Racing 92 pull win out of the fire to break Cheetahs hearts

MATCH REPORT: It was heartbreak for the Cheetahs in their last outing in the Challenge Cup, leading up to the end, but a last-gasp try by Racing 92 clinched it for the French by 32-28 in Paris on Sunday.

With nothing to play for but pride, both teams came out and gave it their all, and in the end, Racing managed to maintain its unbeaten run with an extraordinary comeback.

The Cheetahs started fast, and against the grain of play, Daniel Maartens intercepted and scored within the first two minutes, converted by Jaco van der Walt.

It was Racing 92 that crossed the advantage line after a touchfinder, and from there, they launched phase after phase of attack.

The first drive was short, but it was excellent work by the forwards. They stayed on the gainline, and it was Auguste Albuisson who dived over.

They followed this up with more quick rugby, and South African Hacjiva Dayimani in Racing’s side almost caught the high kick pass with an open tryline in front of him.

Following some good play by the Cheetahs, prop Aranos Coetzee was in hot water for a high tackle after a gap opened in the defence, and Albuisson took full advantage.

Then it was that man Dayimani again, with some devilish footwork to round off a wonderful piece of interplay, keeping the ball alive and knowing they have a numerical advantage.

The structure and control by the hosts kept them in charge of proceedings and kept pressure on the visitors.

And then Racing 92 lost their captain Romain Taofifenua to the bin for his defensive efforts, sent to the sin-bin, and awarded a penalty try to the Cheetahs.

The visitors continued with their onslaught, using their power game and eventually found touch.

There was a lot of work around the fringes and single runners trying their luck.

The referee lost his cool with the home side and sent Thomas Lainault to cool off as well. Without their locks the Cheetahs

With 15 against 13, the Cheetahs had all to play for. Finally, Zander du Plessis gets over, but a TMO decision was that there wasn’t proper grounding.

Without their locks, it was inevitable, and it was a question of time. Prince Nkabinde got the try, and the visitors took the lead for the first time by 21-14.

The start of the second saw incisive passing by Racing 92, which was finished off by Nolann Donguy, as they goes over for the try.

Minutes later, it was a foot race between Nkabinde chasing Selestino Ravutaumada after an intercept from a Van der Walt pass. The Racing 92 winger won the race but lost the ball over the tryline.

Aimless kicking by the Cheetahs’ halfbacks gave possession away. Then a pass was fumbled that was collected by the hosts.

They took the freebie and go over the line to literally turn nothing into something, thus taking the lead again.

Zander du Plessis found himself in the right spot after an overthrow in the line-out and straightened and scored in the 71st minute, and the Cheetahs were in front once more.

With two minutes on the clock, Racing was on their porch, knocking on the door. The Cheetahs were scrambling to defend.

But it was heartbreak for the visitors when Gael Fickou squeezed through on close quarters, claiming victory and keeping their clean home record intact.

Man of the Match: Louis van der Westhuizen – the captain led by example, putting his body on the line right to the end.

The scorers:

For Racing92:
Tries: Albuisson, Dayimani, Donguy, Hill, Fickou
Cons: Gibert 2

For Cheetahs:
Tries: Maartens, Penalty Try, Nkabinde, Du Plessis
Cons: Van der Walt 3

Yellow cards: Aranos Coetzee (Cheetahs, 15’ for high tackle); Romain Taofifenua (Racing 92 – 25’ for dangerous defence); Thomas Lainault (Racing 92 – 30’ for repeated infringements)

Teams:

Racing 92: 15 Sam James, 14 Selestino Ravutaumada, 13 Gael Fickou, 12 Vladi Ashvetia, 11 Nolann Donguy, 10 Antoine Gibert, 9 Kleo Labarbe, 8 Hacjivah Dayimani, 7 Noa Zinzen, 6 Auguste Albuisson, 5 Romain Taofifenua (captain), 4 Thomas Lainault, 3 Lehopoame Leota, 2 Elia Masi, 1 Edouard Jabea Njocke
Replacements: 16 Alifeleti Kaitu’u, 17 Lino Julien, 18 Herman Coetzee, 19 Lekima Tagitagivalu, 20 Jonny Hill, 21 Matis Julien, 22 Antoine Latrasse, 23 Noham Valeu

Cheetahs: 15 James Verity-Amm, 14 Munier Hartzenberg, 13 De-an Ackermann, 12 Zander du Plessis, 11 Prince Nkabinde, 10 Jaco van der Walt, 9 Marco Janse van Vuren, 8 Gideon van der Merwe, 7 Sisonke Vumazonke, 6 Daniel Maartens, 5 Curtley Thomas, 4 Carl Wegner, 3 Aranos Coetzee, 2 Louis van der Westhuizen (captain), 1 Dux Manyama
Replacements: 16 Marko Janse van Rensburg, 17 Cameron Dawson, 18 Frankie Dos Reis, 19 Pieter Jansen van Vuren, 20 Arno van der Merwe, 21 Neels Volschenk, 22 Rewan Kruger, 23 Michael Annies

Referee: Ben Breakspear (Wales)
Assistant referees: Craig Evans (Wales) & Gareth Newman (Wales)
TMO: Aled Griffiths (Wales)