Nanterre (AFP)
Without mercy.
Racing 92, surgical in the first period but more borrowed then, dominated its Parisian neighbor, the French Stadium, swallowed 38-21, Friday in the Top 14 jump-off.
The Ile-de-France will face La Rochelle on June 18 in Lille in the semi-final.
The winner of the other dam, between Bordeaux-Bègles and Clermont on Saturday, will find Toulouse on the 19th, there also in the North.
The Racingmen have scored five tries to get out of Stade Français and regain the last four for the sixth time since 2010.
Since their rise in the elite, the Ile-de-France residents have never missed the final phase, winning the title during the 2015-2016 season.
They can thank their international center Gaël Fickou, recently passed from one club to another, but also the chronic indiscipline of the Parisians (ten penalties conceded and two yellow cards in the first 40 minutes).
He was in all the conversations during the week, he was in all the good shots at the Arena: with a try (5th) and a "decisive pass" on that of Teddy Thomas, Fickou delivered an XXL performance to allow his new partners to tame his ex-teammates.
Parisian coach Gonzalo Quesada was however warned: "It is sure that he will want to show his best level", had entrusted the Argentinian in the week.
His Racing counterpart Laurent Travers replied that he preferred "to have Gäel with that against us" before qualifying, assuring that Fickou had not qualified the Ciel et Blanc "alone".
Indeed: surrounded by a back line called "Galacticos", Fickou was well helped by Teddy Thomas (11th), Maxime Machenaud (18th) and Simon Zebo (29th), both authors of a test.
And as the Scottish opener Finn Russell found his inspiration at the same time, this Racing seems untouchable, even if he played with fire in the second half, leaving the French Stadium out of its torpor.
He will have to be very strong, in the North, to make people forget this early elimination in the quarter-finals of the European Cup, against Bordeaux-Bègles (24-21).
- Fluctuat NEC mergitur -
You have to be very strong because, against the Altoséquanais, stand the Rochelais, second in the regular season, finalists in the same Champions Cup.
Another club with long teeth and over-armed: with the colossus Will Skelton, the indispensable Grégory Alldritt, the experienced Uini Atonio, the All Black Victor Vito or the aerial Brice Dulin, the Maritimes have enough to cast doubt on the Ile-de-France armada within a week.
This season, each team had won its home match (victory for La Rochelle 9-6 at Marcel-Deflandre, 26-22 success for Racing at the Arena).
The beautiful, on neutral ground, will therefore make it possible to assert its ambitions and to get closer to the Brennus.
In the meantime, the Roses have made too many gifts (12 turnovers) to their opponents.
The Racingmen, them, had promised to enter well in this derby, history to mark their territory.
Between injuries and quota of JIFF (players from the training sector), Quesada had been forced to do without some holders, like the Argentinian international opener Nicolas Sanchez or the Tongan winger Telusa Veainu.
But these sticks placed in the Parisian wheels do not explain everything: the French Stadium remained on six successes in a row, including a victory at the Arena (35-29) predominant in the race for qualification, which had allowed it to stand. qualify in extremis for the dams.
The reaction, a little too cutesy, and the three tries of Sefanaia Naivalu (47th), Sekou Macalou (62nd) and Waisea Nayacalevu (66th) arrived too late.
The beautiful story therefore ends there, with a slap in the face from the best enemy.
For Racing 92, the adventure continues.
The quest for a seventh league title, a first since 2016, passes through Lille and La Rochelle.
© 2021 AFP