One of the rare stars in the middle of a gloomy match. Author of 17 of Racing 92‘s 22 points (5/6 on foot), Nolann Le Garrec was one of the architects of Racing 92’s forceps victory against Toulon (22-6), Saturday in Créteil. Not necessarily flamboyant in the running game but very active, the international scrum-half allowed his team to unlock a double-locked meeting (0-0 at half-time), to achieve a second success in a row after the one brought back de Vannes (27-24), his training club.
“He brought to fruition the good actions of our forwards, and above all he was clean in his outings,” Frédéric Michalak, Racing attack coach, appreciated afterwards. Kicking is crucial in modern rugby, he was perfect on that. » With one exception, since the French international missed a penalty 35 m slightly to the left (9th). After this slight pitfall, he actually kicked the ball, sometimes in much more complicated situations.
Its reliability against the poles allowed the Racingmen to build their success, in a contested meeting with a slippery ball, on a soft pitch and with the appearance of a “final phase match” for Michalak – in the scenario more than in the level of play , very average. And because a decisive match is never won without a good scorer, Le Garrec played a fundamental role in validating the collective effort of his forwards, dominating in the second period despite Toulon’s tenacious defense.
Farrell welcomes their relationship
Before that, in a gloomy first act ending with an eloquent score of 0-0, Racing had persisted in going into touch rather than attempting penalties. And wasted precious ammunition, even when the RCT was one less after the yellow received by Kyle Sinckler (24th). “At half-time, we said to ourselves that we had to make it happen and score points,” replayed Michalak, who could be seen miming the three points to his scorer as soon as the opportunity presented itself.
Author of his highest number of points in 10 months (18 against Harlequins in December 2023), Nolann Le Garrec did not simply shine against the poles. He thus lit one of the rare breaches of his team with a quickly played return to 22 m, at the origin of a testing opportunity (31st) and had, before that, already broken through the Toulon defense (19th). An honorable record in the middle of a rough three-quarter game. “He is a very great player, our relationship grows every day, after each match, I feel good with him,” greeted England fly-half Owen Farrell.
Points scored for the fall tour
“He’s a real leader for the forwards,” described third row Maxime Baudonne. He has become very important in the group, he is a huge worker who pulls everyone up and plays 75 minutes per match. » 77 exactly this time, his staff only resting him once success was secured after Jannik Tarrit’s try – transformed into a corner by Le Garrec, obviously.
Four weeks before the first match of the fall tour, on November 9 against Japan, the Breton showed himself again when, at the same time, his opposite number Baptiste Serin, captain during the tour in Argentina, was in difficulty on Saturday. While Antoine Dupont will return to the XV field a few hours later against Clermont (9:05 p.m.), Le Garrec has a good chance of establishing himself as the “finisher” scrum half of the Blues in November. And he will then continue to wear Racing before joining La Rochelle next season.
