Mathieu Warnier, Media365, published on Saturday January 18, 2025 at 10:50 p.m.
For its last outing in the group stage of the Champions Cup, Racing 92 emerged victorious with the offensive bonus of its duel against the Stormers (31-22) but this does not guarantee it a place in the round of 16.
Racing 92 knew what it had to do. Lacking confidence, Stuart Lancaster's players had to win on the pitch against the Stormers to continue to believe in the knockout stages of the Champions Cup. The Cape Town players didn't make the trip for nothing. They started the meeting well against Ile-de-France residents perhaps inhibited by the stakes. A collapsed scrum gave the Cape team the opportunity to open the scoring. Jurie Matthee did not miss the target. Too undisciplined, the Ciel-et-Blancs stammered in their rugby but one movement was enough to change the situation. A quarter of an hour into the game, after a combination between Nolann Le Garrec and Owen Farrell, Tristan Tedder launched Vinaya Habosi, completely unmarked. The Fijian did not ask for his rest and flattened his team's first try, transformed by his scrum half. In the process, Max Spring confirmed the return to grace of Racing 92. Taking advantage of a delay caused by Josua Tuisova, the winger played Ben Loader with a perfectly judged kicking game and then quietly went to queen to giving the Ile-de-France club a nine-point lead, the transformation being missed by Nolann Le Garrec. After this gap, the Stormers reacted thanks to Andre-Hugo Venter, who had just replaced former UBB player Joseph Dweba.
-Habosi powered Racing 92
On a smoothly carried ball, the hooker was able to flatten the first try of the South African team, then back to two units thanks to the transformation of Jurie Matthee. The end of the first act saw the two teams try to make the difference but it was Racing 92 who found the fault. On a touch played quickly by Dan Lancaster, Owen Farrell and Josua Tuisova put the Stormers defense in difficulty. Vinaya Habosi then provided a solution which proved decisive for the third Ile-de-France try, transformed by Nolann Le Garrec. It was with a nine-point lead and a player less that Racing 92 reached the break. Indeed, Ibrahim Diallo received a yellow card for trying to take the ball from the ground without being on his feet. From the restart, both teams brought in fresh blood, which could have affected the pace at the start of the second period. For his return, Owen Farrell spent 53 minutes on the pitch before giving way to Antoine Gibert. The latter quickly stood out with a perfect foot pass for Max Spring. At the end of a high-class action from the Ile-de-France attack, this gesture offered the winger the try of the offensive bonus. Except that only woke up the Stormers. At the hour mark, on a breakthrough from Jurie Matthee, Herschel Jantjies offered a passing solution and was able to flatten at the foot of the posts, bringing his team to seven points.
The Stormers never gave up
Barely five minutes later, the audience at the Paris-La Défense Arena was frozen when Marcel Theunissen also went over the line. The third row enhanced a good reading of the game by Herschel Jantjies, who started on the short side at the end of the grouping. The South African team then returned to two points, the transformation being missed by Jurie Matthee. The latter also missed the target on a penalty ten minutes from the siren. Not safe from the score, the Racing 92 players opted to occupy the Stormers' field and exploit the slightest opportunity to widen the gap. Which came just over three minutes from the siren. On a five-meter penalty played by hand, Boris Palu forced the pass with the support of his captain Ibrahim Diallo to flatten on the line at the foot of the posts. Nolann Le Garrec then converted to give Ciel-et-Blanc nine points ahead. On the dismissal played too short by the South Africans, Nolann Le Garrec saw space in the deep field and obtained a 50-22 which gave serenity to his teammates. In a final confusing action, Max Spring sent the ball into touch to seal the improved victory for his team (31-22). After five games without a victory in all competitions, Racing 92 has achieved its objective but will still have to wait to find out if it will be enough to reach the round of 16 of the Champions Cup.