At the opening of the 12th day of the Top 14, Stade Français went for a draw against Racing 92 at the very last second (20-20) in a Paris derby that was tight from start to finish.
Stade Français avoids a snub at home. A little over a year after returning to victory against Racing 92 at the Stade Jean-Bouin, Paul Gustard’s players showed tenacity to hold those of Patrice Collazo in check at the end of an intense match. While the two teams were clumsy in the first minutes of the match, it was the Ciel-et-Blanc who struck first. Taking advantage of a penalty to get a throw-in near the Parisian goal, the Ile-de-France residents moved forward on a carried ball. If he was stopped by the “Pink Soldiers”, he opened a sequence of upwind play concluded victoriously by Nathan Hughes in the 7th minute.
While Ugo Seunes did not make the conversion, the referee sent Baptiste Pesenti to the bench for ten minutes. The Parisian second row received a yellow card for having made multiple mistakes in this action. A numerical inferiority which did not bother Stade Français. Indeed, Louis Carbonel very quickly reduced the gap on a penalty before the Parisian defense resisted the Ile-de-France charges. In the middle of the first act, Ugo Seunes took note of the impossibility of his team to go towards the opposing goal. He then slammed a somewhat academic drop about fifteen meters from the poles. The young opener from Racing 92 found the target to restore his team’s five-point lead. A mattress that went up in smoke shortly before the half-hour mark.
Racing 92 had done the hardest part
On a ball carried gaining ground towards the Ciel-et-Blanc in-goal, Diego Escobar made a mistake by collapsing the maul. The Ile-de-France hooker immediately received a yellow card when the referee awarded a penalty try to Stade Français, who took advantage of this offering to move ahead on the scoreboard. An advantage that the Parisians believed to amplify with just over five minutes still to play in the first period. Indeed, a new ball carried was stopped on the line but the uncertainty pushed the referee to request the use of video. The images mainly highlighted an obstruction during the formation of the maul and the ball was returned to Racing 92.
The two teams thus returned to their locker rooms with a two-point advantage in favor of Stade Français. As soon as the restart, tension increased on the pitch at Stade Jean-Bouin and this materialized in a clash between Romain Briatte and Jonny Hill. The Parisian third row and the Ile-de-France second row each received a yellow card, with ten minutes to ease the pressure. The two benches then opened up and the pace of the match could have suffered. The situation evolved as the hour mark approached with a former Stade Français player standing out. On a combination between Léo Carbonneau and Ugo Seunes, Gaël Fickou was served on the left wing.
Melikidze saves Stade Français
Established on the wing for a club for the first time in a decade, the French international showed his vivacity to flatten the second try of Racing 92, who took back control on the scoreboard. In the process, Louis Carbonel brought Stade Français within two points on a penalty. However, at the start of the last ten minutes, the Ciel-et-Blanc took another step towards another victory at Jean-Bouin. Perfectly offset by his opening half, Wilfried Hulleu took advantage of being unmarked to score the third try for Ciel-et-Blanc. Ugo Seunes then had the opportunity to give his team a little more breathing room but he did not find the target on the transformation.
Pushed back to seven points, the Parisians gave everything to at least get a draw in the final minutes of the match. They were helped in this by the yellow card received by Joey Manu in the 77th minute, following a high tackle on Léo Barré. Beyond the siren, Paul Gustard’s players kept pushing and they had to wait five minutes to find the fault. After two breakthroughs from Sekou Macalou, Giorgi Melikidze forced his way through to flatten the try, bringing the Parisians to two points. Louis Carbonel then had the ball to snatch the draw and he did not tremble against the posts. If it remains undefeated at home this season, Stade Français is satisfied with the two points from this draw (20-20). Racing 92, for its part, let slip the opportunity to completely relaunch itself in the ranking.
