Do you expect to find revengeful Parisians, injured after
the big defeat (53-20) they conceded at the Arena
in the Top 14?
Gaël Fickou:
Yes of course, it won't be the same team at all.
Last week, they had a great first half, they didn't let us down.
We expect a big fight, like this first half.
To know them well, I know that they are guys who have ego.
Guys like Paul Gabrillagues or Paul Alo-Emile - and so on there are so many good players - will be keen to redeem themselves.
A wounded animal is always more dangerous.
In relation to that, we are hyper vigilant, we know what to expect: a complicated match.
As you said, the first half was tight last week. Are there a lot of things to correct, in your opinion?
Honestly, I think we had a good first half.
We had three chances to score, it's worth nothing.
They defended really well, it's a team that never gives up.
Against this team, what is hard is the aggressiveness they put in the rucks, the fight in the ground game.
We are preparing for that.
It's a big quality in them.
We know that if we are not efficient in this area, it will be very complicated.
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In your position, Stade Français will suffer from
the absence of Waisea
...
It's a huge loss for them, he's an incredible player.
Having played with him, I noticed that he has qualities that very few players have.
He reminds me a lot of Virimi (Vakatawa, his teammate at Racing).
They are very spectacular players, who can do rare things.
Afterwards, the Parisians have Alex Arrate who has a very good level and who has been playing very good matches for a season, he is very consistent.
Obviously he does not have the X factor side of Waisea, but he is formidable.
What do you think of this formula for the round of 16 in a round-trip format?
What makes the finals crazy is to play a match where you give everything.
It's a bit of a shame, but it doesn't bother me either.
After that makes us more matches...
Will we have to calculate, if the first match is tight?
The difficulty is to say to yourself that even if you won the first match, you are not sure of going to the quarter-finals.
This is quite complex.
But that's how it is, it's not us who decide.
If we complain, it won't change, that's how it is...
The Champions Cup is a completely different competition.
It resembles our game and team philosophy
Gael Fickou
In terms of play, the Champions Cup, which gives pride of place to the game, is a competition that you like?
In terms of arbitration, it lets more play, it arbitrates less conquests.
We saw it this weekend, we were still dominated in the scrum and we didn't have any penalties.
Because the referees prefer the ball to go out and play.
It's a completely different competition.
It resembles our game and team philosophy: we have mobile pillars, which move around a lot.
We really like this competition.
Afterwards, we will come across, as we said, on a wounded beast who will arrive with a lot of desire, a desire for revenge.
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The European Cup has been a priority objective for Racing for several years...
Of course, even if the Top 14 is also an objective.
But I have the impression that the European Cup is a competition in which the team has performed the best.
I wasn't there... (Smile) But from the outside, I saw them doing it.
It would be good if today we could go very far in this competition, even win it.
Without lacking in humility, it's a goal because they have made three finals in five years.
I can't say "we" because I wasn't there.
It would be good if one day it turned in our favor.
Physically, how do you feel after the Grand Slam achieved in the Six Nations Tournament where you played all the matches?
Pretty good.
The Tournament was well managed, we had breaks, cuts.
So, it's OK.
We want the final stages to come quickly, that we play this kind of exciting matches.
I meet little guys on bikes who say to me: "Why did you leave?"
That's life.
In a way it's gratifying, it means they wish I had stayed
Did you find it difficult to immerse yourself in your daily life in the club?
No.
The next day, you wake up, there is no one.
Yes the emotions were strong, it happens very rarely.
It's not easy to switch but I was also very happy to go back.
Do we still talk to you about your departure from Stade Français for Racing? Or has the page been turned?
I live in the 16th arrondissement (of Paris), everywhere below my house, there are flags of the Stade Français.
In the streets, the Stade Français, the pink... I have no animosity towards the Stade Français.
I laugh about it... I meet little guys on bikes who say to me:
"But why did you leave?"
That's life.
In a way, it's gratifying, it means they wish I had stayed.
It's funnier than anything else.
At first there was a bit of animosity, but that passed.
Are you still in contact with a lot of people at the Stade Français?
Just yesterday (Wednesday), I had a drink with them.
Honestly, I have a very good relationship with all the guys at Stade Français.
They are my friends, some are even more than friends.
That's how it is, that's sport.
Today you're in one club, the next day you're in another.
It's the same in football and in all sports.
It's a reality: you can be a friend in life and an enemy on the pitch.
Teddy Baubigny (Racing hooker) is one of the best friends of Pierre-Henri Azagoh (second line of the Stade Français), and yet they are at war on the ground, that's how it is.
