Racing power past Stormers in Paris
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The Stormers’ Investec Champions Cup campaign hit a wall at the La Défense Arena in Paris on Saturday night.
Despite flashes of their trademark grit and guile, the Stormers went down 31-22, undone by a combination of defensive lapses, a spluttering lineout, and the irresistible force of Racing’s Fijian battering rams, Josua Tuisova and Vinaya Habosi.
READ: Stormers robbed in Paris
There was plenty of early promise from the Stormers, but it took only six minutes for the Stormers' slender lead — via Jurie Matthee's opening penalty — to evaporate in the face of Racing’s ruthless incision.
With England centurion Owen Farrell pulling the strings at flyhalf, and former Stormers wing forward Hacjivah Dayimani racking up the tackles, Habosi and fellow wing Max Spring each crossed twice in a clinic of finishing, while scrumhalf Nolann le Garrec kicked three conversions and marshalled his side with panache to be named man of the match.
The Stormers' defensive wall, which had been impervious in their shutout of Sale Sharks a week earlier, crumbled under relentless pressure. First-time tackles were missed as Racing exploited gaps with clinical precision. Hooker Andre-Hugo Venter, who scored immediately after replacing Joseph Dweba midway through the first half for what appeared to be a shoulder injury, could not stem the tide.
Trailing 19-10 at half time, the Stormers showed character to claw back into the contest through a break from replacement scrumhalf Herschel Jantjies and flanker Marcel Theunissen, whose second-half tries offered a tantalising glimpse of what might have been. But the comeback was always going to be an uphill battle and Racing's pack held the line.
In the end, Boris Palu's late try slammed the door on any lingering Stormers hopes of qualification for the Champions Cup playoffs, though they will advance to the Challenge Cup round of 16 if Sale fail to earn any log points in Sunday's tilt against Pool 4 leaders, Toulon.
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