Funny context.
A European Cup semi-final at the start of the season.
With only five matches in the legs.
But five victories, including two in friendly, for the Racing which challenges this Saturday (2 p.m.) the Saracens to try to climb for the third time in the final of the Champions Cup, after 2016 and 2018. “Since the start of the season, We have never met such a strong team, warns international hooker Camille Chat.
Against Leinster (beaten 17-25 in quarterfinals), the English put a lot of intensity.
They took them in front, they were very aggressive on their defensive climbs.
A few players have left, but their XV-type is almost the England team. "
Same fears for Ile-de-France manager Laurent Travers: “Being able to win at Leinster is not trivial.
We know very well that it is a team which is very hard on the man, which is capable offensively and defensively of winning duels. "
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At the time of the end of the season and confinement, the Ile-de-France club knew that it would be necessary to resume the thread of continental competition which, unlike the Top 14, has not been canceled.
“In our minds, the season was not over, continues Camille Chat.
I was hoping to play those final stages.
We fought last season to qualify.
During confinement, I knew that we would have to be ready quickly for the quarterfinals.
All the players have been diligent in putting the game back in place. "
Racing played the role of continuity, little movement within its workforce, the automatisms were therefore easy to find.
In the quarterfinals, the Ciel et Blancs made short work of Clermontois quickly overtaken (36-27).
This time, the march is much higher against a team three times European champion in the last four editions (2016, 2017, 2019).
“We will stop looking at the Saracens, their supremacy, their liabilities. We are capable of winning, there are not too many questions to ask ourselves ”
Teddy Iribaren
“It's going to be a first big big test to know if we are physically ready to take the shock, advance scrum half Teddy Iribraen.
I am not very worried, although there are points to improve.
It's normal, it's the start of the season.
The game system and the automatisms are not perfect.
But if there is the state of mind and we manage to put our game in place, I think there will not be a lot of worries. "
And to add: “We do not ask ourselves many questions.
We're trying to keep the confidence we've gained since the start of the season. "
Racing does not feed any complex
It remains to be seen if Racing will manage to disrupt the Saracens machine, this steamroller which suffocates all its opponents, thanks in particular to a hyper aggressive defense.
“Their system is well in place.
They know what they are doing, how and why they are doing it.
They have a well-established strategy, explains Laurent Travers.
If you look at the last ten games of Saracens, you will see that nothing has changed.
From there, whether you put this player or that other, he knows the system.
This is what makes the strength of great teams.
I hope it will be the same for Racing 92. "
The Ile-de-France club - beaten by these same Englishmen in the quarter-finals (2015) and in the final (2016) - does not feed any complex.
“They have been European champions three times, we know what to expect.
But we are focusing on what we will put in place to try to counter them ", supports Teddy Iribaren who insists:" We will stop looking at the Saracens, their supremacy, their liabilities.
We are able to win, there are not too many questions to ask. ”
“Already playing in front of 5,000 people is sad. So in front of 1,000, it will be even sadder… ”
Camille Cat
Do the "Sarries" have flaws?
“There is a lot of excitement, of envy.
It is important to keep that adrenaline going.
It's up to us to get around their aggressiveness, even to counter them and try to do better than them, ”says Laurent Travers.
For Iribaren, “all gaming systems are good.
Afterwards, it's all about determination, the desire that we put into it and believing in what we do.
This is what made them strong. ”
The other strength of Maro Itoje's teammates is to have united after the huge scandal that rocked the London club (repeated irregularities concerning the salary cap), relegated next season to the second division.
“They set themselves a challenge.
Afterwards, the authorities decided that they were penalized at the level of the championship but not of the European Cup.
We are looking at the sporting side.
It created something for them.
They have tightened up around that, ”insists Laurent Travers, who does not want to believe that the English are their pet peeve.
“We will try to thwart all these predictions.
The quarter-final in Colombes (in 2015, defeat 11-12), we lose it in the 82nd minute ... We will make sure this time that in the 82nd minute we are ahead. "
Funny atmosphere in perspective at Paris La Défense Arena, since only 1,000 people will be authorized to attend this shock at the top.
Not a problem for Teddy Iribaren: “Whether we play in front of 1,000 or 5,000 people, it's favorable for us to play at home.
Even if it was behind closed doors, we would do everything to win this match. "
Camille Chat is more disappointed: “Already playing in front of 5,000 people is sad.
So in front of 1.000, it will be even sadder… ”Even in the event of qualification for the final?
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