“There was no photo.
One team really killed the other ”.
Ronan O'Gara, head coach and future manager of La Rochelle, said he was "impressed" by Racing's victory in the Top 14 play-offs against Stade Français (38-21), last Friday at La Défense Arena .
Before facing his former club (he was assistant coach of Ciel et Blanc from 2013 to 2017), the Irishman is warned.
But he also knows that it was the Parisian mistakes that made the task of Laurent Travers' players easier.
"If you lack precision, that you are not disciplined against Racing, everyone takes 28-0", he specifies.
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La Rochelle therefore knows what not to do in the face of Racing's impressive machine.
Especially since, if, in Lille this Friday (8:45 p.m.), the Maritimes resist the storm from Hauts-de-Seine, they can hope to have opportunities.
This is a characteristic of Racing: often impressive, Maxime Machenaud's teammates are also sometimes inconstant.
"I am satisfied with the first 50 minutes, much less than the last 30," admitted Laurent Travers after the match against Stade Français.
Admittedly, the score was acquired, but this is not a first: Racing sometimes has air holes.
In a decisive match like the last quarter-final of the European Cup in Bordeaux in April, the Racingmen, dominating in the first period, did not know how to make the break before the break and let Matthieu Jalibert's UBB crucify them at the final whistle (24-21).
“We wonder how they lost this game.
It's a bit the problem of Racing, it's this irregularity, ”observes Pierre Berbizier, former coach of Ciel et Blanc (2007-2012).
Against Stade Français in the league on May 1, they also missed out on their first half and were never able to fall behind afterwards, suffering a setback at home (29-35).
Read alsoTop 14: Stade de France goal for Racing after its victorious jump-off
"Not that serene"
“I did not find Racing so serene, said Gonzalo Quesada, coach of Stade Français (and former Racing in 2011-2013), despite the large defeat of his family last week.
They were reassured by our faults ”.
What will happen Friday in Lille against a team from La Rochelle finalist in the European Cup, more consistent this season than the Parisians, and endowed with a huge pack, certainly lessened by the absence of the hooker Pierre Bourgarit but where we still count the Atonio, Skelton and Alldritt?
For Pierre Berbizier, “it's a semi-final, the two teams start at 50-50. But the Rochelais show much more regularity in the implementation of their game. They advance a little more each season, and come a little closer to a title. While Racing has made great strides, then stops, backtracking… they are struggling to realize their potential ”.
“The challenge for Racing will be to repeat a performance like that against Stade Français,” continues Berbizier. With increased pressure for the Hauts-de-Seine club, according to the former scrum half and coach of the XV of France: “the pressure of the result can weigh. Racing has been at the highest level for a long time, but they are slow to materialize. They lost in the quarter-finals of the European Cup. If they stop in the semifinals of the Top 14, it would be a failure ”.