|
13-point haul: Racing Metro
fly-half Jonathan Wisniewski
Photo: Michael Paler |
In-form Racing-Métro 92 pulled off an excellent 23-20
away victory at Biarritz to extend their winning run
to seven games and climb to fifth in the league table.
The
Parisians have now clocked up successive league wins against
Montpellier, Montauban, Brive, Stade Toulousain, Stade
Francais, SCA Albi and Biarritz as they continue to thrive
after promotion from ProD2 last season.
Top 14 Table
/
Top 14 try-scorers
/
Top 14 Results
/
Top 14
Fixtures
Their latest triumph - in a match originally postponed from
Nov 5th due to a waterlogged pitch - came after a stodgy
first-half ended 6-6 at the Parc des Sports Aguilera, with
Dimitri Yachvili and Jonathan Wisniewski both kicking a
brace of penalties each.
But
the match sparked to life soon after the restart when
American speedster Takudzwa Ngwenya touched down for the
home side, prompting a rattling second half down on the
Basque coast.
A
Karmichael Hunt error then led to a penalty try for Racing
after the recent rugby league convert deliberately kicked
the ball dead - something that is allowed in the 13-man
format - with Wisniewski adding the conversion and a
subsequent drop-goal to put the visitors ahead.
Biarritz still enjoyed plenty of possession but failed to
make it count as they squandered several clear cut scoring
opportunities, and their profligacy duly came back to bite
them when veteran Fijian Sireli Bobo stole in for Racing's
second try on 66 minutes.
Wisniewski was again on target to put Racing 23-13 up with
just under quarter of an hour to play, but Biarritz ensured
a tense finale after Yachvili's quick-thinking tap-and-go
enabled the scrum-half to touch down on 74 minutes. The away
side were already down to 14 men by then following a yellow
card for replacement prop Mikaele Tuugahala, and Yachvili's
conversion brought the Basques to within three points.
But Racing's resolve would not be broken
and the capital club held on for win number seven as they
climbed above Toulon - their weekend opponents - into fifth
position.
Pierre Berbizier's side refuse to get carried away with
their position, however, with French lock and captain Lionel
Nallet trying hard to keep his colleagues grounded. "We've
notched up seven consecutive victories but we all have
experience that shows that it could come to a halt
tomorrow," he said.
"There are too many games remaining for us to talk about
qualification," he added in reference to the end-of-season
play-offs.
Biarritz coach Jean-Michel Gonzalez, meanwhile, was seething
after his side's fourth loss in five games, a run in stark
contrast to their own five-match winning streak which
preceded it.
"It
was an evening of missed opportunities," he lamented
afterwards. "We missed three or four clear chances to score
tries and when you don't score you can't win - even if you
dominate," he added.
Gonzalez was unimpressed by the referee but admitted it was
up to his players to adapt to the officials, and is now
looking for an on-field response when they travel to
basement club SCA Albi this weekend. "Life is full of ups
and downs. We are at a rather low ebb now, so we must
respond. We must stay positive as coaches and players," he
said.
Whether Biarritz get the chance to make amends with an away
win at Albi on Sunday remains to be seen, however, with the
possibility of postponement still lingering in the shadow of
further suspected casers of the H1N1 (swine flu) virus.
Brive's home game with Stade Toulousain could also be
affected after the Limousin outfit became the latest Top 14
club to be hit with the virus. One player who definitely
won't be in action at the weekend is Stade's international
centre Yann David.
The
21-year-old picked up a thigh strain while on duty for 'Les
Bleus' against New Zealand and is now set to miss out until
the new year, ruling him out of Stade's Heineken Cup
double-header against Cardiff Blues - the team which dumped
them out of last season's competition.
