WATCH: Racing 92 star sent-off for brutal tackle while Owen Farrell escapes same fate in Connacht win
Wame Naituvi and Owen Farrell both saw cards in Racing's win over Connacht
Despite an early red card to Wame Naituvi and a spirited fightback, Racing 92 held on to claim a famous 43-40 win over Connacht to progress to the Challenge Cup semi-finals.
The winger was shown a straight red card after just 12 minutes in the entertaining contest, as his team were 14-5 down.
The win for Racing now sets up a Challenge Cup semi-final date with Lyon later this month.
Wame Naituvi sent off for high tackle, but Racing claim famous win
Connacht had taken an early lead thanks to a score from Ireland international Bundee Aki, with JJ Hanrahan’s conversions giving them a 7-0 buffer.
It was short-lived, however, as Naituvi crossed just three minutes later after scooping up Dan Lancaster’s clever grubber kick.
The hosts hit back, though, as Cian Prendergast grabbed their second of the evening from short range.
Fijian back Naituvi was involved once again, but it would be his last act of the match as he was sent off following a high tackle. To compound things for the Parisians, Connacht were also awarded a penalty try.
Big moment in the game 🤯
Wame Naituvi departs the pitch after receiving a red card and @connachtrugby are awarded a penalty try 🟢#ChallengeCupRugby pic.twitter.com/LOurChg4hm
— Premier Sports (@PremSportsTV) April 12, 2025
But, Racing were next to make a dent in the scoreboard with two quick-fire scores. The first came through Diego Escobar, who flopped over from the base of a maul to score. His effort was swiftly followed by Nolann Le Garrec, who pounced on a loose ball after a mix-up in the backfield.
Connacht did end the one-way traffic as Prendergast grabbed his second of the game before Josua Tuisova hit back for the visitors from another maul, but it was advantage Connacht going into the break.
In keeping with the trend of the game, this didn’t last long as Racing struck with 13 points in the first 15 minutes of the second-half. The run was started by Lancaster as he knocked over a long-range penalty, before scrum-half Le Garrec grabbed his second of the evening in similar fashion to his opener as he pounced on another loose ball to dot down, with Lancaster adding the extras.
Not long after his introduction to the field, former England international Owen Farrell knocked over a drop-goal to give his side a healthy 40-28 lead.
This soon became 43-28 with Le Garrec slotted his first penalty of the game.
With the game entering the final exchanges, Connacht finally hit back with their first try of the second-half, as Ben Murphy finished off a superb move to give them some late hope of a comeback.
Fuel was quickly added to that flame of hope, as Farrell was sent to the sin-bin following a reckless clearout, and Connacht instantly rubbed salt into the wound with a try through Cathal Forde. Hanrahan’s conversion pulled them to within three points with kick-off to come.
But, from that restart, a costly knock-on handed Racing back possession and they held on to secure a famous win over the Irish outfit.
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