Bordeaux (AFP)

Matthieu Jalibert, author of all the points for his team including a last penalty of more than 50 meters after the siren, qualified Bordeaux-Bègles for its first European Cup semi-final at the expense of Racing 92 (24-21) Sunday at the Chaban-Delmas stadium.

Ten years after its rise to the Top 14, a year after being frustrated to see its fabulous domestic career stopped by the pandemic, Laurent Marti's club finds itself in the last European square.

As in a dream when we face in quick succession the undisputed leader of the Premiership, Bristol, and a triple finalist of the event in the space of five years, Racing 92, even diminished.

To achieve this, it took a player to reveal himself.

Jalibert is therefore also a foot.

Expected for his flashes seen recently in Blue, the international opener dominated the scoring duel in this long-closed Franco-French European shock, which relaxed around the hour mark without giving grounds for testing.

Eight penalties on one side, six plus a drop from Antoine Gibert on the other, this quarter felt good the finals playing on details.

We were far from the flights of the two teams seen last weekend against Bristol or Edinburgh.

The carefree Gironde has therefore taken precedence over the experience of Ile-de-France residents who came to Gironde depopulated in certain positions.

Without his detonators Virimi Vakatawa and Teddy Thomas, his natural leader Henri Chavancy, his Scottish playing master Finn Russell, his beams Bernard Le Roux and Dominic Bird, and after a minute his hooker Camille Chat, left injured, Racing did not flanked.

- Tameifuna's scratching -

The force of habit, surely.

Reciting a basic rugby, without taking risks, Laurent Travers' men dominated in terms of impacts and in terms of possession the first act, without widening the gap in the face of a UBB, sometimes feverish and the hand on the handbrake. for fear of the cons.

The indiscipline, fairly balanced, changed the score (9-9 at the break).

With the wind at his back after the break, the UBB weighed more on the game, finally creating an opportunity to score (49) but the Racingmen's defense remained tight.

The crossover continued against the poles with Teddy Iribaren substituting Machenaud (18-18, 68).

At the start of the money time, the yellow card addressed to Baptiste Chouzenoux could have done the business of Aquitaine who mismanaged two throws in touch ideally placed.

The indecision lasted, Jalibert then Iribaren each passed a new penalty in an unbreathable end of the match which almost smiled at Bordeaux center Yoram Moefana, an opportunist coming out of a ruck to slip behind the line.

The video will invalidate the action for a foul on Bordeaux soil.

While we were moving quietly towards a logical extension, the former sky and white Ben Tameifuna scratched a last ball more than 50 meters from the opposing poles.

With the wind at his back, Jalibert did not tremble to send his family to European paradise.

© 2021 AFP