In Nanterre,
How is it going on your essay? Can you tell us about it?
Juan Imhoff:
We talked about it before the match with Mike (Prendergast, Racing's attack trainer) before the match.
He told me that, for me, it was going to be a match like a number 9 in football.
I wouldn't have a lot of chances but if I continued to work like I do, I might have a ball to play.
That's what happened.
I thought I had this action earlier.
Mentally, it was a bit hard.
But I figured that when you have artists like Finn Russell or Virimi Vakatawa, anything can happen in a second.
You just have to run behind them and that's what happened.
Frankly, I had nothing to do with it.
My job is to run and be there to help my teammates.
And to take advantage of them because they are really confident.
How did you feel at the end of the match?
It was not an easy game.
The Saracens have a lot of experience in this European Cup.
It's a very strong team, very difficult to play especially in the final phase.
Because they are playing a game of their own.
They are the only ones to play like that.
We, Racing, it's a bit the opposite.
It was a relief, not just in terms of rugby, there are a lot of things that go through your mind.
Everyone is having a difficult time, it was a relief because we made a lot of people smile.
"We started the season by telling ourselves that we were going to win all the matches"
You could give even more by winning this European Cup ...
Yes, that's clear.
There, we said to ourselves that we had achieved our objectives, we are where we wanted to be.
Now it will be played over 80 minutes.
But it's a bit early to talk about it today.
We will take advantage of this moment, we will think of La Rochelle (in Top 14) and then afterwards to the final.
It's a bit the strength of this team, we have never taken a game more seriously than another.
We started the season by telling ourselves that we were going to win all the matches.
Did you feel that your team was in doubt? That she couldn't?
Yes, it's a semi-final and we had less experience than them.
The Saracens know how to play the final stages very well.
They said to themselves: Racing wants to play, we are not going to play.
And that's what happened.
There was no play, we did not have occasions where we put them in danger.
It was difficult to cross the first line.
But we weren't here today to play the best game. It's still a half.
This is what remains beautiful in this sport, you can win at the end with a feat, something out of the ordinary, which breaks the system with a little kick.
Two players (Russell and Vakatawa) talking to each other and a third one coming out of nowhere.
You shouldn't try to analyze a match like that too much either.
»READ ALSO - Racing bends the Saracens and climbs to the final
From the 60th minute, you started to play more ...
There was also a physical thing that played.
The substitutes' bench, all the players, we said to ourselves that we really wanted this star.
We were able to release something more than we had in our hearts.
To come back, it was 50-50 ... The Saracens could also have won this match.
Your trainer Laurent Travers spoke about the mental strength of Racing ...
Yes, of course, there are a lot of characters.
When you see the squad that we have ... It's harder for us to earn our place in training on Tuesday, rather than playing on Saturday.
We remain united, we are not there to cheat.
We all pull each other up, that's the best part of this team.
We created a real family, we are competitors who are starting to have experience.
What has changed in Racing since the two finals in 2016 and 2018?
Players have left, it changes a team.
I think the state of mind is still the same.
This year, it's a bit special, that's what has changed.
Maybe we realized the privilege we have to play rugby, in the current situation.
We say to ourselves that we must take advantage.
This is what made us come out with something more.
There were only 1,000 people in the stands of the Arena. Is it difficult to play, like that, almost behind closed doors?
I'm not going to talk about the people who came to the stadium.
You know, we're a cosmopolitan team.
I come from Argentina and if you look at the situation there with my family, it's very complicated.
I think of them who are locked up, six months in confinement, with a very complicated economic crisis ... I'm not here to talk about that.
It is very difficult for me to speak with my mother, my brothers.
There, today, I limit want to cry.
(On the verge of tears) My brothers told me that I had given my father tears ... It's the best in life.
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