Racing Metro Paris at Nottingham

[Ze Stade Fan]

Oh, I forgot! Remember to hate Racigne. I myself developed a stern hatred for them. When I mean them I mean of course their president Mr Lorenzetti, the players and coaches being I think honest people. So remember always to hate Lorenzetti, if it doesn't do any good to Tigers, it can't do any harm.

So, you'll ask me, what to wear when hating Racing? I have a tendency to wear pink gear to better hate them, but I think that, at this stage of the season a stripey outfit of red, green and white would work wonders on the big catwalk.

You can hate Racigne with lots of accessories such as flags, funny hats - horns being a faux pas in my opinion. Don't forget to teach the Racigne hatred to the young and uneducated.

That's it for this morning, I 'll be back at the coffee break.

[Will S]

There is an argument for playing BOC at 7, LM at 6 and Fonua at 8.

We don't want Dan Carter having a good day so:

1) a few big runs down his channel from Fonua and Manu early days would be useful. Carter is no slouch in defence but we want him working hard and getting tied up at the bottom of rucks.
2) Need to slow down their ball as much as possible so having mobile guys like BOC, LM and Harry disrupting every breakdown should be a focus.

Finally, we need to be much smarter about giving away penalties than we have been. We've been guilty of this a lot recently and if we want to win this game we need to cut this right back. We need to work the ref out quickly.

[Roadsweeper]

Scrum, scrum and scrum again

All of the talk of the back row is of course very relevant, but for me if we can't get the ball in and out of the scrum on our own ball, and concede penalties in the same way as the last 2 games, Racing will just punish us every time.

Ayerza and Cole have really got to step up for the first hour, and then the replacements do their job, otherwise I fear we will be outmuscled.

[LondonRich]

There is an argument for playing BOC at 7, LM at 6 and Fonua at 8.

We don't want Dan Carter having a good day so:

1) a few big runs down his channel from Fonua and Manu early days would be useful. Carter is no slouch in defence but we want him working hard and getting tied up at the bottom of rucks.
2) Need to slow down their ball as much as possible so having mobile guys like BOC, LM and Harry disrupting every breakdown should be a focus.

Finally, we need to be much smarter about giving away penalties than we have been. We've been guilty of this a lot recently and if we want to win this game we need to cut this right back. We need to work the ref out quickly.

Whilst I do not disagree at with this tactic Will S, I would imagine it would be something that's attempted for most/every game? You want to tire out the danger men. Whether we can execute it effectively is another matter, but I'd very much like to see it.

Travelling up from London for the game, can't wait!

[loretta]

On the subject of Carter's kicking record, I'd like to point out that Burns' ain't that shoddy either, with 29/30 to date. In the interest of balance, I'd say cutting out penalties has to be an issue for both sides.

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/a ... -racing-92

[Will S]

It will be a massive game for Burns personally. His recent performances must have him above Ford in the pecking order and his previous weakness of goal kicking seems to be behind him. A really good showing against the best 10 on the planet and Eddie will surely find it hard to leave him at home this summer.

[ourla]

It will be a massive game for Burns personally. His recent performances must have him above Ford in the pecking order and his previous weakness of goal kicking seems to be behind him. A really good showing against the best 10 on the planet and Eddie will surely find it hard to leave him at home this summer.

Thought he handles it well when it was mentioned to him in the post match interview: "I'll take any rumours going"

[Ze Stade Fan]

I just saw something : the title of this thread... Oooooh, by Jove Could some moderator change the title from "Racing Métro Paris" to "Racing Métro Suburbs" ? More accurate, as there is only one professional rugby club in Paris.

[rcooper]

What sort of crowd numbers do you think will be there Sunday? 26/27000?

[Iain]

What sort of crowd numbers do you think will be there Sunday? 26/27000?

That would be the very upper end of what I'd expect. Anything over 20,000 and they'll have done well.

The cost and the fact that there was only a two week notice, as well as other expensive trips for Tigers fans and the difficulty of arranging transport and accommodation for the French make it very difficult to expect a full crowd.

[Ze Stade Fan]

What sort of crowd numbers do you think will be there Sunday? 26/27000?

Well Racigne will come in full strength. Their 200 season tickets holder will certainly threaten their kids to force them into traveling to Notts. So you can expect a 200-strong Racigne crowd, granted that no threat is sufficient to force anyone into supporting Racigne.

[maroontrunks]

Well Racigne will come in full strength. Their 200 season tickets holder will certainly threaten their kids to force them into traveling to Notts. So you can expect a 200-strong Racigne crowd, granted that no threat is sufficient to force anyone into supporting Racigne. [/quote]

I take it Racing are the Saracens of French rugby, then?

[Ze Stade Fan]

Well Racigne will come in full strength. Their 200 season tickets holder will certainly threaten their kids to force them into traveling to Notts. So you can expect a 200-strong Racigne crowd, granted that no threat is sufficient to force anyone into supporting Racigne.

I take it Racing are the Saracens of French rugby, then?[/quote]

Do Saracens have a sugar Daddy? Because Racigne have one, the very Swiss Mr Lorenzetti!

[DavidCO]

The Stade, this is really funny the way you hate Racing! Racing is just a remake of Castres when they won in 2013 (OK, without Carter and they don't have Kockott).
But don't worry, I cannot imagine they will win. Racing is like the French team. It seems they have a good level when they play against similar teams. But everyone can see the lack of rugby when they meet playing teams.

That's the difference, Racing do rugby, Leicester plays rugby.

Only 2 things could disturb my pronostics : Carter in a very good day, the come back of Chavancy.

We don't have to offer penalties, too many guys can kick in their team.

[MrPartridge]

Scrum, scrum and scrum again

All of the talk of the back row is of course very relevant, but for me if we can't get the ball in and out of the scrum on our own ball, and concede penalties in the same way as the last 2 games, Racing will just punish us every time.

I think this is astute. It is not my only worry but the scrum is the biggest concern by a long-way. Forget about dominance... parity in the scrum and we'll be hard to beat. Keeping giving penalties away and Carter will kick us to submission. Simples!