For the 14th day of the championship, UBB crushed Racing 92 at Chaban-Delmas on Saturday evening (62-20).
15-13. This was the score at the break of this UBB-Racing 92. 40 minutes later? 62-20 for the European champions – who completely destroyed the Ile-de-France residents in the second act -, carried by the entries of their untenable teammates Louis Bielle-Biarrey and Nicolas Depoortère! What a demonstration. A real humiliation.
Bordeaux-Bègles hung in the first act
However, nothing suggested a lone rider of this caliber in the second half. Even if Penaud (7th) and Jalibert (29th) had already put the Unionists on the right track from the start of the match, the Ile-de-France revolt materialized through the powerful Hughes (36th) just before half-time. On returning from the locker room, moreover, it was even the Ciel et Blanc who came to cool down the Gironde enthusiasm, showing themselves, in turn, to be extremely effective thanks to their back James (43rd).
Skip the ad
But there was no need to titillate, or even upset, the European champion, especially in front of his audience. (Very) bad idea. And Racing paid the price. Hardly. 52nd minute: turning point of the match. The internationals of the French XV, Depoortère and Bielle-Biarrey, come into play – also well chaperoned by that of the South African Du Preez, for his first minutes in the Girondin jersey. The rest was just a detail for the Bordelais, simply in a state of grace until the final whistle. The yellow card of Escobar (52nd) on the Racing side – which notably “cost” his team 14 points during his 10-minute exclusion – did not help the affairs of Ciel et Blanc in any way. The latter even precipitated their fall in a brutal and inevitable manner.
Also read
Top 14: Jean-Luc du Preez, the new South African tank of the UBB
Racing, a second period in hell
Cazeaux (55th), Penaud again (57th), Woki (61st), Depoortère twice (64th, 69th), then his friend Bielle-Biarrey, also author of a double (73rd, 78th), came to deliver the seven other tries for their team, then untouchable. All punctuated by a great Jalibert, decisive on the majority of his team’s achievements with 15 points on the clock.
In front ? Nothingness. A shipwreck of rare violence. A scathing 47-0 suffered by Patrice Collazo’s men in the second half, more than in agony. Racing no longer responded, completely helpless, conceding test after test. The Ciel et Blanc had (already) returned to the locker rooms, crushed by the opposing frenzy. A two-sided match therefore, but the score is heavy. Very heavy. And symptomatic of the “versions” of these two teams this season.
UBB, vice-champion of France, is struggling to string together very high-flying performances, like this Saturday evening, particularly on the road, and the Ile-de-France residents are showing good things, especially in the game, but still seem just as fragile away from home. The nightmare of the Racingmen at Chaban-Delmas will leave its mark… In the meantime, the residents of Hauts-de-Seine are stagnating in tenth place in the standings (33 points), while Bordeaux-Bègles is coming back to level with Stade Français Paris, fourth (38 points), with a bang.
