Top 14: at the last second, Racing 92 overthrow Lyon

The Parisian clubs are in good shape at the start of the season. Opposed to LOU this Saturday evening, Racing 92 regained the lead of the TOP 14 at the Stade Français after a victory against Lyon (22-20). Strengthened with the return of Cameron Woki and Gaël Fickou (on the bench at the start of the match), the Ciel et Blanc took the match from the right end with good intentions. Francis Saili was also the first to launch the hostilities with two formidable breakthroughs, fortunately without consequences behind for the LOU (3', 17').

But after several minutes of observation and exchanges of kicking without finding any intervals, it was LOU thanks to the inevitable Couilloud who opened the scoring. On an intelligent combination in touch, the international scrum-half sees space open up in front of him and resists two opposing defenders to flatten the corner (22'). But Racing 92 is not the best attack in the championship for nothing. Two minutes later, the Ile-de-France response was immediate with a decisive Tabuavou twice at the start and at the conclusion of the action (24', 5-7).

After several penalties on each side, Lyon regained the advantage after returning from the locker room thanks to Paddy Jackson (44'). Still in the race, Racing 92 reacted immediately with a try from Laclayat (46´) at the end of a 50-meter action and a great run from Wenceslas Lauret. But Racing started to make mistakes, too many mistakes, and Lyon took advantage of them.

After three consecutive fouls, Lyon regained the advantage thanks to their gunners Jackson (51', 56') and Niniashvili from 50 meters (61'). LOU had the match it needed to win away and could even have taken off without a good defense from Racing with Fickou (65') and Chat (68') in the lead. To get its head back on track, Racing relied on its defense and believed in it until the end. Well they took it.

After several wasted ammunition in the last 20 minutes in the opposing camp, the Ciel et Blanc finally managed to make the LOU give in. The public at Paris La Défense Arena initially believed that Gaël Fickou had crossed the line on an inside return but it was ultimately Tristan Tedder who gave victory to his team with a try and a conversion on the siren (80') . The Racingmen therefore take the lead in the TOP 14 and let the Lyonnais return home with a simple defensive bonus point. A small consolation after having believed in victory until the last minute.