  Due to its particular geometry, stimulated Raman side-scattering (SRSS)
drives scattered light emission at non-conventional directions, leading to
scarce and complex experimental observations. Direct-irradiation campaigns at
the SG-II UP facility have measured the scattered light driven by SRSS over a
wide range of angles. It indicated an emission at large polar angles over a
broad azimuthal range, sensitive to the plasma profile and laser polarization,
resulting in a loss of about 5\% of the total laser energy. Direct comparison
with back-scattering measurement has evidenced SRSS as the dominant Raman
scattering process. The predominance of SRSS was confirmed by 2D
particle-in-cell simulations, and its angular spread has been corroborated by
ray-tracing simulations. The main implication is that a complete
characterization of the SRS instability and an accurate measurement of the
energy losses require the collection of the scattered light in a broad range of
directions. Otherwise, spatially limited measurement could lead to an
underestimation of the energetic importance of stimulated Raman scattering.
