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Russell and Thomas sprinkle their magic on European stage

Racing 92’s Teddy Thomas and Finn Russell celebrate a try  31/3/2019
Finn Russell and Teddy Thomas produced moments of magic as Racing 92 defeated Sale Sharks 41-22 to secure the remaining Heineken Champions Cup semi-final berth.

Finn Russell and Teddy Thomas produced moments of magic as Racing 92 defeated Sale Sharks 41-22 to secure the remaining Heineken Champions Cup semi-final berth.

Racing built an early 9-6 lead thanks to the boot of Nolann Le Garrec before England star Manu Tuilagi glided in for Sale on the brink of half time to put the visitors 10-6 ahead.

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But the French outfit responded immediately after the break with a moment of brilliance from Thomas, who collected his own kick on the brink of the touchline to dot down.

Scotland fly-half Russell then conjured up a spectacular second try to stretch Racing’s lead before Akker van der Merwe reduced the deficit for the Sharks.

Further tries from Juan Imhoff and Max Spring, either side of Ben Curry’s consolation, meant the result was never in doubt though as Racing set up a semi-final with La Rochelle.

The game also saw England’s Tom Curry make his first start since the 2022 Guinness Six Nations but his return was overshadowed by the class of Russell and Thomas.

Russell was initially denied quality ball in the first half as Alex Sanderson’s side disrupted Racing’s attacking momentum before Tuilagi stunned the Parisian crowd before the interval.

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Yet it was a completely different story after the restart, with Russell kicking through to Thomas on the wing before the French winger collected the ball and danced down the touchline.

It was a remarkable piece of skill from Thomas, who managed to hold onto the ball under pressure from Luke James, drop kick it forward, stay in touch and gather to score.

Russell then stole the limelight himself on 49 minutes, having initiated what proved to be a try-scoring move with a brilliant cross-kick deep inside his own 22.

Sale regained possession but after attempting to clear their lines, Russell ran onto the ball launched it downfield on the volley and pounced on the favourable bounce to score.

In ten second-half minutes, Racing had landed what proved to be two decisive blows thanks to the genius of Russell and Thomas as the French Top 14 outfit went on to prevail 41-22.

Racing will now face an all-French semi-final with last year’s runners-up La Rochelle as they look to improve on their own three second-place finishes in the Heineken Champions Cup.