten minutes to see the score change. At the conclusion of a raise from Finn Russell and support from Juan Imhoff, Wenceslas Lauret went to flatten before being imitated at the very end of the match by Teddy Thomas. After a quick throw-in, the winger sped past an out-of-position Parisian defense to end the suspense. With this victory, the third in as many confrontations in three weekends (33-22), Racing 92 validates its ticket for the quarter-finals of the Champions Cup (55-31) with the reception of the Sale Sharks on the program.
CUP CHAMPIONS / ROUND OF 16 RETURNS
Friday, April 15, 2022
Leinster – Connacht : 56-20 >>> Leinster qualification (82-41)
Bristol Bears – Sale Sharks : 29-35 >>> Qualification des Sale Sharks (44-39)
Saturday April 16, 2022
Harlequins – Montpellier : 33-20 >>> Qualification of Montpellier (60-59)
La Rochelle – Bordeaux-Bègles : 31-23 >>> Qualification of Bordeaux-Bègles (62-36)
Munster – Exeter Chiefs : 26-10 >>> Qualification of Munster (34-23)
Leicester Tigers – Clermont : 27-17 >>> Qualification of the Leicester Tigers (56-27)
Ulster – Toulouse : 23-30 >>> Qualification of Toulouse (50-49)
Sunday April 17, 2022
Racing 92 – French Stadium Paris : 33-22 >>> Qualification of Racing 92 (55-31)
QUARTER-FINALS
Weekend of May 6, 7 and 8, 2022
La Rochelle – Montpellier
Racing 92 – Sale Sharks
Leicester Tigers – Leinster
Munster – Toulouse
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