To go north, let’s go through the south. Geography is not Racing’s favorite subject at the moment. He prefers physical education. But the rugby players are not there to pass the Bac. Rather, they want to cross the Channel in good health. In order to better prepare for the final of the European Cup next week in England in Bristol against the English Exeter, the Racingmen have therefore gone from the defeat against Toulouse (24-30), their first of the season, to a hotel in… Porto-Vecchio, in Corsica, reached by private flight. To move away from England to better approach it in short.
But it is above all because the Ciel et Blanc do not want to pay a heavy supplement for luggage. The idea is to leave the Covid out of the suitcases. A priori, the virus will not see the Isle of Beauty. From nine positive cases last week, Racing’s treatment sheet fell to two and then, officially, to none last Wednesday.
But in the absence of his Vitale card, it is his youth card that the Ile-de-France club had taken out for the reception of Toulouse: to replace the ten holders who left the group, Laurent Travers had bet on replacements with an average of 20 years. age. And the confrontation between the youth of some and the experience of Toulouse residents went as expected: envy, daring among the locals. And management and poise in the face.
Generous and confused youth
Two tries, directly on a dismissal for Mathis Lebel and then at high speed for Cheslin Kolbe, allowed the Toulousains to manage their highlights perfectly. Opposite, the youth of Racing, generous and muddled, yet returned to the locker room with only one point behind (16-17) thanks to a test just before the break of Taofifenua. The pretty showdown continued for a long time. And to a try from Joseph (44th), Toulouse responded with another from Holmes (50th) and kept the score until the end.
From now on, Racing will, until next Friday, limit its horizon only to its Corsican hotel where it will be the only customer, a weight room and the Claude-Papi stadium in Porto-Vecchio. After all, to challenge the English and history, it is not forbidden to prepare on the native island of Napoleon Bonaparte.
