The late season was almost candy pink. Brand new (the staff with Stuart Lancaster and Frédéric Michalak), brand new (the results and the ambitions of the game), Racing won six of the first eight matches of the season. As winter arrived, the weather became cloudy and the Lancaster team began to struggle, to the point of losing seven times in its last ten outings.
Leaders of the Top 14 for six days, here are the Racingmen fourth after falling for the first time at the Arena against Toulouse (20-27) before sticking out their tongue and even stepping on it in Perpignan (26-5). This latest hiccup, dotted with a festival of missed tackles, clearly left a mark. “Yes, I spoke to the players about it again when they came back from vacation,” says Lancaster. We had a heated discussion about it in the locker room. It’s not just the non-performance that disappointed me a lot, it’s the mentality. We asked the players to self-evaluate, we tried to provide them with small mental preparation tools and we hope that the week off was good. »
“In Perpignan, we did not show a good image of ourselves. Until now, we had given the image of a team that was difficult to play against, capable of holding the ball and multiplying tasks. »
Clovis Le Bail, scrum half of Racing 92
Rather exciting until December, the Racingmen gradually lost their composure, no longer managing to impose themselves away – they had the means to do so in Bayonne and Bath -, and allowing the ghosts of the season to resurface last when the defense conceded too many easy tries. In its last four matches (Bath, Cardiff, Toulouse, Perpignan), Racing has conceded four tries each time. It’s a sign. A bad sign. “In Perpignan, we did not show a good image of ourselves,” agrees Clovis Le Bail, the only scrum half available since Nolann Le Garrec and Antoine Gibert are under French flag fifteen (Gibert also injured an ankle ), while James Hall returned to the infirmary, forcing fullback Max Spring to cover this position again. Until now, we had given the image of a team that was difficult to play against, capable of holding the ball and multiplying tasks. »
Two meetings to follow at home
The succession of two home matches, against Montpellier (“a team that we must be wary of because they are making clear progress”, says Lancaster) then the Stade Français could make it possible to re-reverse the dynamic. On condition of tightening the bolts in defense and knowing how to lead the boat without Cameron Woki or Gaël Fickou and especially without the Le Garrec-Gibert hinge, so important in the good start to the season. “It’s an interesting time to test the depth of our squad,” Lancaster said. At Leinster, there was an average of seventeen players leaving for the Tournament (Racing has six). The idea is to achieve the same quality of squad depth here thanks to the academy. We are working in this direction. »
