Rennes left Turin with a valuable European point, but their return to Brittany was delayed by Storm Austen. After Thursday night’s 2-2 draw against Juventus, Franck Haise’s squad were forced to remain in Italy when their planned flight home was cancelled because of severe weather in France.
The team had expected to land in Rennes at around 1am after the third matchday of the Europa League. Instead, the players and staff spent the night in Turin and were due to fly back on Friday morning, with arrival scheduled around midday.
Storm Austen disrupts Rennes travel plans
Austen brought violent gusts of between 120 and 140km/h to Brittany overnight. Brittany, Normandy and Loire-Atlantique were placed on orange weather alert, while Île-de-France, Oise and Aisne were also set to move to the same level on Friday.
The storm’s precise route remained uncertain, with nearby departments potentially facing upgraded warnings.
Two supporter flights arranged by a travel agency did leave Turin on Thursday evening. One reached Rennes as planned, but the other was diverted to Bordeaux. Its passengers later flew to Nantes before continuing on to Rennes by taxi.
Haise praises Rennes response in Turin
The travel setback followed one of Rennes’ most encouraging performances of the season. Without injured striker Esteban Lepaul, the Rouge et Noir recovered after falling behind early in Turin and turned the match around before half-time.
Juventus levelled after the break, and Rennes endured a nervous final spell. The Italian side thought they had found a late winner in the 88th minute, only for the goal to be ruled out for offside.
Haise praised the character shown by his side, while refusing to describe the result as a major upset.
“I am proud of the match, the performance, the attitude and the personality,” he said. “But it is not an achievement because we did not win. It was very close to us leaving with no points, and that would have been a huge disappointment after what we showed.”
Rennes have collected five points from their opening three Europa League fixtures, giving their campaign a solid early platform. Their attention will quickly return to Ligue 1, with Strasbourg due at Roazhon Park on Sunday at 17:15 for the eighth round of the season.
