Dan Carter inspires stunning 14-man effort as Racing beat Toulon to win French Top 14 title
Racing 92 clinched their first French Top 14 title in 26 years on Friday when they shrugged off having to play an hour with 14 men to defeat Toulon 29-21 in a thrilling final.
Racing 92 clinched their first French Top 14 title in 26 years on Friday when they shrugged off having to play an hour with 14 men to defeat Toulon 29-21 in a thrilling final.
It was Racing's sixth title in their history and was watched by a record crowd for a club game of 99,124 fans inside the Nou Camp, home of Spanish football giants Barcelona.
But the team of former All Blacks superstar Dan Carter did it the hard way, having scrum-half Maxime Machenaud red-carded after just 18 minutes before slipping 14-6 down.
It is the most special season of my life. We showed that we have a real team spirit. I’m still not sure how we did it but I am very relieved
However, a barnstorming second-half performance by the Parisian giants shattered three-time European champions Toulon's hopes of winning a fourth French crown.
"It is the most special season of my life," said man-of-the-match Carter who arrived in France having helped the All Blacks to win the 2015 Rugby World Cup in England.
"We showed that we have a real team spirit. I’m still not sure how we did it but I am very relieved," he added.
Toulon's English fullback Delon Armitage blasted his team's indiscipline.