Racing 92 takes advantage of a Stade Français reduced to 14 to validate its ticket for the quarter-finals

Only a sin of pride could deprive Racing 92 of a qualification which stretched out their arms after the first leg (22-9, +13) against a limited Stade Français. He did not fail to invite himself to the meeting, this Sunday, April 17, and could have cost dearly to sufficient Ile-de-France residents, unable to respond to the Parisian furia at the start of the meeting. Despite everything, Racing 92 ended up winning (33-22) in the knockout stages of the Champions Cup to ensure qualification for the quarter-finals.

The teammates of the three-quarter international center Gaël Fickou were well helped by Parisians who were overly penalized (2 yellow cards and a red). Thanks to this victory, the Racingmen chain a third consecutive success against the Parisians and preserve their series of invincibility at the Arena where they have not lost since the end of November. In the next round, they will face the English of Sale.

The yellow card from Castets (26th) and the two warnings (19th, 35th) – synonymous with a red card – from Naivalu weighed heavily in the shoes of a Stade Français which had nevertheless taken the match by the right end. The back of the Soldats Roses, Veainu, notably took advantage of a failed kick from Russell to plant the first try of the match (6th, 7-0). If the Racingmen limited the damage with a penalty try, Lapègue’s double, very strong, allowed Stade Français to take the lead at the break (22-13).

But the efforts made to compensate for the numerical inferiority ended up paying off. When Lapègue was trapped by Thomas (try in the 44th, 20-22), his teammates, less lucid approaching the mark zones, did not manage to validate two highlights (65th, 70th) which would have deserved better for a few centimeters. In the process, Lauret (73rd) and Thomas (79th) buried their last hopes (33-22), inflating a score that was ultimately rather flattering for Laurent Travers’ men.