Frédéric Michalak highlights how ‘small team’ Racing 92 can shake ‘mercenaries’ tag
Racing 92 attack coach and former France playmaker Frédéric Michalak has spoken with brutal honesty about his team’s recent performances.
The Top 14 club have won just three of their opening seven games of the new season with only a single victory on the road, against Vannes.
On Saturday, Stuart Lancaster’s side fell to a 32-15 defeat at the hands of Bayonne which sees them sit 10th overall on the standings after seven rounds of action.
Michalak delivers brutally honest view on Racing 92
Ahead of the 2024/25 season, Lancaster made several signings bringing in the likes of Hacjivah Dayimani, Demba Bamba, Romain Taofifenoa, Diego Escobar, Owen Farrell, Sam James, Dan Lancaster, Lucio Sordoni and Feleti Kaitu’u.
However, those new arrivals have not translated into positive results on the pitch as, on current form, they look on course to finish much lower than their sixth-place finish last season.
Following their most recent defeat, ex-France international Michalak spoke candidly about Racing 92’s performances.
“The performances are not respecting what we do during the week, it’s not respecting the jersey, the heritage of a club,” he told Canal+.
“These are all the questions that are being asked today, it’s not just a rugby match.”
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The Parisian club are often accused of being mercenaries with the club known for signing some of the biggest names in the game, notably Dan Carter, Finn Russell and most recently Siya Kolisi – who left the club after just one season to return to the Sharks in South Africa.
Despite their deep pockets and historical success, Michalak believes that Racing are currently a ‘small team’ and highlighted how they can shake the mercenary accusations.
“If we don’t want to be seen as mercenaries, we have to be there, especially in these away matches, when it’s difficult,” he added.
“The big teams go through that. So there you go, we’re still a small team and we have to question ourselves.”
Racing 92 will look to turn their fortunes around before the Top 14 takes a break for the Autumn Nations Series, with a home game against Perpignan up next before they hit the road to tackle Pau.
When the competition resumes, they will clash against Paris rivals, Stade Francais.