Paris (AFP)

Where is Racing 92 at?

After two weeks without playing due to Covid-19 contamination, the Ile-de-France club is back on the road to the Top 14 with an XXL duel against Toulouse Stadium, Saturday (9 p.m.) during the 4th day, already disturbed by the virus.

Two meetings of the day were postponed indefinitely.

First Castres - Brive, after cases of infection in the Castres workforce which can not overcome the contagion, then Bordeaux-Bègles - Clermont whose postponement, after three positive tests in the Bordeaux group , was decided on Friday by the National Rugby League.

In Racing 92, on the other hand, the lights are green.

The nine cases of infection, staff included, detected last week, and the postponement of his trip to La Rochelle had sapped the morale of the sky and white club.

But the "bubble" put in place (temporary closure of the training center, isolation in a hotel for the non-contaminated ...) allowed him to breathe.

While there were two more positive tests on Monday, there were none on Wednesday.

"We are looking forward to the match against Toulouse on Saturday and further on the European Cup final" against the English of Exeter on October 17 in Bristol (England), "even if we are embarrassed in our preparation, but we do with it" , explained club president Jacky Lorenzetti.

The Ile-de-France team will travel to Porto-Vecchio (Corsica) by private plane on Sunday to prepare for the top in the Champions Cup.

This week, the non-contaminated players were able to train in small groups on Tuesday and Wednesday, then collectively on Thursday and Friday.

What makes "two collective training sessions" only, underlined the coach Laurent Travers, before rubbing shoulders with the Toulouse stadium, last champion of France (2019).

For François Trinh-Duc, "it's a real chance" to face "a team in good shape" with "exceptional players" before the European final.

So far, Racing 92 had won its first four matches, in all competitions, the last of a hard fight (19-15) against the English club Saracens, in the semi-final of the European Cup, on September 26.

Stade Toulouse failed him at this level of the competition, in Exeter (28-18), and lost a Top 14 match in Clermont (33-30) where he nevertheless did not go far from victory despite two cards red.

The success against Toulon (39-19), five tries to three, reassured the troops of Ugo Mola and showed that European disillusionment was history.

What to optimistically consider the trip to the Paris La Défense Arena, in Nanterre (Hauts-de-Seine)?

The Rouge et Noir have won two of their last three trips there, including a quarter-final of the European Cup in March 2019 (22-21), playing outnumbered.

- Without Russell -

They seem to have an advantage on paper as the Racingmen will evolve without several major players like the Scottish opener Finn Russell, the center of the XV of France Virimi Vakatawa and the Australian back Kurtley Beale, still suspended.

The Toulouse Stadium has notably modified its hinge to associate Thomas Ramos with Antoine Dupont, the opener Romain Ntamack tilting to the center position.

Saturday, the French Stadium will try to restart the forward movement in Agen, in search for its part of a first victory in Top 14. Montpellier, which travels to Toulon, also knew only defeats but only played two matches, the last, against Racing 92, dating back four weeks.

The MHR should have received Castres last week but this meeting could not be held on the scheduled date due, already, to several coronavirus contaminations in the Castres workforce.

With the adjournment of UBB-Clermont, the Top 14 is at five matches postponed indefinitely because of the virus.

This is without counting the meetings delayed by a few days for the same reasons.

The debate on the package in the event of Covid-19 is likely to resurface.

© 2020 AFP