RACING 92 FLANKER Yannick Nyanga has said that Sunday’s Champions Cup showdown with a “French-style” Munster side is their most important match of the season.
The 2016 runners-up trail Munster by four points in Pool 4 and need to win in Paris in order to maintain hope of reaching the knockout stage.
“They’re a bit like a French-style, Top-14 style team, that’s to say that they really like everything to do with lineouts, scrums, ball carrying, occupying territory and the kicking game,” the France international told Rugbyrama.
“I can’t say what type of game it will be on Sunday but on the other hand I do know that we have to be ready to play every kind of rugby – open or closed. Our only real goal is to remain in a position to qualify by the end of the match.”
Nyanga said he likes playing Munster because against a team of such quality there is no extra motivation required. The Irish province won the first meeting of the sides 14-7 at Thomond Park in October but Nyanga feels that Racing were unlucky on the day.
“We were lacking little details to hope for better because we played a super match over there,” he said. “We had the impression of being on top up front but we weren’t able to cash in with our backs because of the weather conditions, which were catastrophic.
“It was impossible to hit the ball more than 10 metres or to make long passes because of the wind. The conditions will obviously be completely different on Sunday.”
Giant forward Leone Nakarawa will be in the Racing starting line-up at the U Arena along with ex-Munster man Donnacha Ryan. The Fijian, who scored Racing’s try in the last meeting of the sides, is using his previous success against the visitors as an inspiration. The 29-year-old was part of the Glasgow Warriors team that beat Munster 31-13 in the 2015 Pro 12 Grand Final.
“Munster are among the best teams in Europe but they are not invincible,” he told Midi Olympique.
“My best memory as a rugby player is from 2015, the day we beat them in the final of the Pro 12 with Glasgow.
“I scored two tries that day but we didn’t win because of that… it was first of all because we matched them in contact.
“They love physical confrontation… but if they lose out in that area they become human again. We shouldn’t be afraid to face them.”
Racing 92: Louis Dupichot; Teddy Thomas, Virimi Vakatawa, Henry Chavancy, Marc Andreu; Rémi Tales, Maxime Machenaud (c); Eddy Ben Arous, Camille Chat, Ben Tameifuna, Donnacha Ryan, Edwin Maka, Yannick Nyanga, Wenceslas Lauret, Leone Nakarawa
Replacements: Dimitri Szarzewski, Vasil Kakovin, Cedate Gomes Sa, Baptiste Chouzenoux, Boris Palu, Xavier Chauveau, Benjamin Dambielle, Joe Rokocoko
The42 has just published its first book, Behind The Lines, a collection of some of the year’s best sports stories. Pick up your copy in Eason’s, or order it here today (€10):
I miss when “French style team” meant the opposite of what it does today.
@Rudiger McMonihan: pure myth that france ever played a decent brand of rugby excluding a few classic tries you might have seen on reeling in the years
@Rudiger McMonihan: There’s almost a stigma to it these days but, in fairness, the way Nyanga explains it makes it not sound so bad.
Having said that, Munster have a better backline now than they have had in a long time man-for-man. They can play both a tight and wide game if they so choose.
On a side note, Nyanga what a rugby player.
@Meatloaf: that’s not a myth, it’s a fact. France still play an unstructured, pick the 15 best players and fling the ball around style which doesn’t work anymore. But there was a time, in the 00s in particular, when picking the 15 best players worked very well for them.
@Conor Paddington: They pick there best 15 players? Bah! Poppycock! Explain to me then why Francois trinh-duc has been keeping that French bench toasty for the better part of a decade?!
@Meatloaf: I’m not talking about the actual quality of the players, I am talking about the coaching philosophy. The coaching philosophy is to just choose the right team and let them have at it. That being the exact opposite to Schmidt’s approach of having systems and jobs that players have to slot into.
Mangetout Yannick, mangetout.
@Etherman: Man Get Out!
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@beni gabor: you know it
@beni gabor: I normally wouldn’t find myself in agreement with you, beni, but you nailed it there. More of the same please.