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Will Genia believes he is beginning to find his feet with Stade Francais as he prepares for their European Rugby Champions Cup rematch against Treviso in Paris. - 17/12/2015 11:46
Will Genia believes he is beginning to find his feet with Stade Francais as he prepares for their European Rugby Champions Cup rematch against Treviso in Paris.
The French side racked up a bonus-point victory over the Italian side last weekend to pick up their first win in Pool 4 and bring themselves back into contention for a quarter-final place.
Another bonus-point win over the Guinness Pro 12 outfit, this time on home turf, would leave them well-placed ahead of the final rounds of fixtures in January, which will include a rearranged game in hand against Munster.
Australian scrum-half Genia impressed in Italy and feels he is beginning to make real progress after being hindered by a knee injury in the wake of Rugby World Cup final appearance at the end of October.
“I was a little rusty because I had not played for a month and had suffered a knee injury in the World Cup final and I had to learn the calls and moves, which was a little more difficult as they were all in French,” said the 66-cap Wallaby half-back.
“But I am feeling better and better and the adaptation is not proving that hard as Stade like to move the ball around just like we did with the Wallabies. They like to have the ball and move.”
His half-back partner Jules Plisson is certainly enjoying the service he gets from Genia, and believes the quality of the 27-year-old’s passing is making his life a lot easier.
“His pass goes at 100 mph and it make it very nice when you are standing at fly-half because you never wait for the ball and that sort of thing can make a big difference,” said the France international.
“With a half a second extra to make decisions it is a lot easier to attack, he just fizzes the ball at you, he rarely misses the player the pass is targeted for.
“The last thing you want to have to do is to slow down, or slow your step to take a pass as it means there is no fluidity. With Will, I just have to reach out with my hands and I know the ball is going to be arriving there.”
Match Facts
- Stade Francais extended their unbeaten run to 17 games against Italian opposition in European competition (Champions Cup and Challenge Cup).
- Stade Francais Paris have won an incredible 35 of their 37 home fixtures in the Champions Cup, including each of their last four.
- Benetton Treviso have scored just 30 points in their last seven Champions Cup fixtures away from home and have lost their last 23 in a row on the road, their last win coming in 2007.
- Stade Francais have averaged more tackles per game (156) than any other side after three rounds of action this season.
De nouveau vainqueurs faciles du Benetton Treviso (40-14)
Stade Francais kept the pressure on Leicester in Pool 4 of the European Rugby Champions Cup as they completed back-to-back bonus-point wins over Treviso with a 40-14 triumph in Paris.
Fijian wing Josaia Raisuqe impressed with two of their tries, while the French side also scored a penalty try and registered further scores through Hugo Bonneval, Zurab Zhvania and Geoffrey Doumayrou.
Fly-half Morne Steyn kicked five of six conversions, while Alberto Sgarbi and Davide Giazzon got consolation tries for the visitors.
Stade had been convincing winners in northern Italy last weekend and they flew out of the blocks here, with wings Raisuqe and Djibril Camara making scything breaks through the visitors defence.
But the first try was down to the forwards, who rumbled a five-metre scrum towards the line and demolished the Treviso scrum, leaving English referee Greg Garner with little option but to award the penalty try.
The second try was an early contender for try of the season. Full-back Bonneval received Camara’s offload on his own 10-metre line, made a lovely outside break and completely deceived the cover to canter over the line.
The signs were ominous for Treviso, who were being cut apart at will, and they conceded the third try after just 21 minutes. Raisuqe was the scorer, spotting an unguarded space straight ahead at a ruck to stroll over.
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To Treviso’s credit they battled bravely and stemmed the flow of points, getting to the interval without any further damage.
Their resistance was broken by Raisuqe eight minutes after the break as he showcased his power to carry a defender over the line with him after a flowing attack from the home side to seal the bonus-point.
Treviso hit back with their first try. Stade were guilty of failing to protect the ball at a ruck and the Italian side moved the ball left for Sgarbi to race over.
Stade’s response was a wonderful try from replacement prop Zhvania, who took a pass from Steyn on the Treviso 22 and used a fend and a goose-step to see off two defenders and slide over in the corner.
Giazzon was driven over by the Treviso pack for their second score, but Doumayrou’s impressive solo effort made sure it was the French side who had the last word.
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