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Portugal fan favourite Storti scores 80m try on Top 14 debut

Raffaele Storti scores 90 metre try for Stade Francais (Credit; Top 14)

Stade Français season might’ve not started as intended, but at least there was a ray of sunlight shining through after their last defeat against Castres: Raffaele Storti. In his Top 14 debut, the wing scored a spectacular interception try, bouncing off Baptiste Cope with a perfectly timed hand-off before sliding across the whitewash.

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Unfortunately for Stade Français, the try didn’t change the course of the match, as the Stadistes suffered their 5th loss of the season, remaining second to last in the Top 14.

The Portuguese wing had his debut delayed due to an injury, which had already forced him to turn down the opportunity to play against the Springboks last July.

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Storti made an impact in the U20 World Rugby Trophy back in 2019, moving to the Uruguayan Franchise, Peñarol, in 2020. As the season was cut short due to COVID, the young wing moved back home to reenlist in Técnico and was approached by Stade Français in the Summer of 2021, joining the French club as an academy-player.

After failing to secure any game time in his first season in France, Storti was loaned to AS Béziers-Hérault where he remained for two seasons, scoring 31 tries in 31 outings. With the number of suitors racking up, Stade Français re-signed the outside until 2027, offering him another shot in the Top 14.

In his first match in the competition, Raffaele Storti not only dotted down a try, but was the player with the most metres gained, clean breaks and carries of the match, making his presence felt. The wing shared his feelings to RugbyPass about his debut for Stade Français: “Mixed emotions, as we were losing an important game and with barely any time left to play. Of course, I was happy with my first try, as it was a dream of mine to play and score a try in the Top 14. It means a lot to me to have done it in my first outing for the club. We have been working hard to help the club. It is a long season, and we are still on time to be back in the race for the playoffs.”

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With Paul Gustard now at the helm of the Parisian side, Storti’s try-scoring prowess can play a crucial role in turning the tide and helping the club get back on track.

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Flankly 1 hour ago
Four talking points after a 'bonkers' England loss to Australia

On the face of it the England rush defence seemed to be worse this week than last. I thought the line speed last week was very effective against NZ, and that the NZ tries had to be very well worked to get around or through. But in fact the apparent deterioration of the England defence may have been more about Schmidt learning from the NZ game. Australia were quick about getting the ball outside of the midfield defenders, and England struggled to cover it effectively. Suaailii was a key element of this. The Boks are going to test this next week, and if England don't address it we should see some Bok tries out wide.


The England attack was as expected, ie fairly ineffective, per last week. Smith is the exception. His magic was behind almost everything England did on attack. While it's great for England to have a player like this, the question is what will happen when an opponent targets him to minimize his impact. Can England win a game with their Plan B? We saw what happened in the 2019 RWC final when the Boks shut down George Ford.


More of a surprise was the England forward pack. This ought to be the area in which Bothwick excels. It is a traditional England strength, and Borthwick was a forward himself. And there is a lot of experience in that pack. So I thought Australia might be overwhelmed up front. But that's not really what happened. It's not obvious that the England pack is any more than average at the moment.


My conclusion this week is similar to last, namely that England has not solved its coaching problem. It looks very different for NZ and Australia - they both have coaching results that are looking quite good.

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