Top 14 club-by-club 2020/21 season preview: Racing 92
Racing 92 head into the new Top 14 season with a mostly made in France squad that glitters with just a few overseas stars – but what stars…
Key signing
Kurtley Beale has been the one truly big Top 14 signing for next season. Fullback, centre, fly-half, he offers huge value for money at his reported salary of €400,000 a year.
Key departure
Brice Dulin. The two-time Top 14 winner is a casualty of the salary cap – and a big part of the reason for the multi-talented Beale’s arrival. He heads to La Rochelle, while prop Ben Tameifuna has also gone – this time to beef up already formidable front-row options at Bordeaux.
They say
“It’s always difficult to say how you see a season. What is important is to prepare in the right way so that we’re in the best possible place. It’s up to us to do the right things. We are only dependent on ourselves – we must prepare accordingly in relation to what awaits us in the calendar” (Laurent Travers, actu.fr)
We say
It’s actually not that difficult to say how you see a season. Racing have a terrifying squad for 2020/21. The usual ‘if they can gel’ question hardly applies, as most of them have been playing together for a few years – they’ve already gelled. In Travers, Mike Prendergast, and Patricio Noreiga they have some of the smartest rugby brains around.
That playing talent, those coaching brains. It’s a powerful combination.
Desperate start
Last season threatened to go very wrong very quickly for Racing 92. One win, three defeats and a draw in their first five home games – including a season-opening loss to promoted Bayonne – left them second-from-bottom after eight rounds of the campaign.
Blooding young players
Then, 11 players who were at the World Cup returned. Racing have never used the World Cup as an excuse for their poor start – they said it gave them an important chance to blood new, young players.
Nor were they losing games by much – in some cases it was by the skin of the bounce of a ball. But that sort of thing doesn’t show on league tables, unless you look closely. Their points difference after eight games was +7. At the same time, Stade Francais, one place below at the foot of the league, had a points difference -133.
Regardless, Racing’s coaches were not overly concerned. With good reason.
After the 17th round – which turned out to be the last of the Top 14 season – Racing had roared up to third. Their points difference was +125. (Stade’s, for the record, had also stabilised somewhat, at -160). Racing won seven of their last nine Top 14 games, and four of six Champions Cup games to top a pool containing Saracens, Munster and Ospreys.
Then Covid-19 stopped everything.
Game on. https://t.co/26Sebj0qyk
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) August 4, 2020
Racing 92 – a side ‘Made in France’ … mostly
Like Toulouse, Racing have been relatively circumspect in the transfer market. But their few forays into the player pool have been rather more spectacular. Luke Jones, from Bordeaux via four outings at Melbourne, is a smart signing, while Kurtley Beale is the biggest name to move to France next season.
Despite those overseas signings, Racing are leading a mad charge among French clubs to ‘Made In France’ status. Next season, just eight players in their senior squad will not have JIFF status – new signings Jones and Beale, and Finn Russell, Simon Zebo, Dominic Bird, Donnacha Ryan, Juan Imhoff and Antonie Claassen.
Une belle séquence des Ciel et Blanc et c'est l'ailier argentin Juan Imhoff qui inscrit l'essai ?
Quel est votre pronostic pour le quart de finale franco-français entre l'@ASMOfficiel et le @racing92 ? ? pic.twitter.com/tpPWu3TaAZ
— Investec Champions Cup France (@ChampionsCup_FR) August 2, 2020
Racing could pick a matchday squad with a backline including Iribaren, Russell, Beale, Zebo, Imhoff and Virimi Vakatawa behind a powerful – and mobile – pack that could feature Jordan Joseph, Yoan Tanga Mangene, Camille Chat, Boris Palu and Wenceslas Lauret.
That’s a prospect to plague the dreams of defence coaches anywhere.
Arrivals
Luke Jones; Kurtley Beale; Donovan Taofifenua
Departures
Vasil Kakovin; Ben Tameifuna; Issam Hamel; Ewan Johnson; Johnny Dyer; Ben Volavola; Brice Dulin
Comments on RugbyPass
This team does not beat the ABs sadly
11 Go to commentsCompletely agree. More friday night games would be a hit. RFU to make sure every club has a floodlit pitch. Club opens again Saturday to welcome touch / tag. Minis and youths on Sunday
3 Go to comments1.97m and 105Kg? Proportionately, probably skinnier than me at 1.82 and 82kilos. He won’t survive against the big guys at that weight.
55 Go to commentsThe value he brought to the crusaders as an assistant was equal to what he got out of being there. He reflected not only on the team culture but also the credit he attributed to the rugby community. Such experience shouldn’t be overlooked.
3 Go to commentsGood luck Aussie
11 Go to commentssmith at 9 / mounga 10 / laumape 12 / fainganuku 14
54 Go to commentsBar the injuries, it’s pretty much their top team …
2 Go to commentsDon’t disagree with much of this but it appears you forgot Rodda and Beale, who started at the Force on the weekend.
11 Go to commentsExcept for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
1 Go to commentsTo me TJ is clearly the best 9 in the competition right now but he's also a proven player off the bench, there's few playmaking players who can come off the bench as calm and settled as he is, Beauden can, TJ can and I doubt any of the scrumhalves in contention can, if they want to experiment with new 9s I want him on the bench ready to step in if they crumble under the pressure. The Boks put their best front row on the bench, I'd like to see us take a similar approach, the Hurricanes have been doing similar things with players like Kirifi.
54 Go to commentsROG has better chance to win a WC if he starts training and make himself eligible as a player. He won’t make the Ireland squad but I reckon he may get close with Namibia (needs to improve his Afrikaans) or Portugal. Both sides had 1000:1 odds to win the RWC in 2023 which is an improvement on ROG’s odds of winning a RWC as a coach. Unlike Top 14 teams, national teams can’t go shopping and buy the best players - you work with the available talent pool and turn them into world beaters.
3 Go to commentsthat backline nope that backline is terrible why would you have sevu Reece when he’s not even top 5 wingers in the comp why have Blackadder when there’s better players no Scott barret isn’t an automatic the guy is more of a liability than anything why have him there when you have samipeni who’s far far better
54 Go to commentsAh, good to find you Nick. Agree with everything about Cale. So much to like about his game
55 Go to commentsNot too bad. Questions at 6, lock and HB for me. The ABs will be a lot stronger once Jordan and Roigard return. Also, work needs to be made to secure Frizzell back for next season and maybe also Mo’unga; they’re just wasting time playing in japan
54 Go to commentsOn the title, i wonder for many of those people it is a case something like a belief in working smarter, not harder?
1 Go to commentsForget Sotutu. One of those whose top level is Super Rugby. Id take a punt on Wallace Sititi Finau ahead of Glass body Blackadder.
54 Go to commentsI’m a pensioner so I've been around a bit. My opinion of SBW is he is an elite athlete and a great New Zealander and roll model. He has been to the top and knows what he's talking about. To all the negative comments regarding SBW the typical New Zealand way, cut that tall poppy down.
17 Go to commentsI'm not listening to a guy moralise over others when this is the guy who walked out mid season on Canterbury RLFC when he had a contract with them, what a hypocrite. All the Kiwis sticking up for this unprincipled individual because they can't accept justified criticism, he has zero credibility or integrity. Those praising him are a joke.
17 Go to commentsI’d put Finau at 6 instead of Blackadder but that’s the only change I’d make. Can’t wait to see who Razor picks.
54 Go to commentsTamati Williams, Codie Taylor, and Same Cane? Not sure about Hoskins Sotutu at test level. Wasn’t that impressive last season. Need a balance between experience and talent/youth.
54 Go to comments