Maiden European meeting for Racing and Stade Rochelais

Maiden European meeting for Racing and Stade Rochelais

Racing 92 face TOP 14 rivals Stade Rochelais for the first time in the Heineken Champions Cup when they meet in the semi-finals at Stade Bollaert-Delelis in Lens on Sunday.

 

Neither side have tasted defeat in the last four of the competition, with Racing advancing on three occasions and La Rochelle triumphing on their first appearance at that stage last season.

Racing have won eight of their last nine games in the Heineken Champions Cup, including the last five in a row (excluding cancelled matches). However, their only defeat in that spell came in a knockout fixture against French opposition – 24-21 against Union Bordeaux-Bègles in last season’s quarter-finals.

The game kicks off at 15:00 (UK & Irish time) and can be viewed on BT Sport, Channel 4, Virgin Media, beIN SPORTS and France 2.


Pool positions

Racing 92: 1st in Pool A; 19 points


Stade Rochelais: 3rd in Pool A; 16 points

Quarter-finals

Racing 92 41-22 Sale Sharks

Stade Rochelais 31-19 Montpellier Hérault Rugby

Heineken Champions Cup head-to-head record

Racing 92 and Stade Rochelais have never met in the European Cup.

Leading 2021/22 points-scorers

Racing 92: Nolann Le Garrec (47)

Stade Rochelais: Ihaia West (59)

Key quotes

Finn Russell (Racing 92 fly-half): “It’s probably going to be even harder. We have already played La Rochelle a few times this year and last year they beat us in the semi-finals of the TOP 14. We know them, we will have to prepare well.”

Grégory Alldritt (Stade Rochelais No.8): “Last year we missed out and we still have a bitter taste in our mouths. We want to get rid of it, so we are more motivated than ever. There are great players who have left us, like Keke (Kevin Gourdon, forced to quit during the season), Victor (Vito), and Jérémy Sinzelle, who is going to leave. We want to end on a high note for these guys.”



     
     
     

Other key stats

  • Racing have faced TOP 14 opposition on 13 previous occasions in the European Cup (W8, L5), while La Rochelle have played French opposition four times (W3, L1).
  • La Rochelle’s four previous matches against TOP 14 opposition in the Heineken Champions Cup have all come in the knockout stage of the competition.
  • La Rochelle have won 10 of their last 11 matches in the Heineken Champions Cup (L1, excluding cancelled matches), including the last six in a row, this after winning just three of their previous 10 fixtures in the competition (L7).
  • Racing have scored six tries from counter attacks in the Heineken Champions Cup this season, more than any other club. That tally accounts for 35% of their tries this campaign, also the highest ratio of any side.
  • Racing have won each of their 22 scrums on their own feed in the Heineken Champions Cup this season. Only four other clubs have recorded a 100% scrum success rate in the competition in 2021/22 and none of those sides have contested as many as Racing.
  • Only 47% of the defensive rucks that Racing have faced in the Heineken Champions Cup this season have been completed in under three seconds. No other side have managed to slow their opponents down as much, while in attack only Toulouse (73%) and Leinster (70%) have completed a higher percentage of their rucks in under three seconds than La Rochelle (66%).
  • Grégory Alldritt (La Rochelle) has made the most carries (94) of any player in the Heineken Champions Cup this season, with no forward recording more metres (601), defenders beaten (19), line breaks (5) or offloads (14) than the French international.
  • Racing’s Finn Russell has made eight passes that have directly led to a line break in the Heineken Champions Cup this season, two more than any other player. The fly half has also made the third most kicks in play (64) and gained the third most kicking metres (1939) of any player in the competition this season.
                   
                   
                   
                   

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