Racing 92 Fight Back to Beat Pulse Energy Highlanders 45-38 in Natixis Rugby Cup

Racing 92 fought back from a 21-12 halftime deficit to beat Pulse Energy Highlanders 45-38 in the Natixis Rugby Cup 2016 at Siu Sai Wan stadium in Hong Kong on Saturday (6 February).

It was the first meeting between the two clubs and the first time that either side had played against opponents from outside of their respective hemispheres.

Racing 92 entered the match atop the French Top 14 league table with 10 wins, two losses and a draw as they approached the half-season break while the match was the first of three pre-season fixtures for the Highlanders.

In keeping with the exhibition nature of the match, the 6,173 strong crowd at Siu Sai Wan were treated to an entertaining display of running rugby with the two squads accumulating 13 tries.

As the dust settled in Hong Kong, Racing 92’s reserve no. 8 Chris Masoe crossed the line for his side’s seventh try, breaking a 38-38 all deadlock in the 76th minute to seal the win 45-38 after Benjamin Dambielle’s conversion was true.

The Highlanders enjoyed the early going in the first half, taking a 21-12 lead into the break. The scoring was opened when Hong Kong referee Tim Baker awarded the Highlanders a penalty try in the 9th minute after the French front row popped up in a pressure scrum beneath the Racing posts.

Racing 92 replied with a try through young scrumhalf Xavier Chauveau, signalled out by Assistant Coach Ronan O’Gara as one of the standout players for Racing this evening.

New Racing 92 star Dan Carter, playing at inside centre, added the conversion for his only points of the evening - as he was subbed off at halftime for fellow former All Black Joseveta Rokocoko, leveling the score at 7-7.

Lock Francois van der Merwe, match captain for Racing, muscled over in the corner for Racing’s second try – capitalizing on a yellow card shown against Highlanders’ lock Joe Wheeler, to push ahead to 12-7 after Carter’s conversion hit the post.

In the space of five minutes late in the half, Highlanders back Matt Faddes, playing off-position at fullback as a stand-in in for the absent Ben Smith, scored a successive brace to give his side a 21-12 lead at the break.

With both teams taking advantage of the occasion to test out some new combinations, the game loosened up in the second half as the tries - and substitutions - came in droves. Each side was allowed to field 28 players with 13 substitutions.

Highlanders outside centre Jason Emery started the second half fireworks early with a try in the 41st minute to extend the Super Rugby stars’ lead to 26-12. But it would be Racing 92 who made the most of their chances, scoring three quick-fire tries within ten minutes, including Chaveau’s second of the match. Two conversions from Benjamin Dambielle gave Racing 92 its first lead, 31-26, after 54 minutes.

The lead would be short-lived, however, as No. 8 Liam Squire scored on his Highlanders debut to tie the match 31-all. The two sides traded tries early on in the final quarter with Tei Walden’s try in the 68th minute, converted by Marty Banks, drawing the scores level for a third time in the match at 38-all.

As they had done for the entirety of the outing, both sides threw caution to the wind in the final ten minutes as the action see-sawed around the park. Ultimately it was Racing 92 who would etch its name on the Natixis Cup after reserve back rower Chris Masoe dotted down for the match-winner in the 78th minute. Dambielle’s fourth conversion of the half sealed the win for Racing 92, 45-38.

Flyhalf Lima Sopoaga was named the Puressential Man of the Match.

Racing Assistant Coach Ronan O’Gara commented on the Natixis Cup saying, “Coming into the match our goal was to give younger players a chance and I think they excelled. The staff were pleasantly surprised at how good a hit-out it was. It was really accurate from both teams and I thought we played to our strengths at times. Our driving maul was exceptional. It may not be appreciated in the southern hemisphere, but in the north it’s a massive weapon for us. I was pleased with the handling between forwards and backs as well, and we didn’t get any injuries so it was a hugely beneficial week for us.”

For Highlanders coach Jamie Joseph wider objectives were also met. He said, “Our agenda was to give everyone an opportunity to play, and whilst it would have been nice to win we weren’t quite good enough in the end. But there are more important things for us at the start of a long season. I was pleased that some of the young guys put their hand up. I thought Matt Faddes played really well. He’s not a fullback, he’s a centre, and we’ve obviously got the All Black fullback playing for us, but we need to strengthen that position. You can’t rely on Ben [Smith] to be the 80-minute man all season and Matt played well. New player Liam Squire at no. 8 also played particularly well. We threw him in on the side of the scrum as well. But the game showed that we still have a lot to do and we’ve identified some work-ons which is great for pre-season and exactly what we wanted out of this trip.”

The 2016 Natixis Rugby Cup was organized by SL-Events (France) and the Hong Kong Rugby Union.

2016 marked the third time the Natixis Cup was hosted in Hong Kong with the first match held in 2013 between Racing 92 and Stade Tolousain - the first time that two Top 14 teams had played in Asia.

That match was followed by a unique engagement in 2015 when the Natixis-sponsored Racing 92 side played an invitational Hong Kong Baa Baas team compiled by fellow Natixis sponsored club, Hong Kong Football Club Rugby Section.

Hong Kong has also hosted the first ever Bledisloe Cup played on neutral territory in 2008 – and again in 2010; the first ever British & Irish Lions match in Asia (versus the Barbarians in 2013) and the first ever Asian Zone Olympic qualifier for Rugby Sevens in November 2015.

See also: Pictures from Asia Rugby Sevens Olympic Games Qualifier in Hong Kong, Pictures from Singha Thailand Sevens 2015 and also Pictures from Cathay Pacific / HSBC Hong Kong Sevens 2015. 

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