HALF A SEASON into the French adventure and things haven’t quite gone according to plan for Jonny Sexton just yet.
It’s too early to judge whether his time with Racing Métro is ultimately going to be a success, but the early signs are concerning. The Parisian club sit eighth in the Top 14, trailing leaders Clermont by 12 points, but just one point behind Montpellier in sixth [the final play-off spot].
It’s far from disastrous, but it’s also some distance from where owner Jacky Lorenzetti would have wished for his expensively-assembled team to be at this point of the season. The multi-millionaire founder of estate agency Foncia would surely have been aware that a project such as this takes time to bear fruits, and disjointed performances from a squad with so many new parts had to be expected.
However, no one anticipated the sheer lack of energy that Racing have displayed on the pitch so often this season. There is a growing lethargy around les ciel et blanc and if they cannot arrest it, they may be facing a failure to qualify for next season’s Heineken Cup – a competition in which they have already been unsuccessful this year.
Surprisingly, given the quality of some of the back line talent in their squad, Racing Métro have scored the second fewest points and tries of any team in the Top 14. Only Biarritz, the bottom side, have scored less of both – it’s that damning. Sexton has looked threatening, but so far hasn’t been able to combine with the likes of Jamie Roberts, Benjamin Fall and Marc Andreu.
Sexton makes a line-break against Harlequins in the Heineken Cup. ©INPHO/Andrew Fosker.
Whatever about their attacking bluntness, the most worrying aspect of Racing’s performances this season has been an apparent lack of simple effort. The sense is that the players in the capital club just aren’t motivated to play for the jersey. We don’t need to question Sexton in this regard, his commitment is beyond reproach no matter what colours he wears.
The other players too are obviously desirous of winning games, but there is a lack of focus in their actions, a lack of spring in their step, a failure to get off the ground as quickly as they can to make that extra tackle or to support the attacking player. Rucks are hit hard, but not quite smashed with sheer aggression; kicks are chased, but without the appetite of bloodhounds.
Laurent Labit and Laurent Travers, the highly-rated coaching duo who won the Top 14 with Castres last season, have been unable to work their magic yet, although they have always insisted that this project will take years rather than months to reap rewards. Still, their short-term frustration has been apparent, and they have publicly questioned the desire and work ethic of the Racing squad.
The media have been patient with the Lorenzetti’s armada of stars, but that too is beginning to change. This morning’s Midi Olympique [the French semi-weekly rugby newspaper] carried an article questioning Racing’s foreign imports under the headline ‘Sexton: Symbol of Frustration’. Elsewhere, the recent defeat to Harlequins in the Heineken Cup saw the Ireland out-half’s kicking game criticised.
Sexton and his fellow high-profile additions are obvious focuses for the negative press, and they are now beginning to attract exactly that. Dan Lydiate has been a shadow of himself since joining from the Dragons. The Welsh flanker looks nowhere near his best physical condition, and is struggling with the increasing ball carrying demands les deux Laurents have placed on him.
Jamie Roberts has come in for some criticism despite an ankle injury. ©INPHO/Andrew Fosker.
It was jarring to see one of the best tacklers in the world missing a one-on-one against Charlie Walker in the defeat in London to ‘Quins; Lydiate has made an art form of low tackling, but went in high with his arms and was shrugged off. It’s a brief moment, but a genuine glimpse into his time with Racing so far. The club itself must be questioned too; did they actually know what type of player they were signing? Lydiate is no ball carrier.
As for Sexton, he has been cutting an increasingly frustrated figure on the pitch, that exasperated flinging of the arms up into the air becoming a far too common sight. The 28-year-old is at his peak and needs to be provided with quality possession if he is to show his full array of attacking skills. Unfortunately, that has been at a premium with Racing so far this season.
The Ireland international has been spared the ignominy of featuring on Midi Olympique‘s ‘Flops of the Season’ list this morning, where Roberts and Lydiate’s failures to make an impact have been dissected. Sexton is certainly among the best performers for les Racingmen up to this point, and he is likely to be the driving force if the club is to turn the campaign around.
The former Leinster star must be patient; his agent Fintan Drury had surely researched Racing in great depth and informed his client that there was a lack of existing culture there. It takes time to build that crucial aspect within a group of players, but Racing need to do so urgently.
No matter who is in their starting line-up, no matter the tactics and techniques the two Laurents can bring to the table, if the players are not bursting to get onto the pitch and win, then none of it matters.
Racing need to find a motivating force for their squad; they need to create a unity that is real.
Maybe it shows that thankfully money doesn’t guarantee success and that rugby, more than a lot of other team sports, is about how a team comes together and performs for each other?!
Racing has something missing: a pool of supporters and a sense of a local rugby culture. As I read in the Midi Olympique this weekend (french rugby newspaper) if the racing owner invested in Bordeaux or Brive instead of Racing, he would have been more succesfull.
no luke,rugby isnt any more of a team sport than most other team sports !!!! but like in soccer and others,you can buy success its just not guranteed and does need more than just money,i am happy myself when we see it not working but look at some of the other big french clubs who throw money at it and get it right,if they continue to invest racing will eventually win something !
Fair point Gerard! In relation to rugby as a more team orientated sport I play football (soccer) myself and watch it and love it, and I love basketball too, but in rugby they look like they’d literally die on the pitch, which is a whole other level of commitment! Haha!
Good move for Jonny both from a sporting and financial point of view in that it will result on him returning home and appreciate just how happy he was here. He can earn as much money as he will ever need, has a lovely wife and family, great fans who appreciate him and critically will be happy.
He had to move to learn this.
Come home Jonny. Dublin misses you as you do it!
Come home Jonny indeed. With his Munster links confirmed by his Listowel heritage, the glorious red no.10 shirt is yours Jonny. You know it makes sense!
Should have read ‘Ireland!’ …. Just come back! Rather him with any Irish province than be exiled in France.
Happy Xmas to all Irish rugby fans.
Only yanking your chain D. Like all quality Irish players I would like to see Jonny back on Irish turf.
Still, can’t get that image of Jonny in red out of my head. Maybe it’s a santa costume!
Happy Christmas all.
Even the annoying trolls.
I’m a bit of a newbie to the score app but each time I read down through some comments, this buck tooth frog chap keeps cropping up with some nonsensical negative gibberish… Seriously fella, have you nothing better to be doing than throwing stones anonymously like that?
“Johnny, we’re sorry won’t you come on. home
We worry, won’t you come on home…”
Racing Metro have never been an elite French club. They finished 6th in the previous 2 seasons. Is it any wonder that they are mid-table again?
And for all the talk of them being expensively put together, their budget is nothing like Toulon’s, Clermont’s or Toulouse’s
A more interesting piece is to ask what is a club like Biarritz, with their recent Championships, Heineken Cup Final Appearances and Challenge Cup win doing rooted to the bottom of the table.
Let’s all remember why he left. Because the IRFU would not pay him what he was worth.
No the IRFU wanted to pay him what he is actually worth and couldn’t match the crazy French.
Totally agree.
As I remember it, Sexton was only looking for the same money as Heslip. Which he was well worth.
Dip in form or not he is still by far the best irish 10 and possibly the best irish player overall. Also remember there is no rule to say that the 10 has to kick goals…
I don’t think his autobiography will do him any favours with the irfu either
Comes across as a bit of a jumped up pr*ck
Sexton joining Munster !!! No thank you, Listowel links or not. We have Irelands
best 10 in Munster another Kerryman to boot, his name is JJ Hanrahan, watch
out for him, still only 22. Sextons is very unhappy in France, just look at his puss
every time he plays. Nasty looking in the extreme.
Brendan, JJ H is a fine up and coming potential number 10 but realistically at the moment for Ireland he would be 4th or 5th choice. Keatley is still ahead of him on the Munster team sheet and let alone Ireland.
Madigan is a better 10……
On his current form he will struggle to make the starting 15 come 6 nations time, and maybe that’s not a bad message to send out to others who are tempted to leave.
Bang on Joe, I totally agree about possibly excluding foreign based players.
I’m a munster fan and I even want johnny back playing in Ireland .his form has gone down considerably since moving there he doesn’t even start a lot .this can’t be good for the national team aswell.
Watched him play against harlequins at the Stoop in London a few weeks ago and he looked very frustrated. However with Mike Philips now with Racing too things might improve from January for the team…
Maybe Sexton is regretting going to France. Trying to squeeze more and more money out of a rugby union that is operating in a country that was declared bankrupt not so long ago was never gonna work!
Had he of stayed I’m sure he still would have got well paid. Ego and agents drove this.
Madigan and Jackson for Irish 10 shirt.