Following a 31-22 victory for Racing 92 against the Stormers at Paris La Defense Arena, here’s our five takeaways from Saturday’s Investec Champions Cup clash.
The top line
Racing gave themselves a shot of making the Champions Cup round of 16 after they ended their two-game losing streak in the competition with a home success.
They will have to wait to see how Sale Sharks get on against Toulon in Sunday’s final match of the round, but progress or not, they will be a much happier camp.
It has been a dismal couple of months for Stuart Lancaster and his team as they languish in ninth position on the Top 14 table and were in poor form in Europe.
But a five-try triumph over the Stormers has brought a much-needed reason for cheer as Vinaya Habosi (2), Max Spring (2) and Boris Palu crossed in the victory.
Andre-Hugo Venter, Herschel Jantjies and Marcel Theunissen were the Capetonians’ try scorers as they ended their campaign in fifth position after a third pool loss.
Owen Farrell watch
The England international has been sorely missed by Lancaster and Racing 92 in recent months as he’s had to watch his team go through a dismal stretch of form.
Their marquee signing certainly made an impact on his return as his well-timed and accurate distribution and calm decision-making handed Racing an extra weapon.
Owen Farrell‘s delay and double pump before finding Tristan Tedder who set up Habosi for their first try sucked in four Stormers defenders and deserves a good deal of praise.
It is no surprise that those around him flourished in Farrell’s 53 minutes on the field and Lancaster will hope his return is the catalyst to an end-of-season charge.
Fijian dominance
Leading on from this and what a performance it was from Habosi as everything he touched turned to gold, with his brace of tries paving the way to a key victory.
Granted Habosi’s first try was a walk-in after Farrell’s aforementioned brilliance but his second was a score made in Fiji as Josua Tuisova set up his countryman.
Fiji powerhouse Tuisova also had a hand in wing Spring’s first try on 17 minutes, although the latter did brilliantly to chip over before racing over the whitewash.
Not done there Habosi’s powerful line break over the halfway line played its part on Spring’s second try to cap an impressive night in Paris for the Fijian double act.
Team selection
When the Stormers named their team for this game some highlighted the absence of the likes of Manie Libbok, Warrick Gelant, Ben Jason Dixon and Leolin Zas. Therefore one has to wonder what might have been had those sort of key players been blooded instead of seemingly being rested for the United Rugby Championship.
Next up for the Stormers is a visit to Leinster as they look for a surprise result that would springboard them up from 10th in the standings but that’s a big ask.
Victory over Racing would have guaranteed them a place in the Champions Cup round of 16 so it is no wonder some are questioning where their tournament loyalties lie. It’s also a sad indictment of how this competition’s pool stages have played out as South African teams (and others) have chosen to rotate for some fixtures.
Herschel Jantjies
One positive for the Stormers was the impact of forgotten Springboks scrum-half Jantjies, who starred off the bench and played a part in two of their three crossings.
His first involvement saw him drift off the base of a ruck and find fly-half Jurie Matthee with a nice flat pass that ended in Jantjies strolling over for the score. He would then turn provider for Theunissen eight minutes later with a smart snipe down a short blindside before his pop pass led to the flanker crossing the whitewash.
Jantjies, who has been struggling to lock down a starting jersey at the Stormers in recent campaigns, will therefore be delighted with his own performance as the 2019 Rugby World Cup winner certainly impressed in his 25 minutes on the field. His soon-to-be Top 14 outfit, Bayonne, will have also taken note of his superb cameo.
Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/racing-92-v-stormers-five-takeaways-as-owen-farrell-impresses-on-return-in-victory-made-in-fiji-to-dump-capetonians-out-of-tournament
