If the Racingmen won in Pau this Saturday, they owe it in part to the XXL performance of Antoine Gibert after his entry at the opening and to the presence of Boris Palu in the fight. On the Béarnais side, Théo Attissogbe and Guram Papidze were not to their advantage.
The tops:
While he was visibly injured during the warm-up, the English fly-half Owen Farrell – otherwise not very successful – had to give up his place shortly after the half-hour mark. This allowed Antoine Gibert to take the lead. Overall comfortable in the role of conductor, he was above all totally decisive. It was thanks to two superb long passes in the form of crosses, executed with his left foot, that he offered caviars on the tries of Naituvi and Tuisova, in the second half. And he even added a drop-goal to his recital, less than eight minutes from time. A performance which could mark a turning point in his season.
If Racing 92 stayed alive in the first half, it owes it in part to Boris Palu. While the Palois pushed to make the break, it was the second international line who was able to annihilate several enemy mauls as they approached the Ile-de-France goal. Extremely present in the fight (even if he was penalized twice) and particularly active on the offensive level with many balls touched and precious meters gained in the opposing defense, he was also rewarded by scoring the first try of the his team at the start of the second period, which completely revived his team.
The flops:
The young international has received quite a bit of praise lately, and it was deserved. On Saturday, he experienced an ordeal. Coming into play in the 45th minute in place of Eliott Roudil, he did not add anything offensively. Worse, he was twice caught at fault on the tries scored on a pass at the foot of Gibert, he was mystified too easily by Habosi and by Tuisova. He was also the author of a forward while Pau could still come back. He came out at 77e minute.
The Georgian prop was twice penalized in the scrum. He left quickly enough to make way for Ignacio Callès. We obviously expected better from him within a pack which nevertheless had the wind in its sails in the first half. It must bring more when the general context is favorable.
Pau’s notes:
- 15. Jack Maddocks : 4/10
- 14. Aaron Grandidier-Nkanang : 4/10
- 13. Tuma Manu : 4/10
- 12. Nathan Decron : 6 /10
- 11. Eliott Roudil: 4/10
- 10 . Joe Simmonds : 6/10
- 9. Thibault Daubagna : 5/10
- 8. Sacha Zégueur: 5/10
- 7. Loïc Credoz: 4/10
- 6. Hugo Auradou: 4/10
- 5. Mickaêl Capelli: 6/10
- 4. Rémi Picquette: 5/10
- 3. Harry Williams : 5/10
- 2. Youri Delhommel : 4/10
- 1. Guram Papidze : 4/10
Racing 92 notes:
- 15. Sam James : 6,5/10
- 14. Wame Naituvi : 6/10
- 13. Josua Tuisova : 6/10
- 12. Dan Lancaster : 7/10
- 11. Vinaya Habosi: 5/10
- 10. Owen Farrell: 4/10 (Replaced in the 32nd minute by Antoine Gibert: 7.5/10)
- 9. Clovis Le Bail : 5,5/10
- 8. Hacjiva Dayimani : 6,5/10
- 7. Maxime Baudonne: 6/10
- 6. Ibrahim Diallo: 6.5/10
- 5. Fabien Sanconnie: 6/10
- 4. Boris Palu: 7/10
- 3. Lucio Sordoni: 4.5/10
- 2. Janick Tarrit: 4/10
- 1. Eddy Ben Arous : 5,5/10
France
