By moving on the lawn of Brive, penultimate of the Top 14 at the kick-off of this ninth day and without any returning international to fill his ranks, the vice-champion of Europe normally had little to fear.
Especially since Racing 92 - without four of its internationals (Chat, Le Roux, Vakatawa, Thomas and Imhoff) nor its opener Finn Russel, injured -, had not lost at the Amédée-Domenech stadium since 2016, where he remained on a three-game winning streak.
What you must remember :
And yet, nothing went as planned in Corrèze.
After less than a minute and a half of play, the Brivists and Enzo Hervé had already pierced the defense of the Ile-de-France full axis, allowing Hayden Thompson-Stringer to flatten (2nd, 7-0).
In front of the Corréziens, Racingmen not yet got off the bus will have taken a good quarter of an hour to react.
Maxime Machenaud's foot timidly restarted the machine (17th, 13-3), before Donovan Taofifénua scored his third try this season just after the break (41st, 16-10).
The Ile-de-France revolt was launched in a second act much more consistent than the first.
The abhorrent winner of Pau (24-22) last Saturday, seven days after falling in Castres (28-26), Racing de Laurent Travers has finished overthrowing deserving Brivists, who cracked on the last action of Fabien Sanconnie ( 80th, 19-23).
The Racingmen have shown bravery to strengthen their fifth place and not get out of the front car, while Brive, with this third consecutive loss at home, remains penultimate.
# TOP14 # CABR92 - J9
Obviously these Racingmen are the kings of the end of games ... 👑 After the success in the derby and the defensive bonus won last week, @ racing92 strikes again💥 pic.twitter.com/ LqPAoB0RBB
- TOP 14 Rugby (@ top14rugby) November 14, 2020
The duel: Laranjeira better than Machenaud
Amédée-Domenech was also the scene of a scorers' clash on Saturday night.
And in this little game, it was Thomas Laranjeira who was the most consistent, holding a perfect 4/4 with the tip of his right foot.
Insufficient to create a sufficient gap, while Maxime Machenaud, he stopped at 3/4 before his exit in the 60th.
The number: 4
The Brivists should not lose, they who remained on a series of four defeats in a row with as many offensive bonuses conceded.
But, since October 2 against Pau (19-13), victory always eludes them.
