Two French clubs, Lyon and La Rochelle, are playing their Champions Cup round of 16 in South Africa this Saturday. Two matches in the antipodes, two round trips of 20,000 km, accumulated fatigue for rugby players at already hellish paces, and a heavy carbon footprint as a bonus.
“What does it matter, maybe this is the match, the trip of a lifetime? Not even. These same four teams already played each other barely 4 months ago, in matches that counted for almost nothing in this Champions Cup with its strange formula," says Julien Pierre.