Carried by a solid Maxime Machenaud at the foot (6/7), the Ile-de-France residents continue their rise in the standings by climbing to 5th place, synonymous with qualification for the final stages.

Pau, author of 5 tries, leaves with the offensive bonus but has once again lacked precision far from his bases and is in 10th place in the standings.

"We left the Palois, whom I congratulate, the possibility of putting us in difficulty and they knew how to do it and do it well. After what is important is that the victory is on our side", analyzed the Racing Laurent Travers coach.

"We are very satisfied to be able to continue and consolidate the fact of being in the wagon of 6 for the moment", he added.

The Racing 92 players, despite a controlled start to the match, with a first penalty and a converted try from Machenaud (14), which allowed them to lead 10-0 after a quarter of an hour of play, left their opponents come back.

Offensive, the Palois did not hesitate to restart their camp to pick up with a try from Ikpefan (16) and even pass by Hastoy (20), and Barret, after a subtle pass at the foot of Le Bail (24) .

But the Béarnais did not manage to keep their lead permanently, firstly because of Juan Ihomff's 100th try in the Racing 92 jersey (28).

"It's very important in a player's career. I'm not talking about the hundred tries, sometimes you just have to flatten, but I'm talking about a hundred different stories (...) I remember almost every try, I I have a good memory", reacted the Argentinian after the meeting.

The Palois also paid for the clumsiness at the foot of Antoine Hastoy, which cost his team 9 points and allowed the Ile-de-France residents to return to the locker room with a 23-17 advantage.

Racing 92 winger Louis Dupichot tries to shake off his Pau opponent during their February 2022 match ALAIN JOCARD AFP

In the second period, Pau's lack of discipline (14 penalties to 2) cost dearly, despite two more attempts by Le Bail (54) and Vatubua (66), and did not prevent another victory for Racing 92, who, for his part, proved to be much more precise on foot.

Less imperial than in its previous outings, the Racingmen however provide the essentials by winning for the sixth time in seven matches, including the European Cup.

© 2022 AFP