Racing Metro 90

[Amobokoboko]

Aight after a nice relaxing weekend in Paris I'm quiet shocked that after having neglected the Top14 since December I just read that Fall is going to Montpellier and Machenaud is also looking for other opportunities. After Bob leaving last year I do have my doubts about the management of the club as all the good players tend to be unhappy :s

 

[ratsapprentice]

Toulon has Wilkinson... Racing have Sexton.

Says it all.

 

[big ginger 8]

Toulon has Wilkinson... Racing have Sexton.

Says it all.

Angry words.

 

[Feicarsinn]

Toulon has Wilkinson... Racing have Sexton.

Says it all.

Here fishy fishy.

 

[ratsapprentice]

 

[Draggs]

They have Dulin coming though, better option in the back three than Fall. Don't rate Machenaud either, so they need to find something.

 

[Amobokoboko]

indeed, but I wonder what?

 

[Big Ewis]

"Irrelevant words that should be discarded" is more accurate, ginger.

 

[TheSaffycen]

It's weird that a team that is soooo good on paper has been well below the sum of their parts, look at what Toulon have done with their team building and acquiring of the correct players. They have got Claasens, Dulin, Laulala and Thomas coming in and if you look at their team for next year it could be great. I doubt it though with the coaches they have. 1.Tonga'uiha 2.Szar 3.Mujati 4.Kruger 5.Qovu 6.Lydiate 7.Lauret 8.Claasens (great back row unit) 9.Phillips 10.Sexton 11.Thomas 12.Roberts 13.Laulala 14.Dulin 15.Hernandez
It's like the ultimate blend off power, pace and creativity and under the right coach could be a force in France and Europe, Toulon will win everything again though as they have got Godzilla.

 

[Big Ewis]

It's weird that a team that is soooo good on paper has been well below the sum of their parts, look at what Toulon have done with their team building and acquiring of the correct players.

well really it's not all that bad. If they'd played the entire season as bad as that mid-season form, then yes your comment would be the right one to make. But they did come all the way and managed a superb end-of-season sprint, to oust Paris and claim a spot (and better than 6th even, the last spot in the Top 14). They then took out Toulouse in their own backyard and managed no less than a semi-final appearance before saying farewell for 2014. And they contained Toulon REALLY well that game.

It's the style they play of course that can be looked at and criticized. They have too much on paper to just play a 'big defense/grindout' style...but this year in particular has been a bad one for them relatively. Their H Cup campaign, which happened exactly during the peak of their terrible form, was a disaster, nothing short of it...
Coaching there must be a big part of the problem...

 

[big ginger 8]

"Irrelevant words that should be discarded" is more accurate, ginger.

Yeah it was kind of meant to be instead of an angry response just have the angry words, I realise your interpretation would probably be the majority's.

This is appropriate. http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Dontexplainthejoke

 

[Tony Manx]

Racing, as BE says, came back strongly and this is no surprise as at the start of the season, there were so many new players that it took them three months for them to remember each others names!!

Like Toulon before them, RM92 need time to bed down and I, for one, was surprised that they did it so quickly during the season. I reckon that they could be a team to watch this coming season provided that their coach can be half as good as Laporte has been for RCT.

Give em time.................!!

 

[Big Ewis]

yeah but the style of play though, Tony...I understand silky backplay is what comes last in a team, but the problem with Racing I think is beyond just that...guys like Fall or Andreu have had to score tries on their own initiative every time I've seen em in action. They really need to put some order in that backline and give it some life, because those guys are really just being put to waste. It's fantastic news Benjamin Fall is leaving town, and to go to Montypellier, a very attack-minded side, that's the best news he got in his career. He'll be put to contribution and will shine again.
So I'm saying it would take more than time for Racing to play up to par with their roster's potential. It would take a change in strategy, a lot of tweaking...

 

[racingmetro92]

It's weird that a team that is soooo good on paper has been well below the sum of their parts, look at what Toulon have done with their team building and acquiring of the correct players. They have got Claasens, Dulin, Laulala and Thomas coming in and if you look at their team for next year it could be great. I doubt it though with the coaches they have. 1.Tonga'uiha 2.Szar 3.Mujati 4.Kruger 5.Qovu 6.Lydiate 7.Lauret 8.Claasens (great back row unit) 9.Phillips 10.Sexton 11.Thomas 12.Roberts 13.Laulala 14.Dulin 15.Hernandez
It's like the ultimate blend off power, pace and creativity and under the right coach could be a force in France and Europe, Toulon will win everything again though as they have got Godzilla.

Ouch !! The main team won't be this at all !!!
We'll have
1. Brugnaut (or Peikrishvili)
2. Szarzewski
3. Ducalcon
4. Kruger
5. van der Merwe (maybe Charteris if he comes)
6. Lydiate
7. Le Roux
8. Claassen
9. Machenaud
10. Sexton (or Goosen)
11. Andreu
12. Roberts
13. Laulala (or Chavancy)
14. Imhoff
15. Dulin

And you can remark that all the players that leave the club (Ghezal, Matadigo, Qovu, Wisniewski :wah:, and Fall) didn't play so many games (except Tonga'uiha and Mujati who are big deceptions and Battut who wanted a new challenge in Montpellier)

 

[Big Ewis]

that's where you see good management and bad management. Having a ton of good players on your roster doesn't guarantee anything per se. In stead, the guys who come off the bench ought to be used with regularity, and a roster should be constructed and built on necessity. Of course good players are going to leave after some time...
I mean, when's the last time we've legitimately heard of Wisniewski in the France fly-half conversation ? Some players have disappeared in this Racing Métro team.

 

[TheSaffycen]

Ouch !! The main team won't be this at all !!!
We'll have
1. Brugnaut (or Peikrishvili)
2. Szarzewski
3. Ducalcon
4. Kruger
5. van der Merwe (maybe Charteris if he comes)
6. Lydiate
7. Le Roux
8. Claassen
9. Machenaud
10. Sexton (or Goosen)
11. Andreu
12. Roberts
13. Laulala (or Chavancy)
14. Imhoff
15. Dulin

I thought Machenaud was leaving ? And the looseheads you've mentioned I haven't really heard of, so it will be cool seeing them next year when the top 14 is on Sky.

 

[racingmetro92]

Machenaud never said that he wanted to leave the club. There just were rumours with Stade Francais when Phillips arrived, but Machenaud is still the number 1 on the scrum, so, there is no problem.

About the loosehead prop, i put Brugnaut as number 1, but i dont know who will play the big games. We'll have Brugnaut (who made a great and of season and cancelled his transfer to Grenoble), Peikrishvili (georgian international just arriving from Castres, he seems to be often injured) and Ben Arous (the prospect of the front row)

 

[Big Ewis]

racingmetro92, what do you think of Eddy Ben Arous as a Racing fan who's followed the club all year long ? I've seen him scrummage on occasion, and he looked pretty good. Ppl complain about his scrummaging and say his quality is rather in the loose than at scrum time.

 

[racingmetro92]

in scrum he does the job, i dont think he can become one the greatest on the scrum, but in the game he's quite mobile (a little bit like Schalk Britz), but, honestly, this year i didn't saw a lot of game, and the few i saw, he was on the bench

 

[Big Ewis]

true. I've wondered for a while why we wouldn't pick him for France, and although he has been picked before, with Domingo winning penalties at scrum time consistently and big Vincent Debaty as an impact player off the bench...you can only pick two looseheads, and then Forestier has done good enough work in the loose and has been impressive at scrum time (except against Adam Jones !...). But this whole time, I've fancied the idea of Ben Arous playing for France a little bit. I think he would bring smt Domingo doesn't in the loose, with his short stature, and would hold up alright in the scrum.