The same dream stirs their nights: to drive Toulouse from its throne.
And become, in turn, a capital in France.
Racing (6th) and Lyon (2nd), which face each other this Saturday afternoon (5 pm) at Paris La Défense Arena, have other points in common: a wealthy owner, colossal resources, an ancestral past… Jonathan Wisniewski, twice top scorer in the championship, who played seven years with the Ciel et Blancs (2007-2014) and three seasons with the LOU (2018-2021), where he has just retired at 36 to coach the Espoirs, lent itself to the game of comparisons.
An undecided shock
“Racing is very strong on its individualities.
Its three-quarters, it is the track to the stars
(Russell, Fickou, Vakatawa
, Thomas,
Imhoff, Beale)
.
The LOU is more homogeneous in its lines, but the play of the two teams is quite similar.
It is based on movement and speed of execution.
Both train on synthetic pitches.
When we see the results of the last confrontations between them, we realize that there are always a lot of points and that it is tight.
"
Two clubs that look alike
“There are a lot of similarities: stable projects, visionary presidents
(Jacky Lorenzetti at Racing and Olivier Ginon, CEO of GL Events, in Lyon)
, coaches installed and consolidated.
Pierre Mignoni
(arrived in Lyon in 2015)
is in permanent research and innovation.
He thinks so much that his brain ties sometimes.
He built the club very, very quickly, and he wants it to progress.
That's why he puts pressure on his leaders.
In Racing, the departure of Laurent Labit for the XV of France
(in 2019)
completely changed the managerial balance.
Now, Laurent Travers is all alone at the helm and he had to create a new way of working.
It is an impulse even if the speech does not really change.
"
Toulouse always ahead
“Racing is ahead of Lyon. He has already played three European Cup finals
(2016, 2018, 2020)
and above all he won the Brennus Shield
(2016)
. The LOU was on the rise, had twice reached the semi-finals of the Top 14
(2018, 2019)
and was in 2nd place when the championship was shut down in 2020, but missed qualifying last season.
Both clubs want and need to win titles, very quickly.
But for the moment, they are preceded by Toulouse.
To be champion, you have to align all the planets and that's what Toulouse Stadium did.
It is in tune with its game, its project, its DNA, its history, its culture, its identity.
This is not yet the case for Lyon and Racing, even if the latter briefly experienced this in 2016. The group was united behind the duo Labit-Travers, and there was in addition Dan Carter to tip the balance of good side.
"