Nanterre (AFP)
No half but a derby.
Racing 92 crushed Brive (55-12) on Saturday during the 26th and final day of the Top 14, insufficient to afford a semi-final but synonymous with a play-off against Stade Français.
The Ile-de-France club needed great success and a misstep from the Toulouse and La Rochelle leaders to validate its direct ticket to the last four.
Laurent Travers' men scored eight tries, including a double from international hooker Teddy Baubigny (3rd, 15th) and knocked out the CAB, which had nothing more to play anyway.
But Toulouse, victorious in front of Bordeaux-Bègles (21-10), and La Rochelle, beaten but with the defensive bonus in Clermont (25-20), consolidated their first two places.
Racing 92 will therefore face its Parisian neighbor in the play-offs of the final phase, on June 12 at the Arena de La Défense.
The Roses finished the season with a cannonball, winning their last six meetings, including a final, decisive match in Bayonne (12-9).
Since its rise in the elite, during the 2009-2010 season, the ambitious Hauts-de-Seine club has never missed the final phase, even lifting the Brennus Shield in 2016.
At home, Racing will therefore seek a semi-final, its first for three years.
But the Ciel et Blancs are not always at ease at home, winning nine successes at the Arena but conceding four defeats, against Toulouse (30-24), Toulon (29-23), UBB (33- 32) and ... the Stade français (35-29).
Since this defeat against the Parisian enemy, the Racingmen have chained four straight victories to finish strong this season.
And afford a derby in the final phase.
© 2021 AFP