Paris (AFP)

Racing 92, which started its season with two Top 14 successes, made the European Cup an assumed objective: "It was not easy not to think about it", the Scottish Finn Russell told the 'AFP a few days before the quarter-final in Clermont.

Q: How did you feel about the recovery?

A: "It was good to resume and it's even better with two wins! We still have things to sort out, especially physical form. But we felt a difference between the first and the second game. We are improving."

Q: Did you expect to start so strong?

A: "Honestly, I didn't know what to expect. I had never been in such a situation before so it wasn't easy to know what to expect ... I'm not really surprised because that we have a really good team and we've trained well but you never know how it's really going to be after six months without rugby. "

Q: Physically, where are you?

A: "It's been a long pre-season, which doesn't usually happen in France. There, we had four months so everyone is in pretty good shape. During the stress tests I did. , I was in a similar form to before the last World Cup. So it's pretty good. "

Q: How does Summer Rookie Kurtley Beale fit in?

A: "He's great. He lives not far from where I live, in Simon Zebo's old house, so I see him often. He's a good guy, we get along very well. He started off pretty well. with Racing 92, apart from that red card ... But it was just an incident. He's still getting to know the systems and the players. "

Q: How do you feel a few days away from returning to the European Cup?

A: "I can't wait. The championship resumed two weeks ago but the European Cup was clearly on everyone's minds. We knew we had the quarter coming up. It's such a game. , it was not easy not to think about it. Even if we played well enough, in my head, there was clearly this match against Clermont. Now that he is there, we have to do the work, even if that is not going to be easy. "

Q: The European Cup is a goal?

A: "For me, clearly. I want to win the Top 14 and the European Cup. A lot of people want to do that. I imagine that in Racing, since they have never won the European Cup, that takes precedence over the Top 14. Just because it would be a first. Both are goals, obviously. "

Q: Have you ever played in Clermont?

A: "I've never been there. I only played against Clermont once, my second game when I arrived, and they beat us at home (40-17 in December 2018, Editor's note). I didn't 've never been there but I will probably talk to Greig Laidlaw (former Scottish international scrum half from Clermont, Editor's note). I heard that the fans were making noise, that it was a great atmosphere and that it 'was a great place to play. Even though they will only be 5,000, it's going to be a great challenge for us to beat them at home. It will allow us to see where we are really at. "

Q: In 2018, you had already faced a French club, Toulouse, in the quarter-finals and you had lost.

Have you learned from your mistakes?

A: "It was a while ago but I remember they took a red pretty early in the game and we didn't manage to capitalize. It was really frustrating. We got some good luck. European experience, we are used to knockout matches. We will have to start strong and try to finish with a victory. "

Interview by Nicholas Mc ANALLY and Illtud DAFYDD

© 2020 AFP