Gritty Parisian derby goes the way of Racing and Gael Fickou
Racing 92 took a significant step towards claiming a place in the Heineken Champions Cup quarter-finals by toppling Stade Francais 22-9. France centre Gael Fickou scored the only try of the last-16 first-leg clash at the Stade Jean-Bouin and it took until the 66th minute to breach the home defence.
Scrum-half Nolann Le Garrec kicked five penalties to provide the foundation for a gritty win in the Paris derby. Stade Francais suffered a major setback with 13 minutes to go when hooker Tolu Latu was sent off for a dangerous tackle on Baptiste Chouzenoux.
It was 12-6 at half-time with fly-half Joris Segonds kicking all of the Stade points and they face an uphill task to qualify for the last eight from this position, 13 points behind Racing. The rivals collide in the second leg at La Defense Arena next Sunday, with the aggregate winners to face either Bristol or Sale in the quarter-finals.
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Completely and utterly agree mate. The whole George Ford kick substitution issue pales into significance compared to the issue that we didn't get anywhere near the bloody tryline except with an interception. Our attack is nonexistent. If we're only getting a maximum of 3 points on an entry to the red zone it doesn't matter who's on the damn bench! Borthers and Wigglesworth spent their careers trotting after kicks and taking set pieces, that's how they think rugby should be played. The scoreline was incredibly flattering, England were poor.
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