Racing 92, despite a season made up of ups and downs, remains a team “which is not easy to beat in the final phase”, warns Argentine winger Juan Imhoff in an interview with AFP before the semi-final of Top 14 against Toulouse.
In the shoot-off, your front seemed dull…
“The Stade Français, for us, is always a game apart. However, when you beat your number one enemy, at his place, and that, after the match, there are no smiles in the locker room, it is that something happened in the head of some people. Their ego and their pride have been affected and, against Toulouse, they will push with their hearts: thanks to the adrenaline and the stress, I know they will put out a great game”.
Racing 92 has had a complicated season but is still in the semi-finals. How do you explain it?
“When you are at Racing 92, whether you have just signed there or have been there for a long time like me, you know that you are playing to be in the final: that is the minimum. The last two years, it’s true, the question was more whether we were going to qualify or not. But the truth is that the minimum for Racing is to be where we are”.
And this, despite mixed results, in the Champions Cup and in the league?
“Rugby is a hugely confidence-based sport and we were confident in the sense that, despite those defeats, we knew it was possible. Once you regain confidence, the team is totally different. The one we saw before and the one we see today have nothing to do with each other. And yet, we have the same players, the same staff… When everything isn’t perfect, it’s the ability to question ourselves and find a good dynamic that makes the character of a group. This is why Racing is not an easy team to beat in the final phase.
Personally, you went through a difficult period…
“I fought to find my level. I wanted to set an example in training but also outside. Nobody judges me more harshly than me and it is a great pride to have been able to overcome that moment and, today, to be where I am, at my age. There has always been great competition at Racing, often with stars in my position. No one is safe and, every year, you have to earn your place”.
What kind of match do you expect on Friday?
“Everyone says it: they are better than us. We would have liked to be in their situation, to have flown through the regular season, because we don’t like being the outsiders – we have a certain pride – but the truth is that we are not better than them. Friday, we have 80 minutes to prove the opposite and give everything against the best team in the world. Even if the question is going to be whether we are going to play this match or watch it pass… That’s what will be important.
Despite everything, do you feel under pressure when Racing has not won anything since 2016?
“We have several sources of motivation, it’s true. And then Laurent Travers will leave his coaching position after many years with the club, to which he gave a lot. Not to mention that many players who have marked Racing – Louis Dupichot, Teddy Iribaren, Wenceslas Lauret… – will be leaving us. But Toulouse is also ultra-motivated. So we expect a peak.