Long ahead thanks to a great Nolann Le Garrec (16 points), out injured, Racing 92 fell in Créteil in the last moments against La Rochelle (16-17). At the end of a choppy game, it was Teddy Iribaren who allowed the Maritimes to snatch victory over the siren. The Ile-de-France residents are sinking to the bottom of the rankings…
At the end of the suspense, Stade Rochelais came to win on the pitch of Racing 92 (16-17), in a match relocated to Créteil. The meeting was very close and the tests were delayed, although this was not unpleasant. And the Ile-de-France defense cracked at the end of the match, offering the winning penalty to its former player, Teddy Iribaren. A very valuable success for the Maritimes, outside their bases.
Missed opportunities
La Rochelle started the meeting better. Lots of pace, and a constant search to exploit Racing’s mistakes. But there were some blunders for the visitors too, like with an avoidable forward from Danty (2nd). So the two teams, despite being among the worst kicking success percentages, relied on penalties. Hastoy opened the scoring against the poles (0-3, 7th), Le Garrec, on goal today, equalized (3-3, 11th). Same thing a few minutes later (3-6 18th, then 6-6 20th). The La Rochelle opener took the advantage before the break (6-9, 25th), despite a failure.
Yet there were opportunities to try. But Nowell let the ball escape after a pass to the foot of Hastoy (6th). Dulin took the interval before serving Leyds on his left, who was going to flatten, but the video clearly saw his foot in touch (15th). On the Racing side, James recovered a kick from Arundell to send Spring on trial, but with a forward pass (29th). The same Spring was at the finish of a forward action, but Leyds’ desperate tackle made him lose the ball (32nd). Finally, Rowlands struck until he entered the goal, but an opponent got under the ball (34th).
Two match points for Iribaren
The second period started again on the same basis, with territorial domination of the Rochelais, using their power on their opponent. But this tactic came to a halt with the yellow card of Will Skelton (47th), for an illegal clearance on Le Garrec. This same scrum half exploited the space left by this numerical inferiority, with his try scored flush, following a touch 5m away (13-9, 56th). He even added three points a few moments later (61st), but missed a second (69th), which he did not yet know was decisive.
Because once back at 15, the Rochelais gave up at the end of the match. Perhaps better physically, they bet everything on their power. Up to an action lasting several minutes, with a lot of zero or one pass play. The undermining work paid off, and Reda Wardi managed to flatten on the line (16-14, 75th). Yet in his ropes, Teddy Iribaren missed the transformation. But it wasn’t his last ball. The Maritimes put pressure on the edge of the opposing 22m, and obtained a penalty at the last minute. This time, the replacement scrum half did not miss (16-17, 80th), passing his kick at the siren. A narrow but logical victory, which will hurt the heads of the Racingmen.
