Unrecognizable, the Racing players were surprised in their den in Nanterre by Montpellier (21-32) on Saturday during the 8th day of Top 14. This is the first failure at the house of Ciel et Blanc this season.
Certainly not the best way to prepare for the coming of champion Toulouse next weekend.
At the end of the match and the Ciel et Blanc defeated.
Bravo to @MHR_officiel for his big match
We will meet again next week against Toulouse: https://t.co/zzlixwFl5t
💙🤍 21 -32 🟦⬜️ # RacingFamily # R92MHR pic.twitter.com/KZTvwuPnBe
- Racing 92 (@ racing92) October 23, 2021
What you must remember
Game, spectacle and suspense.
Relaxed and present in the stands for this shock of the 8th day, Mauricio Pochettino, the PSG coach who travels to Marseille on Sunday for the clasico of French football, must have enjoyed the spectacle.
The supporters of Racing significantly less.
Laurent Travers' players were indeed unrecognizable on Saturday for their return to the synthetic turf of the Paris La DĂ©fense Arena.
While they used to impose their rhythm on their opponents from the first minutes of play this season, this time they were quickly overwhelmed by the ardor of Montpellier.
You don't have to wait long to see the people of HĂ©rault take the lead. Untenable on the pitch, perhaps motivated by the presence of his Springboks partners - nickname of the players of the South African team present in France for the Autumn tour - the South African scrum half Jacobus Reinach ( 5th) quickly shows the way in Montpellier. From the 5th minute, he found the flaw in the feverish defense of the premises (0-5, 5th). Clumsy since the start of the season, the Italian Paolo Garbisi seems to have set the sights and succeeded in the transformation. Moments later, he will convert a penalty (0-10, 11th).
But Racing reacted immediately with Max Spring on a superb pass at the foot of Antoine Gibert (7-10, 19th). On its momentum, and pushed by its public, the troupe of Ciel et Blanc reversed the situation shortly after on a test of Imhoff once again perfectly served by Gibert. The latter transforms the penalty and finally allows Racing to take the lead (14-10, 24th). Montpellier which remains on 5 setbacks against the Ile-de-France residents seems to be on the ropes, close to yielding.
But it is however the Racingmen who end up cracking. The absences of Camille Chat, Teddy Baubigny, Teddy Thomas, Wenceslas Lauret and Kurtley Beale, injured during the warm-up at the last moment, weigh in this intense duel, at all times. Garbisi, impeccable at the foot (7 of 7 Saturday), gives air to Montpellier. Then, on a flash of genius, the inevitable Reinach intercepts a ball in his 22 meters and goes up the whole field for a new try (14-26th, 39th) just before returning to the locker room. An essay revealing the astonishing lack of concentration of Ile-de-France residents.
The second half is a constant battle.
Reinach, affected, must leave his partners to recover from a shock.
Racing took the opportunity to monopolize the ball.
But a test from Le Guen at the hour mark is refused then Maxime Machenaud, perfect since the start of the season on foot (12 out of 12), misses the opportunity to pick up the score.
Racing will not come back.
He suffered his first setback of the season at home.
Montpellier, who had not beaten the Ile-de-France since 2018, recorded his first success away from home.
🗨️ "It's a benchmark match! We needed to collect points" @Vincent_Rattez considers the Montpellier match "perfect" against Racing 92 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/7EwPbjZX4r
- Canal Rugby Club (@CanalRugbyClub) October 23, 2021
The player: Antoine Gibert
He could have been the man of the match.
That of the remountada and the revolt.
Author of the two decisive passes on the two tests of Racing then of the two transformations, Antoine Gibert was in all the good shots at the start of the match.
But the young scrum-half, born 23 years ago not far from Nanterre, in Sèvres, ended up running out of steam and falling into line.
The number: 26
Racing had never undergone such a correction on its land.
5th defense in the championship before the match, Laurent Travers' players have forgotten their defensive rigors which had been their strength since the opening of the season.
10 lost balls and 26 points conceded at the break, that is to say over a single period the total of points left in Clermont during one of its only two defeats this season.
It is also the first time since May 1, and their setback in the Ile-de-France derby against Stade Français, that Racing has fallen on its own land.
