Racing 92 and Edinburgh lock horns in Paris

In the sixth match-up of the round, Edinburgh travel to Paris where they will take on the might of Racing 92 at the Paris La Defense Arena.

Edinburgh kicked their campaign off with a disappointing defeat to La Rochelle at Murrayfield. The French stars only managed to grind out a 5-point victory over their Scottish rivals who were admirable in their efforts. The final score was determined just ten minutes into the second half before the sides waged a dour war of attrition on each other for the final 30 minutes. It is to Edinburgh’s credit that La Rochelle breathed a sigh of relief as the final whistle sounded.

Things improved in the second round as Edinburgh recorded a slim but deserved victory against Sale Sharks at the AJ Bell Stadium, the former managing an impressive comeback to overturn a 14-point deficit:

Racing 92’s campaign was heralded by a wobbly victory against Connacht which could have gone either way. With 30 minutes to go, the French outfit enjoyed an 18-point lead, but they didn’t seem quite ready for the late surge that Connacht introduced into their game:

 Crisis averted, Racing rolled up their sleeves and busied themselves with administering a hiding to Harlequins in Round 2. There was nowhere for the Englishmen to hide on their own turf as they were systematically dismembered by the beautiful attacking skills of the Racing outfit.

While the general consensus is that this one will likely in with a Racing victory, it would be decidedly unwise to write off Edinburgh. With Finn Russell suspended, Racing lose a significant edge in the enterprising play of their backline. With brave workhorses like Rory Sutherland, Hamish Watson and Viliame Mata up front, Edinburgh are no push-overs and could well choke the life out of Racing if the latter take the field with any complacency.