Paris (AFP)

Hassane Kolingar, Teddy Baubigny, Georges-Henri Colombe ... Racing 92 also knows how to bet on young players from its training center, a philosophy that contributed to its feat against the Saracens in the semi-final of the European Cup Saturday.

From this match with the astounding outcome, the story will especially remember the kick of the Scottish artist Finn Russell who lobbed the defense of the Sarries, to find the international center Virimi Vakatawa, who recovered the ball before passing it on to Argentine winger Juan Imhoff for the finish.

But shadow workers have also contributed to the building.

Astonishing since the start of the season, the right pillar Georges-Henri Colombe (22 years old), with an extraordinary size (1.93 m, 133 kg), was still the holder.

The one who took his first license at Racing 92 at the age of 13 has not been unworthy with a big client for the closed scrum, the vice-world champion Mako Vunipola.

In a very sparsely populated Paris La Défense Arena (1,000 spectators), due to health restrictions, it is also the pool from the bench that has brought freshness to the "money time".

The entries in the second period of hooker Teddy Baubigny (22 years old), born in Meaux in Seine-et-Marne, pillar Hassane Kolingar (also 22 years old), who joined the sky and white nursery after starting rugby at 15 years old , and the neo-international Boris Palu (24, 2 caps in 2020) in the second row, did good when the Saracens seemed to be heading for victory.

- Training relaunched -

"Don't forget that nine out of twenty-three players (eight in fact on Saturday, editor's note) come from the training center. So that means that the club is building, that the club is doing the right thing. long-term work, "said coach Laurent Travers, paying tribute to the educators of his club.

These educators have shaped other generations of players, who also battled in the Franco-English duel on Saturday, such as the thirty-something and international pillar Eddy Ben Arous, who arrived at Racing at 18 when the club was still playing in the second division.

Vakatawa had not yet reached his majority when he put his bags in the Hauts-de-Seine from Fiji.

The Burgundian hooker Camille Chat either when he joined the youth teams in 2013.

Package against the Sarries, the second international line Bernard Le Roux (31) was barely 20 years old when he left his native South Africa and the Border Bulldogs to discover the Parisian suburbs.

It was the result of an agreement to exchange young players, which also benefited Ben Arous, concluded by Pierre Berbizier, then manager of the Ile-de-France club (from 2007 to 2012).

"Bernard arrived for an internship and then won at a time when we were going up the training of the club," told AFP the former coach of the XV of France and the XV of Italy.

"It was always a priority when I arrived at Racing. The training was at half mast at the time while Racing (as multi-sport clubs) has in the past trained world champions and Olympic champions", continues Berbizier.

The "homemade" is now bearing fruit.

© 2020 AFP