Thanks to five tries and a thunderous first period, Racing 92 took the best of Clermont (46-12) and settled on the podium of the Top 14 ranking. The Auvergnats, for their part, signed a fourth game without a win .
Clermont didn’t want to spoil the party. While Racing 92 celebrated its 140th anniversary this Sunday with its supporters, the Ile-de-France club is the one who made the gifts with a bonus victory against ASM. And the public should not be late at the Paris-La Défense Arena. Indeed, Christian Wade gave the advantage to Ciel-et-Blanc from the 4th minute. Upon receiving a pass at the foot of Antoine Gibert, the former NFL resident had no difficulty in flattening the first try of the game. After missing the transformation, Nolann Le Garrec was able to set the sights four minutes later on penalty before seeing his vis-à-vis Anthony Belleau miss an attempt within his reach, located full axis 30 meters from the poles. The former Toulonnais once again saw the target escape him halfway through the first act. Racing 92, meanwhile, capitalized on their dominance in the game, adding to the score from the 25th minute through Hassane Kolingar.
Clermont reacted timidly
Following a conquering carried ball, the pillar was able to regain control of the ball and let his power speak to flatten the second try of the meeting. After a second failure at the foot of Nolann Le Garrec, Francis Saili put the Ile-de-France club on the way to the attacking bonus from the half hour mark. Shifted by Max Spring, the former Biarritz player took advantage of an absent Clermont defense to score. However, the Jaunards decided to react shortly before returning to the locker room. After a combination between George Moala and Kévin Viallard, Bautista Delguy was able to accelerate to go flatten in the corner and bring ASM to 17 points at the break. The Racing 92 festival quickly resumed in the second period. After a confused action and a loss of ball Clermont, Juan Imhoff was able to resist to go in turn to the test. As both benches opened up, the match lost in intensity.
Racing 92 finished very well
Jono Gibbes’ players took the opportunity to get the Ciel-et-Blancs out of the offensive bonus at the start of the last quarter of an hour. After recovering the ball from Jules Plisson, Alivereti Raka played Christian Wade to go flat. It was enough to wake up Racing 92, which ended the match with a bang. Taking advantage of a missed pass from Jules Plisson, Antoine Gibert recovered the ball and took advantage of the Auvergne disorganization to go up a half-court and put his team back on the path to a five-point victory. An offensive bonus that Christian Wade did not fail to provide at the very end of the match. The English winger also took advantage of a clumsiness on the ASM side to counter and score an easy try. A final penalty from Finn Russell on the siren allows Racing 92 to have a happy birthday party with this clear success (46-12), which allows him to move up to third place in the standings. Clermont, who concedes a third defeat in a row, continues to fall in the hierarchy with a tenth place.
