TOPS
Gregory Alldritt leads La Rochelle to the final
The Rochelais took time to see victory take shape.
First trailing 10-0 until the half hour mark, the Maritimes gradually came back into the game.
And who else but the captain to allow La Rochelle to raise their heads.
Gregory Alldritt came to score a try just before the break (40th), after a scrum from 5 meters where the French international took the ball out and went to flatten his team to 10-8 at halftime.
A full match for the captain of La Rochelle, elected man of the match with 13 tackles and 104 meters covered in this semi-final won by the Maritimes (13-20).
Read alsoChampions Cup: La Rochelle subdues Racing and returns to the final
Second consecutive final for Stade Rochelais
They will have gone to look for her.
If the game was not brilliant on the lawn of the Bollaert-Delelis stadium, the Maritimes were looking for victory in the mind.
First led by 10 points until the half-hour mark, Stade Rochelais only managed to take the lead in the 53rd minute of this semi-final.
In difficulty in their transmissions, the Rochelais won this duel in the heads because they were badly embarked, and West in check at the foot did not help his team.
After the final lost last year against Stade Toulousain, the Maritimes join the Champions Cup final for the second consecutive time and will have the mission of bringing the trophy back to France, against Leinster on May 28 in Marseille.
Read alsoChampions Cup: the summary of the qualification for the final of La Rochelle in video
FLOPS
Ihaia West in foot check
We know the importance of the quality of a scorer in these decisive matches.
Unfortunately, the designated goalscorers of both teams were put in difficulty by the wind on Sunday afternoon.
The New Zealand fly-half from La Rochelle was very bad on foot.
He first misses a penalty almost facing the posts in the 11th minute and completely unscrews on his transformation after Alldritt's try (40th).
In the second half, West hit the post on another penalty in the 46th minute.
That's 8 points to leave even if he ends up scoring a try in the 80th minute and his team goes to the final.
Racing 92's indiscipline costs the match
The number of penalties conceded could be related to the score: 19 to 12. Racing 92 was the most penalized in this semi-final with nearly twenty faults against it.
The Ile-de-France residents also received two yellow cards in quick succession, Camille Chat (52nd) and Yoan Tanga (53rd) who brought a penalty try for La Rochelle who took the lead for the first time in the match at this time. .
The Maritimes, who also committed no less than 12 faults, did not let go of the advantage thereafter.
A hung duel therefore with a lot of waste, which cost the victory to Racing 92. The game was clearly overshadowed by the pressure of the stakes at the Bollaert-Delelis stadium.