Under pressure before going to promoted Vannes, the English technician fails to stem the chronic inconsistency of the Ile-de-France club, which only has one victory after four days.
“We wanted to bring a new way of working, to give it a boost and a different vision. We received quite a few applications. We chose Stuart Lancaster.” These comments from Laurent Travers date from the end of September 2022 when Racing 92 formalized the arrival of the English technician, former member of the Leinster staff and ex-England coach (2012-2015). Two years later, the transplant has not really taken. The Hauts-de-Seine club, accustomed to playing the leading roles, does not advance in the Top 14, with only one small victory (won against Clermont 33-20) in four days and a real shipwreck on the lawn of the UBB (52-34).
However, there is no question of talking about a crisis. Just a simple ignition delay, of course. The defeats conceded in the final moments, in Castres and against La Rochelle in Créteil, could easily have reversed the trend. This is what pillar Eddy Ben Arous puts forward: “If we win these two matches, people would applaud us today. We are not going to talk about a crisis when there are twenty-two matches remaining.” The last setback in the final moments against the Maritimes, however, demonstrates an obvious lack of control. “This defeat is frustrating, but that’s rugby, continues the center of the Blues, Gaël Fickou. We make a mistake that we shouldn’t make, I make them too… It’s the second time we’ve lost at the end, it’s frustrating. But we’re not going to make excuses, we had to win this match.”
Reduced workforce to accommodate Owen Farrell
After the first defeat at home against the Rochelais, Stuart Lancaster, who always speaks in English, did not seem overly worried. If he regretted the 18 penalties conceded by his troops, he confided: “I am disappointed but I have confidence in my staff, in my players and in myself. Let’s not forget that two years ago, Munster had a very bad start to the season before finally winning the URC (United Rugby Championship, former Pro 14 and Celtic League, Editor’s note). We have great players but many are injured like Camille Chat (one thumb operation), Romain Taofifenua (victim of a concussion).» To which we can add the other hooker Janick Tarrit, the pillars Hassane Kolingar, Demba Bamba and Thomas Laclayat as well as the second row Will Rowlands, the latter two affected last Saturday.
The infirmary is therefore very full, a new problem for Racing which has voluntarily reduced its workforce to make room, in the salary cap, for the English fly-half Owen Farrell, who seems to drag out his pain on the fields of the championship of France. Another problem, which the Altosequan club had not anticipated when the current financial year had started, finances became lighter with the departure of Siya Kolisi, the captain of the Springboks, double world champions. Impossible to hastily recruit a player of this caliber.
ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT / AFP
We must therefore make do with the (admittedly substantial) means at hand. And manage to find certainties on the ground. Apart from the first successful months after the 2023 World Cup organized in France, with an alert and efficient game, the Racingmen quickly fell back into their failings: a stereotypical game, without much inspiration or flashiness, and chronic inconsistency. Last year, they managed to qualify again for the final stages (14th time in a row, a record over this period) thanks to a small miracle against La Rochelle, winning a defensive bonus point on the wire and snatching the 6th place in Castres. Before sinking body and soul in the barrage against Bordeaux-Bègles (31-17). Nothing new under the Plessis-Robinson sun, the club always being placed but rarely winning (only one Brennus in 2016).
I absolutely don’t think we’ve lost the thread of the game we wanted to put in place at the start of last season
Nolann Le Garrec
Many veterans (15!) have left the sky-and-white ship – notably Imhoff, Lauret, Chouzenoux, Gomes Sa, Klemenczak, Saili, Wade – and the few newcomers seem lost, like the English Dan Lancaster , the chief’s son, or Samuel James. Here again, the Racing manager is asking for time. As he repeated after the slap he received at Chaban-Delmas: “Bordeaux has the same group as last season, with us there are a lot of new players, significant changes in our squad, but I think we are progressing. It’s not obvious at first glance.
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Nolann Le Garrec, who will experience a special match on Saturday against his training club Vannes where his father Goulven is a member of the staff, also refuses to sound the alarm. “We have some new players, they need to find their rhythm, their flow, which I have no doubt, advances the international scrum-half. Our current situation is not necessarily the most favorable but we continue to move forward. I absolutely don’t think we’ve lost the thread of the game we wanted to put in place at the start of last season.» This is not obvious either. Shortly after his arrival in 92, Stuart Lancaster told us that his “role is to lead the team to perform to high standards. Get to the final and play well. I am here to change the history of the club. For now, she’s just repeating herself.
