This Parasian derby is sure to be a cracker with the sides being pretty evenly matched in their last round-robin encounter which saw Racing 92 edge it 13-17.
Saturday 3 June
Stade Francais 7/10 | Draw 20/1 | Racing 92 23/20
The next Parisian derby will be upon as shortly and while there’s always a lot on the line when Stade and Racing meet, this fixture holds more significance to it with a place in the 2022/23 Tp 14 semi-finals on the line.
The hosts for Saturday’s encounter had a rather underwhelming end to their regular season and losses to Clermont (32-16), Heineken Cup champions La Rochelle (14-10) and a 31-31 draw with Lyon cost them their chances of an automatic semi-final berth.
Racing 92 are the first hurdle in the way of Stade’s possible run to the finals. This weekend’s visitors had a better end to their regular season campaign beating Bayonne 55-14, an understrength Toulon side 43-7 before going down 32-25 to Clermont this past weekend. They’re a side that has improved a lot during the final salvos of the campaign and should give Stade a real run for their money here.
In terms of the head-to-head results between the sides this season, as noted in the introduction, Racing managed to scrape a 14-17 win when the sides met for the second time in the Top 14 while the first clash between the duo saw Stade hammer Racing 10-48. It’s rather interesting to note that the two domestic games were one by whichever side was the visiting team.
I reckon this will be a very close game but one in which the hosts come through. The handicap is likely to be a very narrow one which is why I won’t be taking any risks and just getting on the straight home win.
Stade on the straight win.
