Racing 92 mastered La Rochelle (32-10) this Sunday evening at the end of the 8th day of Top 14. The Racingmen had marked this date of November 26. For the first time in the Sky and White colors of the captain of the reigning South African double world champions Siya Kolisi, the Ile-de-France residents had fun. Well helped by a La Rochelle team reduced to 14 in the 25th minute, Stuart Lancaster’s men remained serious to sign another convincing victory.
Before the dangerous gesture and the red card from Teddy Thomas (25th), the Racingmen started the match on the right end with a try from Juan Imhoff in the 4th minute at the conclusion of a great movement from the Ciel et Blanc backs. With space on the La Rochelle wings, the Ciel et Blanc tried to find the fault with their wingers thanks in particular to well-measured foot passes by Antoine Gibert. And after Teddy Thomas’ red card, Racing accelerated by scoring two tries in five minutes. For the second achievement of the evening it was Mr. Descottes who went between the posts to whistle a penalty try, rewarding a lot of work from the Ile-de-France forwards. The referee of the match even inflicted a double sanction on the Maritimes by issuing a yellow card against Pierre Bourgarit (26′).
A few moments later, the third try was the work of Antoine Gibert, served by a superb chistera from Nolan Le Garrec behind a conquering scrum (31′). With the offensive bonus already in their pocket, the Racingmen let the Rochelais come back into the game. Judicaël Cancoriet sent a first message just before the break, appearing very close to scoring the reaction try without the saving, but probably illegal, return from Juan Imhoff (40′).
Perhaps too confident, the Ciel et Blanc saw La Rochelle wake up by relying on their strong point: the power of the forwards and a dominating scrum. Too punished, the Ile-de-France residents allowed Jonathan Danty’s partners to hope again. Yoan Tanga’s try (46′) made the Rochelais believe that a comeback was possible. But ultimately they never managed to cross the Racing goal line again.
Dominated in the second period, the Racingmen finally managed to find the loophole to score a 4th try, synonymous with an offensive bonus, thanks to a great number from Max Spring and a perfect finish from the phenomenon Arundell (78′). Thanks to this success, Racing 92 regains the leading position in the Top 14 and confirms its good form.