The Northampton Saints will welcome Castres Olympique to Cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens on Saturday for the Investec Champions Cup quarterfinals The Saints enter the quarterfinals on the back of a commanding performance in the Round of 16 Fin Smith’s reliable kicking led the charge in a match where Northampton never appeared unsettled Castres arrives in Northampton following a narrow 39-37 victory over Benetton the French side trailed late in the second half saw Castres reclaim the lead in the final minutes through a decisive try and conversion Here’s everything you need to know about Northampton vs ET on April 12 at cinch Stadium at Franklin's Gardens Northampton Saints vs. Castres Olympique in the Investec Cup Quarterfinals will be streaming live on FloRugby and the FloSports app in the United States and all of North America. Northampton is ranked No. 9 in the world in FloRugby's power rankings. Castres is ranked No. 11 in the world in FloRugby's power rankings. The 2025 Investec Champions Cup final will take place Saturday Key points of the 2024-2025 Investec Champions Cup: FloRugby also is home to match archives and match replays. Get the most important Rugby stories delivered straight to your inbox Last time they came within three points of victory so there is still a chance that Saints can march all the way to next month’s final in Cardiff All the evidence would suggest, though, that Leinster are a more formidable force this year than last while Northampton had be initially resolute to see off a hard-edged Castres team who competed strongly until two tries in five minutes early in the second half from the fit-again George Furbank and the man-of-the-moment Henry Pollock cracked their resistance Castres also had three players sent to the sin-bin in an occasionally feisty contest and Pollock was toying with the visitors by the final quarter claiming a second opportunistic try for himself after Alex Mitchell had done the initial approach work After his two tries against Clermont last Friday and another brace for England in Cardiff last month Pollock is certainly giving the British & Irish Lions selectors a hefty nudge finally back after almost four months on the sidelines with a broken arm also looked encouragingly sharp from the outset after being propelled into action off the bench when George Hendy dislocated a shoulder after falling heavily and was led groggily away after barely three minutes ShowMunster's hopes of winning a third Champions Cup came to an end after a 47-29 quarter-final defeat by Bordeaux at Stade Chaban-Delmas Having knocked out La Rochelle in the last 16 with a dramatic 25-24 victory the Irish province – winners in 2006 and 2008 – were unable to repeat the trick Bordeaux ran in six tries and now face Toulon or defending champions Toulouse as they attempt to reach the final for the first time Munster made the worst possible start when Damian Penaud went over for Bordeaux in the fifth minute although Matthieu Jalibert struck a post with the conversion Penaud broke the record for the number of tries in a Champions Cup campaign his 12th seeing him surpass Chris Ashton's tally of 11 in 2017 who this week signed a two-year contract extension with Munster to end speculation over a move to Leicester Jalibert responded with a penalty of his own before Bordeaux added a further two tries by the 24th minute the France international converting scores from Maxime Lucu and Pete Samu the impressive Penaud playing a big part in both Relentless Bordeaux pressure resulted in a penalty but he did convert a fourth try by the hosts from Jon Echegaray Munster finished the half strongly and they got a try just before the break through Alex Nankivell cleared to play after a successful appeal against his two-game ban for his red card against Connacht in the United Rugby Championship last month went over from close range with Crowley adding the extras Munster reduced the arrears when Andrew Smith crossed although Crowley was unable to add the extras Jalibert kicked two penalties either side of a Maxime Lamothe try before Munster were awarded a penalty try for a deliberate knock on and then Smith claimed his second try of the game Bordeaux had Cyril Cazeaux sent off late on but there was still time for Louis Bielle-Biarrey to score A neat interchange of passes and a brilliant offload by the returning club skipper put Tommy Freeman over for Saints’ opening try before Furbank’s deft chip sat up nicely for Curtis Langdon to score a second At 12-3 up after 13 minutes the momentum was flowing only one way A second Smith penalty extended the gap before Castres struck back through Jérémy Fernandez the try being awarded despite some initial uncertainty as to whether the ball had been grounded It was a relief for the home supporters then when Alex Coles added a third try immediately after Leone Nakarawa had been sent to the sin-bin following a string of penalties The best illustration of the impact of the visiting back-row was the lack of first-half opportunities for Pollock to show his blossoming class aside from one early upfield surge from deep The fast-rising back-rower was largely restricted to close-quarter work and when Castres reached half-time 20-13 down it was just reward for the efforts of their muscular forwards At which point normal service finally resumed. Furbank bravely crashed his way over for a popular score before another Saints attack ended with Pollock steaming 20 metres to score, celebrating to the crowd as he ran behind the posts before smacking the ball down like an NFL veteran. The flanker may be only 20 but he is already unquestionably box office. Free weekly newsletterThe latest rugby union news and analysis, plus all the week's action reviewed His second try was also finished with a flourish, leaving two defenders prone on the floor behind him. If it did not help that Castres had lost both Rémy Baget and Lois Guérois-Galisson after an altercation that also led Temo Mayanavanua to the bin, there was also no doubting the positivity of Saints’ ball-carrying and Pollock’s eye for the main chance. This is the archive of The Observer up until 21/04/2025. The Observer is now owned and operated by Tortoise Media. You don't have permission to access the page you requested. What is this page?The website you are visiting is protected.For security reasons this page cannot be displayed. The 2025 Investec Champions Cup has a lone rematch in the quarterfinals, as the Northampton Saints host Castres Olympique four months after the French side last took to Franklin’s Gardens. Wiping the floor with their guests that day with a comprehensive 38-8 win, the Saints set their stall out for what proved to be a pool-topping run. Shocking the rest of the competition, Castres recovered in remarkable fashion to finish second in the group, courtesy of three wins, but losing to the Saints, courtesy of bonus points. This run saw Castres secure a home quarterfinal for the first time since the 2001-2002 season, during which, the squad made it to the semifinals. Given the hot run of form the French side is on currently, the Saints can expect a significantly stiffer challenge this time around. Saints head coach, Phil Dowson, has named an unchanged starting XV for the quarterfinal match. Fresh off a dominant 46-24 over Clermont in the Round of 16, the Saints will look to repeat their pool-stage success against Castres, which they defeated 38-8 in December. However, Dowson has warned of a tougher test this time around. Fraser Dingwall continues to captain Northampton from inside center, with Burger Odendaal again partnering him in midfield. Hat-trick hero Tommy Freeman remains on the wing alongside George Hendy, while James Ramm starts at fullback. England internationals Alex Mitchell and Fin Smith lead the halfback pairing, with the same forward pack that powered last weekend’s win set to go again. Club captain George Furbank returns from injury on a strong Saints bench. Castres has made eight changes to the lineup that defeated Benetton in the quarterfinal, starting in the back line, where Geoffrey Palis starts on the right wing in place of Christian Mabadiang. In the centers, there is a new combination with Jack Goodhue and Vilmoni Botitu replacing Andrea Cocagi and Adrien Seguret. At scrumhalf, quarterfinal hero Jeremy Fernandez starts, having scored the match-winning try in the 78th minute last time out. In the pack, Gauthier Maravat and Leone Nakarawa replace Paul Jedrasiak and Florent Vanverberghe as the starting locks, while Baptiste Delaporte starts at openside. Played in a near hurricane during December, the previous meeting between these two sides was characterized by the Saints domination up front. Scoring five of their six tries through the forwards, the Saints laid down a physical marker they backed up later in the competition against the Vodacom Bulls, Munster and ASM Clermont. On that occasion, Castres opted to send a weakened side to Franklin’s Gardens with a first-choice front row of Quentin Walcker, Gaetan Barlot and Will Collier all absent. Returning for this clash, the trio will prove to be a far tougher proposition for the Saints front row, in particular, young loosehead Emmanuel Iyogun. The 24-year-old’s clash with 33-year-old former England international Will Collier will be pivotal in deciding the quality of ball that the Saints' lethal backrow and backline play off. Should Collier manage to get on top early, this fixture could take on a vastly different complexion to what many believe will happen. Conceding six penalties thus far to Collier's one, the immensely talented loosehead has the opportunity to lay down a marker if he can keep his discipline dialed in. PredictionWidely tipped as strong favorites the Saints are in pole position to secure back-to-back semifinal appearances against Leinster in Dublin This young squad will need to be cautious about underestimating a battle-hardened Top 14 side that is firmly interested in progressing as far as possible in this competition There are two distinct scripts to this contest. the Saints will want to avoid an arm wrestle and the Saints will look to move their larger opponents around the park and find mismatches with their intricate attacking game will likely look to slow the tempo and make this a set-piece-dominated encounter The team's route to victory is getting its key players involved in tight before releasing the direct and powerful back line Picking this fixture is significantly more challenging than initially suspected and with their Premiership title all but relinquished their season ultimately rests on this clash We are backing the Saints with the thought that they eventually will run away with this in dry and fast conditions Will Collier is revelling in the Castres fans’ passion and enjoying other benefits of life in southern France Read moreThe genuine relish in Collier’s voice suggests the collective family decision to swap the easy familiarity of life in Putney for southern France has already justified the upheaval the popular and respected tighthead might conceivably have added to his two England caps Better a bracingly fresh life experience than a nagging sense of “if only” Collier is far from the only former Premiership hired gun enjoying his change of scene enjoy meeting up on their days off with Jack Willis and his family Former teammates such as Joe Marchant and Kyle Sinckler are at Stade Français and Toulon respectively while loads more exiled English internationals are scattered the length and breadth of France Which prompts the million-euro question, as this season’s Champions Cup commences: does the Rugby Football Union need to get with the beat and stop seeing all this as some kind of existential threat to the English game Might it not be good news in terms of broadening minds and developing character is this a timely moment to re-examine the rule decreeing that only players based in England are eligible for the national team ‘Leave the Premiership,’ because the Premiership is a fantastic competition For an older player who is still in the England mix it’s going to be very hard to make that call But if you’re a younger player on the fringes I would certainly recommend it Will Collier carries the ball for England against Barbarians in June 2022 Photograph: Chris Lee/RFU/The RFU Collection/Getty Images“Steve Borthwick has to be allowed to pick the best players he can There’s the counterargument of: ‘We can’t weaken the Premiership,’ but I feel the Premiership is always going to be a great competition It’s not like there’s going to be a huge exodus of players to France especially with the Jiff rules [joueurs issus des filières de formation which require a healthy percentage of locally-reared players in every Top 14 squad] I feel quite honoured to have found a spot for myself in the Top 14 because they’re so hard to come by.” Collier is equally convinced that a cross-fertilisation of ideas is beneficial for the English game whether it be at international or club level They benefit hugely from having players who have been all over the place and bring back different things from different rugby cultures You also learn from different ways of coaching In the Premiership it’s very often the same kind of rugby done in the same way.” Venturing outside his comfort zone has also already taught him various other lessons “Castres is a very small town but I’m absolutely loving it experiencing a new culture … you have to grow I’ve only been here for six months but you start to appreciate different things a little more Free weekly newsletterThe latest rugby union news and analysis As a partner in a restaurant in Bristol with some wine exams under his belt Collier has also landed in his idea of gastronomic heaven “Everything revolves around rugby and food which just happen to be two of my big passions,” he says “You can’t throw a stone without hitting a boulangerie here You can also go down to the local supermarket and find the most incredible bottles of wine for €9-10 [roughly £8] You think: ‘This can’t be good.’ Then you realise that back home it would be retailing for £30-40 It’s pretty amazing to have access to that kind of stuff – in limited quantities but surely the family’s accommodation must be average “We managed to find a beautiful house 15 minutes out of town with a big garden and a swimming pool the big man’s day job of scrummaging against huge opponents every week is properly demanding – “There’s always something going on” – and there remains non-negotiable pressure to uphold civic pride at least once a fortnight “In the Top 14 it’s kind of unacceptable for us to lose a home game and that’s certainly the way we’re going to be treating it in Europe as well.” It is also a frustration that Collier has a slight groin problem and is being rested for his side’s opening trip to Northampton on Saturday Castres do not traditionally travel well in Europe but lazy perceptions are always ripe for challenging “I think it is slightly changing,” says Collier who will be back to face Munster at home next Friday “There seems to be a real energy around the group to go hard this weekend “Every player has been coming up to me asking: ‘What’s it like at Franklin’s Gardens?’ It’s one of the things they want to tick off We’ve got a big lumpy team with some star-studded backs so we’ll be sending a team who are capable of going toe-to-toe with Northampton.” Either way Collier and his fellow Francophiles do not sound particularly homesick Munster handily defeated Stade Francais in its opening-round Investec Champions Cup tie The Irish side also garnered the bonus point from the match positioning it at the top of their pool alongside Northampton. Up next is Castres the squad that lost to the aforementioned Saints propping them at the top of the table with the bonus point. Castres Olympique has had a moderately successful Top 14 campaign and is seventh but if the squad wants to bring home some hardware in 2025 it should start with a win against Munster. Munster has stumbled through its first seven URC matches going 3-4 and sitting in 11th place in the competition A second win in European Champions Cup competition certainly would go a long way to jumpstarting the Red Army's form. The 2024-25 Investec Champions Cup will be broadcast on FloRugby and the FloSports App in the US and Canada. Twenty-four clubs have qualified for the 2024-2025 Investec Champions Cup as follows: The Investec Champions Cup and the EPCR Challenge Cup begin Dec and the four-round pool-play action ends Jan The EPCR Championships weekend is in Cardiff There are championship games on May 23 (EPCR Challenge Cup) and May 24 (Investec Champions Cup). FloRugby and FloSports also are the US home to: George, who was replaced by Maro Itoje as England captain on Tuesday was a second-half replacement here but could do little to stop Saracens letting the match slip through their fingers ensuring they face an away fixture against Toulon in the last 16 Compounding matters for the 34-year-old hooker, he was withdrawn in the closing minutes and, with England, who will head to Girona for a warm-weather training camp this week, beginning their Six Nations campaign in less than a fortnight, Steve Borthwick has a sizeable headache. “Jamie has hurt his hamstring,” Mark McCall, the Saracens director of rugby “We’re not quite sure how serious it is at the moment.” it was not a great afternoon for Borthwick – the form of Theo Dan aside Dan and Luke Cowan-Dickie are likely to fight it out for the No 2 jersey Borthwick is already without Immanuel Feyi‑Waboso Sam Underhill and George Furbank through injury and will anxiously await updates on those in action over the weekend before England head to Spain this was his final match with Saracens before he formally begins his tenure as England captain here was the chance to demonstrate precisely why Borthwick has promoted him under Itoje’s watch Saracens failed to see out victory in the last quarter in a manner all too familiar to England supporters It was hardly a ringing endorsement of his leadership credentials and the upshot is that Saracens wasted the chance to secure a home tie in the last 16 had already qualified for the knockout stages before kick-off but Saracens must now do things the hard way if they are to add to their three Champions Cup titles ShowToulouse score 80 points against Leicester Leicester suffered their heaviest Champions Cup defeat as holders Toulouse thrashed them 80-12 at Stade Ernest-Wallon The French team ran in 12 tries to deny the Tigers a home draw in the competition’s last 16 with a trip to Glasgow now facing Leicester in the next round Toulouse scored six tries in the first half beginning the rout and Emmanuel Meafou going over twice Dimitri Delibes and Julien Marchand continued the blitz as Toulouse scored 42 points without reply before the break There was slight improvement from the Tigers after the interval as Jack van Poortvliet and Will Hurd crossed But Toulouse refused to show mercy as another six tries underlined their intent to retain the trophy Capuozzo and Dupont scored again and Thibaud Flament went over twice Thomas Ramos and Matthis Lebel completed the scoring as Leicester settled for third place in pool one Toulouse will host Sale in the last 16 after the England wing Tom Roebuck scored twice as the Premiership side beat Toulon 33-7 to qualify in style from pool four Alex Sanderson’s men needed a bonus-point victory in their final pool game to reach the knockouts Bevan Rodd and Tom O’Flaherty adding tries The France wing Damian Penaud set a new tournament record of six tries as Bordeaux thrashed Sharks 66-12 to secure top spot in pool one and home advantage in the next round The heavy defeat for Sharks meant Ulster leapfrogged them into fourth place and secured qualification for the last 16 on points difference Thank you for your feedback.It may seem harsh to single out Itoje but Borthwick made a point last week of explaining his captaincy switch on the grounds that the second-row stays the course for 80 minutes His leadership in the final quarter will inevitably come in for scrutiny in the coming weeks then With Saracens trailing by five points in the 73rd minute there was a lengthy stoppage in play after a nasty-looking injury to Toby Knight Itoje could be seen deep in conversation with his lieutenants and it is easy to imagine those sorts of discussions being repeated over the next couple of months Itoje was then dishing out instructions in a wider huddle with his teammates kicked for position but George made a mess of the lineout A late Castres penalty then put Saracens out of sight and they can argue little with that outcome Read moreCue a Saracens onslaught with Ben Earl to the fore. An ugly knock-on from the England back-row wasted a promising opportunity but Earl powered over after Saracens laid siege to the Castres line before adding a second from a driving maul just before the interval. Louis Le Brun’s penalty brought Castres back to within two points early in the second half but Saracens clinched their fourth try with another driving lineout, this time Dan the scorer. Castres stayed in touch with another try that owed much to Josaia Raisuqe’s power, Elliot Daly unceremoniously bashed away by the visiting wing before the full‑back Chabouni touched down. A scything break by the replacement scrum-half Santiago Arata – again Daly did not cover himself in glory in a difficult second half for the full‑back – then led to Séguret’s second before a closing 10 minutes in which Saracens made no headway. In a high-scoring Investec Champions Cup clash, Castres Olympique defeated the Vodacom Bulls with a commanding 49-10 victory at home. The match saw Castres take control in the second half, scoring six tries to seal a decisive win. The Vodacom Bulls struck first with a try by Jan-Hendrik Wessels in the sixth minute, converted by Boeta Chamberlain, giving them an early 7-0 lead. Castres quickly responded, with Geoffrey Palis crossing for a try in the 17th minute. Jeremy Fernandez added the conversion, leveling the score at 7-7. A penalty goal by Fernandez in the 31st minute gave Castres a narrow 10-7 lead going into halftime. The second half began with a penalty goal by Fernandez to extend Castres' lead to 13-7. Despite a brief Bulls comeback via a Jaco van der Walt penalty in the 53rd minute, Castres dominated the remaining play. A series of tries by Julien Dumora, Rémy Baget (three tries in total) and Jack Goodhue, accompanied by successful conversions from Pierre Popelin and Fernandez, widened the gap. Baget’s standout performance included a hat trick, with his final try in the 78th minute securing Castres' triumph. The Vodacom Bulls struggled to regain momentum as Castres relentlessly pressured their defense. By the final whistle, Castres had outscored the Bulls seven tries to one, leaving no doubt about their dominance. With this impressive performance, Castres sets a strong tone for its Champions Cup campaign. The Bulls, meanwhile, will look to regroup before their next match. Tries: Palis (17’), Dumora (70’), Baget (63’, 73’, 78’), Goodhue (75’) Conversions: Fernandez (18’, 64’, 71’), Popelin (76’, 79’) Castres Olympique will hit the road in Round 4 to face Saracens in a key clash that will decide playoff seedings. The Vodacom Bulls are eliminated but will face Stade Francais at Loftus Versfeld in Round 4. The Investec Champions Cup and the EPCR Challenge Cup begin Dec. 6, and the four-round pool-play action ends Jan. 19, 2025. The Round of 16 starts on April 4, while the quarterfinals are April 11-13. The semifinals are May 2-4. The EPCR Championships weekend is in Cardiff, Wales at Principality Stadium. There are championship games on May 23 (EPCR Challenge Cup) and May 24 (Investec Champions Cup). FloRugby and FloSports also are the U.S. home to: Get the most important Rugby stories delivered straight to your inbox. ©2006 - Present FloSports, Inc. All rights reserved. Henry Pollock scores two tries as home side turn on the style at Franklin's Gardens England full-back George Furbank scores try on return to side but goes off injured Saints will face four-time champions Leinster in Dublin in May Bordeaux Begles beat Munster 47-29 to set up last-four match with either Toulon or defending champions Toulouse Damian Penaud and Louis Bielle-Biarrey both score for Bordeaux who had Cyril Cazeaux sent off Shall it be Toulon or Toulouse who win through to face Bordeaux in the second semi-final 135Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingFurbank shines on returnpublished at 19:55 British Summer Time 12 April19:55 BST 12 AprilMantej MannBBC Sport at Franklins Gardens George Furbank marked his return from injury with two assists and a try as Northampton Saints powered past Castres to set up a semi-final rematch with Leinster in the Investec Champions Cup After missing England's entire Six Nations campaign the 28-year-old could have been targeting a late charge for British and Irish Lions consideration but worryingly for the player and Saints' European ambitions his return lasted less than an hour as he looked in discomfort before being replaced by Rory Hutchinson It would not dampen the partisan atmosphere inside Franklin's Gardens as young starlet Henry Pollock continued his meteoric rise with a quickfire double to quell any suggestion of a Castres fightback before Tom Pearson added the gloss late on The visitors showed glimpses but lacked the cutting edge of their hosts and were limited to a 16-point haul by scrum-half Jeremy Fernandez Saints will be looking to avenge their defeat by four-time winners Leinster in last year's semi-final when they meet the Irish side in Dublin next month 294Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingPostpublished at 19:52 British Summer Time 12 April19:52 BST 12 AprilLet's hope for good news on George Furbank 251Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharing'Furbank is class'published at 19:47 British Summer Time 12 April19:47 BST 12 AprilFT: Northampton Saints 51-16 Castres Northampton fly-half Fin Smith on Premier Sports: "We all watched Leinster last night and asked how do you stop this lot But we will go there and try and ruffle some feathers "George Furbank is a classy operator and a calming presence isn't he He got a whack on his arm but I think he'll be alright." 364Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharing'How good was that?'published at 19:41 British Summer Time 12 April19:41 BST 12 AprilFT: Northampton Saints 51-16 Castres Northampton flanker Henry Pollock on Premier Sports: "We have had a tough couple of weeks in the Prem but we came into the game with confidence and how good was that last year I went to Leinster as a fan and now I'm in the team The coaches give me confidence to roam on the pitch and Mitch is one of the best nines in the world to pick them off." 455Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharing'In Europe we seem to go well'published at 19:37 British Summer Time 12 April19:37 BST 12 AprilFT: Northampton Saints 51-16 Castres Man of the match Alex Mitchell on Premier Sports: "We are very pleased in Europe we seem to go pretty well and we are very happy to get to the semi-final We can't wait to play Leinster they are one of the best around we have to look at ourselves and push on." 483Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharing'It's going to be a big ask in Dublin'published at 19:35 British Summer Time 12 April19:35 BST 12 AprilFT: Saints 51-16 Castres Chris AshtonFormer England and Northampton wing on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra It's going to be a big ask in Dublin against Leinster but that is why we are here and that is why we love sport because you never know what is going to happen 597Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingElsewhere: England storm to winpublished at 19:32 British Summer Time 12 April19:32 BST 12 AprilThis video can not be played Women's Six Nations highlights: Ireland 5-49 England England produced a clinical second-half performance to defeat Ireland in Cork and maintain their bid for a fourth successive Women's Six Nations Grand Slam 306Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingHow they line uppublished at 19:31 British Summer Time 12 April19:31 BST 12 AprilQuarter-finals Saturday - Northampton Saints 51-16 Castres Semi-finals (ties to be played 2/3/4 May): 315Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingSaints win!published at 19:31 British Summer Time 12 April19:31 BST 12 AprilBreakingFT: Northampton Saints 51-16 Castres 1208Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingPostpublished at 80 mins80 minsNorthampton Saints 51-16 Castres A very good day's work for Northampton 978Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingConverted try - Northampton Saints 51-16 Castrespublished at 79 min79 minTom Pearson (con Smith) Replacement Tom Pearson hits the line with a short run and fires through - there is no stopping him from there 1034Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingPostpublished at 77 mins77 minsNorthampton Saints 44-16 Castres Castres have seen more of the ball in the last few minutes as 1520Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharing'Saints are shutting the game down'published at 19:26 British Summer Time 12 April19:26 BST 12 AprilSaints 44-16 Castres Saints are not in a rush anymore which frustrates me I want them to want more and more instead of shutting it down 4113Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingPostpublished at 72 mins72 minsNorthampton Saints 44-16 Castres It has been quite rightly pointed out that Leinster will have more men than Northampton in the forthcoming Lions squad - and that's who Saints will play in the semi 3738Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharing'There are a couple more tries in it for Saints yet'published at 19:21 British Summer Time 12 April19:21 BST 12 AprilSaints 44-16 Castres Saints are flying the flag for English rugby getting into this semi-final I think there is a couple more tries in it for Saints yet 6911Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingPostpublished at 71 mins71 minsNorthampton Saints 44-16 Castres Into the last 10 minutes as Pollock wins another turnover.. 626Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingPenalty - Northampton Saints 44-16 Castrespublished at 69 min69 minFin Smith 652Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingPostpublished at 68 mins68 minsNorthampton Saints 41-16 Castres Northampton had two men on the last Lions tour in Courtney Lawes and Dan Biggar They have won a penalty in good field position 536Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingPostpublished at 66 mins66 minsNorthampton Saints 41-16 Castres Henry Pollock now drops the ball as the TV pundits continue to talk him up whatever the vagaries of the home team’s form English champions at home to a side renowned for their travel sickness is a fixture that should not require a shaman to divine Read moreMitchell grew into the match after a couple of early errors which might have been rust or possibly the horizontal rain in his face and there were authoritative performances from those in his vicinity at the heart of the team was a huge presence in the back row alongside young Henry Pollock similarly rambunctious and not going anywhere any time soon if Northampton have anything to do with it Fin Smith played with assurance in the challenging conditions They did not quite roll over, but Saints notched up two tries in the first 10 minutes, despite a gale against them. Fraser Dingwall picked a simple line for the first, after Smith’s cross-kick had Castres in all sorts of trouble. That was in the fourth minute. Castres did respond after Mitchell spilled the restart, Louis Le Brun kicking a penalty. ShowExeter fell to a 39-21 defeat against the Sharks in Durban. The Chiefs took an early lead through Dan Frost’s try while they were down to 14 with Greg Fisilau in the sin-bin. Frost claimed a second score at the end of the first half, but by then the Challenge Cup holders had crossed four times themselves. Phepsi Buthelezi, Makazole Mapimpi, Grant Williams and Siya Kolisi dotted down for a 26-14 interval lead. Kolisi’s second try stretched the Sharks’ lead before England winger Immanuel Feyi-Waboso claimed a crossfield kick for Exeter’s third score. Despite the Sharks being reduced to 12 men for about six minutes later with three players sent to the sin-bin in quick succession, Exeter could not score a fourth try and register a bonus point. Harlequins and Sale both lost away, with the London club going down 23-12 at Racing 92. The French hosts seized control with 11 unanswered points in the final quarter after Alex Dombrandt and Will Porter scored tries for Harlequins and Marcus Smith added a conversion. The Glasgow scrum-half George Horne claimed a first-half hat-trick in their 38-19 victory over Sale at Scotstoun Stadium. Kyle Rowe, Huw Jones and Scott Cummings were also on the try sheet, while Sale replied through Arron Reed, Joe Carpenter and a penalty try. Stade Français played with 13 men for the final 27 minutes of their 33-7 defeat at Munster. Pierre Azagoh was sent off for catching Peter O'Mahony with a flying arm and Baptiste Pesenti saw red nine minutes later for a dangerous tackle. Munster secured a bonus point with tries from Thaakir Abrahams, Shane Daly, Alex Kendellen and Tom Farrell. Clermont Auvergne shut out Benetton in a 28-0 victory Stade Marcel-Michelin. Peceli Yato and Barnabe Massa both crossed twice with Benjamin Urdapilleta converting all four tries. Toulon overcame a 14-10 interval deficit to record an impressive 24-14 success away to the Stormers in Cape Town. Gabin Villière, Facundo Isa and Baptiste Serin crossed for the visitors, while Warrick Gelant and Joseph Dweba scored tries for the South African hosts. PA Media Northampton had the elements in their favour for the second half. Two further tries accrued, again in the first 10 minutes. Smith’s chip and follow-up had Castres offending, before Augustus called for the ball out wide. Tommy Freeman tapped the penalty and found the No 8 for the first of his brace. Five minutes later, Pollock and Augustus scattered various bodies, and Mitchell managed to put Curtis Langdon over via Lois Guérois-Galisson’s flailing hand. Bonus point and match sewn up. Nobody could blame the ever-emptying crowd after that, such was the storm whipped into their faces. Job done. Next up, the very different proposition, in more ways than one, of the Bulls in Pretoria. This is the ultimate clash of the underdogs between two sides that have not been on anyone’s bingo card as playoff teams this season. Yet here we are, and there can be no arguments they don’t both deserve to be here. We'll start with the hosts, who completed their best pool performance with three wins to earn their first playoff appearance since 2002. Securing victories over Munster and the Vodacom Bulls, before adding a cherry on top with a first road win since 2012 against Saracens in Round 4, this run of results for Castres not only ensured a home playoff match but a spot on the ‘favorable’ side of the draw with a potential home quarterfinal to come. Benetton, on the other hand, pulled off arguably the shock of the pool stages with a win against two-time champion Stade Rochelais to seal its place in the last 16. Possessing one of the most formidable home records in European club rugby, Castres has turned over some of the biggest teams in the game. Thus, they will be ultra-confident of progressing against a team that has had a mixed season to date. Currently seventh in the United Rugby Championship, Benetton has continued to establish itself as a true playoff threat at the league level. The team does, however, have quite possibly the toughest run to the end of the season of any contenders, with a South African tour against the Stormers and Lions to come, before tackling the Glasgow Warriors and Munster in the final two rounds. Thus, one would have to question whether they will be back in the Champions Cup next season. This question will only heighten the feeling that the Italian side should strike while the iron is hot and claim a win in its first Champions Cup knockout appearance. it has a squad that is more than capable of pushing Castres to the limit. Starting with the center partnership of Tommaso Menoncello and Ignacio who are quite possibly the best center pairing in professional rugby in 2025 Combining attacking flair with monstrous defensive physicality the pair are dangerous on both sides of the ball Feeding this pair the ball will be an exceptional halfback pairing of Andy Uren and Argentina international Tomas Albornoz who has been in red-hot form for the past 12 months Playing behind a pack full of Italian internationals with more on the bench Benetton has enough firepower to play for the full 80 minutes has a gnarly squad of seasoned veterans who routinely play above the sum of their parts This is not to take away from the quality of players in their squad but their matchday-23 is not one that is filled with current internationals but rather former internationals and top-line club players This squad will know it simply cannot allow Benetton to play on the front foot or they risk being cut open. Castres’ path to victory has come at set-piece time This power game has opened up opportunities for their pacey backline to expose but it all starts with domination up front then the pendulum will swing slightly in favor of Castres Taking into account Benetton’s quality against Castres’ power and home record this is perhaps the toughest of all the matches to call The 30th Investec Champions Cup competition is considered by many to be the best professional rugby tournament in the world and just a level below international test rugby. The competition features 24 clubs divided into four pools of six clubs and the top 16 clubs advance to the knockout stage with the goal of making it to Cardiff Wales – which hosted the first Champions Cup Final– and Principality Stadium on May 24. One of the teams looking to advance to the EPCR Final is Castres Olympique, which is in Pool 3. Here are a few things to know about Castres Olympique: Castres is 5-0-4 and sitting seventh in the Top 14 through nine rounds Castres trails Toulouse by seven points. Castres didn't qualify for the Champions Cup last season and instead played in the EPCR Challenge Cup. The team went 2-0-2 and landed the 15th seed in the knockout stage Castres has never made a Champions Cup Final They also have finished as runners-up in the EPCR Challenge Cup twice - 1997 and 2000. The 1997 Challenge Cup Final was the first. Belfast native and former Irish Rugby player Jeremy Davidson is the head coach of Castres Castres president Pierre-Yves Revol said Davidson would not be given an extension following his third year. Davidson was the coach of Brive from 2018-2022 There are no Castres players in the FloRugby Top 100. Castres Olympique plays in Stade Pierre-Fabre in Castres The stadium opened in 1907 and is named after the former owner of Castres Rugby who owned the team from from 1988-2013. it is among the smallest stadium in Top 14 play the stadium is known to be among the toughest places to play in Top 14. Here is the Castres Rugby Champions Cup schedule: Every Castres match in the Investec Champions Cup is streaming live in the United States and Canada on FloRugby and the FloSports app Key points for the 2024-2025 EPCR Challenge Cup: the TOP 14 and the Gallagher Premiership that have not qualified for the 2024-2025 Investec Champions Cup will compete in the 2024-2025 EPCR Challenge Cup the winner of the 2024 EPCR Challenge Cup will secure a place in the 2024-2025 Investec Champions Cup replacing the eighth-ranked club in its league and the four-round pool-play action ends on Jan With all of the absurdity surrounding the matches of the Round of 16 in this year's Investec Champions Cup playoffs, it's almost a surprise that the Northampton Saints could take a bit of a breather in the opening match of the round In a weekend that showed us a 62-point shutout by Leinster Munster's drop-goal win over La Rochelle 25-24 and Toulouse's rocky start against Sale Sharks Northampton could have seen a lot more struggle than it did that's a lot to the credit of Tommy Freeman who backed more than a dozen points from Fin Smith with a dominant hat trick While Clermont was able to secure a decent score by the end of the 46-24 match On the flip side, Castres aforementioned last-minute win over Benetton was anything but a breather Even though Castres broke the first try of the game Benetton quickly responded about a minute later with a try of its own conversion and penalty late in the second half gave Benetton the lead Castres' Jeremy Fernandez fueled his strength into a late try and conversion putting them up by two with less than two minutes remaining Northampton and Castres now will face off at 12:30 p.m ET at cinch Stadium @ Franklin's Gardens on April 12 and the match is streaming live on FloRugby in the United States and North America The match is streaming live on FloRugby and the FloSports app in the United States and all of North America The Investec Champions Cup Playoffs kicked off with the Round of 16 on April 4 as the Northampton Saints took on Clermont Rugby The remaining seven games of the round were played April 5-6 with a short break until the semifinals on May 2-4 The Champions Cup Final will take place at Principality Stadium in Cardiff Castres Olympique pulled off a dramatic 32-24 victory over Saracens in Round 4 of the Investec Champions Cup on Saturday with a late penalty from Louis le Brun sealing a crucial away win for the French side as both teams exchanged blows in an end-to-end first half. with Theo Dan crossing in the sixth minute Castres regained the lead in the 26th minute through Adrien Seguret followed by le Brun’s successful conversion as Ben Earl touched down twice in quick succession with Lozowski converting the latter to give the home side a slender 19-14 lead at the break Castres came out firing in the second half with le Brun’s penalty in the 43rd minute narrowing the gap to 19-17 Theo Dan claimed his second try for Saracens in the 49th minute Theo Chabouni crossed the line in the 53rd minute to make it 24-22 Castres' relentless pressure eventually paid off as Seguret completed his brace in the 64th minute le Brun converted to edge the visitors ahead 29-24 le Brun slotted a 79th-minute penalty to extend the lead to 32-24 putting the game out of reach for the home side The victory marked a stellar performance from Castres with le Brun contributing 12 points from the boot and Seguret leading the way with two tries. Despite strong efforts from Ben Earl and Theo Dan Castres’ triumph not only boosts their Champions Cup campaign but also demonstrates their ability to win in hostile environments will need to regroup as they look to keep their European hopes alive Castres will return to the Top 14 buoyed by its strongest pool stage campaign in the Champions Cup and will face Racing 92 in Paris Saracens will need to regroup quickly before returning to the Gallagher Premiership to face the Exeter Chiefs on the road Already a subscriber? Castres Olympique held off a late charge from Munster Rugby to secure a gritty 16-14 victory in their Investec Champions Cup encounter on Dec The match at Stade Pierre-Fabre was defined by defensive grit and pivotal moments with Castres’ discipline and precision under pressure proving decisive It is the first loss for Munster since the team moved on from Graham Rowntree in October after going 2-0-0 since the change which includes a 33-7 win over Stade Francias in Round 1. the win is a bounce-back victory after a 38-8 loss to Northampton in Round 1. Castres struck first in the 12th minute when Abraham Papalii crossed the line for a try though Jeremy Fernandez missed the conversion Quentin Walcker extended the lead with a try in the 29th minute but another missed conversion kept Castres from pulling further ahead as John Hodnett scored a crucial try in the 37th minute Castres added to its lead in the 48th minute with a penalty by Jeremy Fernandez the game turned in Munster’s favor after Nicolas Corato was shown a yellow card in the 67th minute. with Hodnett scoring his second try of the game Louis le Brun slotted a decisive penalty for Castres Castres Olympique: Tries: Papalii (12’) Munster heads back to Ireland for a Round 3 match against Saracens on Jan Castres will play the Vodacom Bulls in South Africa on Jan .11. Try! Former Connacht player Abraham Papalii gets the score for the home side who have had all of the possession and territory so far through 14 minutes.Conversion is Missed!CO 5 - MUN 0#InvestecChampionsCup #COvMUN Castres Olympique hit the front following 14 minutes of sustained pressure as Abraham Papalii crashes over! 🇫🇷#InvestecChampionsCup #COVMUN pic.twitter.com/EaZT1rX800 Castres On The Attack So Far Against Munster Rugby Castres are making all of the moves inside these first five minutes. Munster conceded two penalties but looked exceptionally solid defensively. #InvestecChampionsCup #COvMUN Kick-off! Jack Crowley gets us underway!#InvestecChampionsCup Munster have made six changes to their side for this evening's fixture with Castres. Headling the changes is 20-year-old star backrow Brian Gleeson who many have tipped to be a future star whilst captain Tadhg Beirne returns to the starting XV.#InvestecChampionsCup when you look at how many times Munster and Castres have played isn’t it?“We know Castres to be massively physical Following a 16-14 victory for Castres over Munster in their Investec Champions Cup clash here’s our five takeaways from Friday evening’s match at Stade Pierre-Fabre Castres were deserved winners in the end and despite three yellow cards and some poor goal-kicking they managed to hang on a claim a vital four points on home soil Abraham Papali’i and Quentin Walcker’s early tries were added to by penalties from Jeremy Fernandez and Louis Le Brun as Castres finally ended their European drought For Munster though they will rue a missed opportunity as despite being dominated at scrum time they came within a whisker of sneaking what seemed for a long time like an unlikely win thanks to John Hodnett’s brace a last-gasp Jack Crowley kick to the corner did not find touch and Castres duly booted the ball into the stands to prevail The result leaves both sides with a record of one triumph and one defeat apiece as their Investec Champions Cup campaign now takes a break until its return in early January It was a nightmare start for Munster as they coughed up five early penalties and later in the first period Peter O’Mahony‘s side entry led to loosehead prop Walcker barging his way over following a quickly taken penalty Indiscipline was compounded by inaccuracy in possession as sloppy kicking and passing in both halves proved costly to the visitors Tadhg Beirne also highlighted lineout problems and the need to “dust themselves off” ahead of taking on Ulster and it’s clear there are lots of work-ons after this away loss Handre Pollard waxes lyrical about ‘amazing’ Michael Cheika as Springboks star ‘really enjoying’ Leicester Tigers progress Castres are a proud beast at home and their Top 14 record so far this season is clearly evidence of that winning all six of their matches in the competition to date but losing their other five on the road It was therefore no surprise that a fully-loaded starting line-up showed real pride in the jersey as they built on their solid early-season foundations The Bulls are the next visitors to Stade Pierre-Fabre in this competition and a victory on Saturday January 11 would go a long way to moving them into the knockout stages Munster and Ireland fans will have had their head in their hands on 31 minutes when Craig Casey was carried off the field by two medics with an apparent a knee injury A spell out for their starting scrum-half during a busy United Rugby Championship festive period was definitely not on Munster’s Christmas list and with Conor Murray also sidelined at the moment suddenly the Irish province could be looking to Paddy Paterson to fill a sizeable void against Ulster and Leinster in the coming weeks It wasn’t just Casey who departed the pitch on Friday night as Munster also lost flanker O’Mahony and star wing Thaakir Abrahams to ankle and shoulder injuries respectively Those second-half injuries would also have concerned supporters as O’Mahony pulled up with no one around him as he clutched his heavily strapped ankle while star signing Abrahams was left holding his shoulder after a no-arms tackle from Papali’i It seems Munster’s injury woes are showing no signs of improving READ MORE: ‘I think I’m seeing dead people’ – Ex-Springboks warn Bulls’ opponents about ‘life-changing’ Pretoria conditions Planet Rugby's URC Team of the Week after Round 14 Munster could see as many as nine internationals return this weekend Brendan McGilligan looks at the potential future at scrum-half for Ireland after the retirement of Conor Murray and Jamison Gibson-Park's age profile Loose Pass is here to delve into the major talking points in the sport The Northampton Saints delivered a dominant performance at Franklin’s Gardens, defeating Castres Olympique 38-8 in their Investec Champions Cup clash on Dec ensured a bonus-point victory for the hosts in a 38-8 win in Pool 3 play. have struggled in the domestic league with a 3-0-4 record but they looked every bit of the Champions Cup semifinalist they were a year ago. Castres is off a 6-0-5 Top 14 season but entered the match with a 54-10 loss to Clermont on Nov The Saints set the tone with a try in the third minute by Fraser Dingwall Castres responded with a penalty from Louis le Brun in the sixth minute Northampton maintained its attacking intensity as Temo Mayanavanua powered over the try line in the eighth minute Smith’s conversion extended the lead to 14-3 despite Castres missing a penalty opportunity in the 17th minute The Saints carried their first-half momentum into the second half with Juarno Augustus scoring the first of his two tries in the 43rd minute Curtis Langdon crossed the line six minutes later with Smith adding the extras to push the lead to 26-3 Castres made wholesale substitutions in the 50th minute but struggled to regain a foothold. further highlighted the Saints' control. Castres managed a consolation try in the 68th minute from Pierre Colonna but a missed conversion by Jeremy Fernandez kept their score at eight points Henry Pollock sealed the win for Northampton with a try in the 74th minute converted by Smith to secure the 38-8 result Castres Olympique hosts Munster Rugby next week while the Saints trabel to South Africa for match a against the Vodacom Bulls. Castres Olympique: Try: Colonna (68’); Penalty: Le Brun (6’) Following a 51-16 win for Northampton Saints against Castres in the Investec Champions Cup quarter-final here’s James While’s five takeaways from Saturday’s game Northampton booked themselves a semi-final trip to Dublin to take on the mighty Leinster as they disposed of a scrappy and ill-disciplined Castres at Franklin’s Gardens Seven tries from Tommy Freeman, Curtis Langdon, Alex Coles, George Furbank, Henry Pollock (2) and Tom Pearson played just the one from Castres scrum-half Jeremy Fernandez who scored all of the points the visitors gained one that saw 34 penalties dished out by Italian referee Andrea Piardi and with the number of indiscretions committed it came as little surprise that the match saw four yellow cards as the only English side left in the tournament This was a game where the emerging England stars of the last two or three seasons really came good to drive their team home In the backs it was Furbank (more of him later) Fin Smith and Fraser Dingwall that created the chances for their colleagues The relationship between the fly-half Smith and his inside centre Dingwall is something that’s been at the centre of the Northampton success for some time now and their partnership of subtle passing and clever space-making continued in fine style at the Gardens in this match Player of the Match Mitchell was back to his spiky best taking on big forwards directly but most of all getting real momentum and speed of thought into the Saints effort His dummies created a try for Pollock and a second came for the flanker from another brilliant Mitchell run But the real unsung hero was up front in the forwards in the huge frame of Coles The lock cum flanker grafted himself into a standstill with an immense display carried like the fourth back-rower he is and was the key man in the Saints lineout Coles hasn’t had much of an opportunity with England recently and there’s a lot of good judges that will back the big man to make a real impact in Argentina in June and July Northampton Saints player ratings v Castres: Concern for England returnee despite ‘dazzling’ display while ‘superb’ Lions hopefuls impress yet again Furbank’s energy and joyous love of rugby has been missed for far too long at Franklin’s Gardens and his contribution to this match coming onto the pitch to replace George Hendy early on His very first touch saw him combine brilliantly with Freeman to exchange passes down the right flank to send the flying England wing over skill execution at high pace and with positive outcomes and Furbank’s passing skills were the key to unlocking space for Freeman a lovely little grubber from the England full-back in the faces of the Castres defence was timed brilliantly to allow Langdon to slip over for a really clever score crashing into the line at pace to crash over just as Castres were turning their comeback screw wonderfully effective and brilliant in its vision it looked for all money that Abraham Papali’i was through the Northampton primary defence for a gallop to the line when Furbank produced a textbook drag and drop tackle to take down a man 30kg heavier than himself in a key moment of the match and it’s wonderful to see his enthusiasm and skills back in the green Northampton Saints are free spirits with ball in hand but the key to their game last season when they won the Premiership is that they also got the basics right they really made life difficult for themselves at the breakdown where Castres caused them all sorts of issues around continuity Balls were placed too short allowing the visitors to slow and steal taking away a lot of momentum and scoring opportunity from the hosts but Pollock needs calling out for his lack of work around the ruck he’s got a hell of a highlights reel but the great back-rows nail the basics of the job and the Saints flank cleared or secured rucks on only three occasions in that first period preferring instead to stand out of the breakdown in the attacking line as an extra man – not the core role of a seven to their mutual credit both Saints and Pollock himself clearly identified the issue as the young flank came back well with some better stripping work in the second half and got a lovely cheap shoulder charge into his ribs as a result of his renewed nuisance which earned Castres a yellow card for their stupidity Couple in some really poor lineout maul defence and it’s clear that Saints are not quite as sharp in the basics as they were last year – and if they’re to progress against the mighty Leinster in the semi-finals Castres may not have come away with the result they wanted but their graft and attitude left a mark on the Saints faithful as they fought as hard as they could against a very good attacking side They might not have gotten the reward they expected at scrum time with Piardi neutering much of Will Collier’s power as the former Quins tighthead fell foul of simple scrum engagement protocols but in the breakdown Castres were Led by a great shift over the ball from Mathieu Babillot for some 50 minutes they gave Saints real issues on the floor when Remy Baget clattered Pollock and both he and Lois Guerois Galisson saw the ire of Piardi as they were sent to the bin With Leone Nakarawa also copping yellow for a build up of team transgressions but they need to temper that with the discipline to retain 15 on the pitch at all times READ MORE: INSANE SCENES! Cheap shot on England rookie leads to triple yellow carding in absurd Champions Cup moment Following a breathtaking two days of semi-final action in Europe it's time for James While to select our Investec Champions Cup Team of the Week Alex Mitchell hailed Northampton Saints' players as being "fearless" after they clinched a 37-34 win over Leinster in Saturday's Champions Cup semi-final Lawrence Dallaglio has named the British and Irish Lions squad he wants to see picked to tour Australia – and it includes the French-based Owen Farrell Northampton Saints came away 34-37 victors over Leinster in front of an almost packed out crowd at the Aviva Stadium Already a subscriber? Munster Rugby has named a refreshed starting 15 for its Investec Champions Cup Pool 3 Round 2 clash against Castres Olympique at Stade Pierre-Fabre this Friday (kickoff 9 p.m The team sees six changes from last weekend's victory over Stade Francais signaling a mix of fresh faces and returning stalwarts prop Stephen Archer and captain Tadhg Beirne are among the forwards stepping into starting roles joined by back-row duo John Hodnett and Brian Gleeson. Fullback Mike Haley is the sole change in the backline Gleeson will make his 11th appearance for Munster but it marks a career milestone with his first Investec Champions Cup start. Scannell and Archer bolster the front row alongside Dian Bleuler while Beirne resumes a leadership role in the second row after his impactful substitute performance last week Fineen Wycherley retains his spot as Beirne’s partner The back row sees Peter O’Mahony continuing as blindside flanker with Hodnett and Gleeson adding fresh energy to the mix Haley's return at fullback adds depth to a unit featuring wingers Calvin Nash and Thaakir Abrahams. The midfield partnership of Alex Nankivell and Tom Farrell remains intact with Craig Casey and Jack Crowley continuing as the halfback pairing Notable inclusions on the bench include veteran Dave Kilcoyne They join Diarmuid Barron as front-row replacements Alex Kendellen and Jack O’Donoghue completing the forward cover. Paddy Patterson and Rory Scannell provide options for the backs which blends their top-end talent with up and coming stars of the future underscores the team's intent to secure another Champions Cup victory building momentum in Pool 3 against a formidable Castres side Deputy Rugby CorrespondentThursday April 10 2025 he is now the cornerstone of a Castres pack in a team who may be the most unfancied quarter-finalists in the Investec Champions Cup but are well fed and formidable in the scrum they travel to Northampton Saints — and we will get on to the rugby Each day after training in southwest France Players sit through three courses — often starting with tartare de boeuf (raw beef mince) followed by magret de canard (roasted duck) Saracens are proud to work in partnership with a range of companies and suppliers all striving for excellence in their field With both teams looking to qualify for the Round of 16 in the best seeding possible the Anglo-French clash proved to be a back-and-forth affair until the very end braces from Ben Earl and Theo Dan weren’t enough to give Sarries the win in front of a packed out StoneX The game didn’t get off to the right start for the hosts as the French outfit struck inside the first few minutes Andrea Cocagi took the Men in Black by surprise with a hard line through the Sarries midfield from halfway After being dragged down 10 metres from the line Feibyan Tukino took on possession and forced his way over for an early score It didn’t take long for the hosts to strike back Saracens forced their way inside the Castres 22 Carries from Hugh Tizard and Tom Willis left the visitors scrambling and after picking up a penalty five metres out crashing over off a quick tap penalty to level proceedings The hosts then proved dominant at scrum time producing back-to-back scrum penalties that marched the visitors back into their 22m A half break from Fergus Burke continued to raise decibel levels around the StoneX but as the hosts looked to play the ball out wide Castres disrupted the chance and regain possession with a counterattack taking them back up to halfway In what was proving to be a back-and-forth affair it was the Castres midfield that once again unlocked the Saracens defence After a quick tap penalty from ten metres out with their captain Adrien Seguret cutting back in on a dangerous line to bundle over for Castres second score Saracens looked for a reply and came close to getting another immediate response Ben Earl snatched the ball at the tail of a Castres lineout sparking another charge into the French side’s 22 After slick hands from the Sarries backline Juan Martin Gonzalez was brought down inches from the line just before a knock-on stifled the chance to add another score the scrum dominance continued for the Men in Black with Sarries turning possession over at set-piece on Castres line This allowed for the forward pack to punch more holes in the visitor’s defence before Earl crashed over with five minutes left of the half reducing the deficit to two points Saracens were handed an opportunity to head into the sheds with the lead The pack then produced a well drilled catch and drive giving Ben Earl the chance to add to his earlier score at the back of the rolling maul The conversion from Alex Lozowski then signalled half-time Saracens came flying out the blocks in the second half re-gathering the kick-off and launching a dangerous attack producing a strong defensive set before turning the ball over and picking up a penalty inside the Sarries half Louis le Brun chose to slot the three points narrowing the hosts advantage early on The Men in Black returned to their working formula soon after in an attempt to bag a crucial try bonus point After picking up a penalty in the French sides’ half The catch and drive continued to work wonders for Sarries with Dan crashing over for his second of the afternoon The visitors refused to roll over though scoring a well worked score five minutes later the winger managed to offload to Chabouni who managed to sneak over from five metres out The missed conversion however still gave Saracens a two-point lead Castres produced a special score to regain the lead Santiago Arata initiated the attack with a 50 metre solo dash from out of nowhere the visitors worked the hands allowing for Seguret to go over unopposed A lengthy stoppage then ensued as replacement Toby Knight was treated for an injury on the pitch The flanker received a warm reception from the StoneX crowd as he was stretchered off the pitch with seven minutes left on the clock Multiple chances came and went for Saracens to produce a last-minute comeback; however it would be Castres who would get the last say Louis le Bruin slotted a vital penalty with minutes left on the clock to take Saracens out of bonus point reach The Men in Black now turn their attention to Premiership Rugby Cup as they host Ealing Trailfinders on Saturday 1st February. Tickets are available here. Amelia MacDougall looks back fondly on the Allianz Cup triumph of the 2023/24 season in which she played a key role in steering Saracens to victory at Shaftesbury Park during her debut senior campaign Saracens Women beat Bristol Bears Women at Shaftesbury Park in the Allianz Cup Final to round off an impressive campaign for […] Saracens are thrilled to confirm that exciting young winger Tobias Elliott has committed his future to the club signing a multi-year contract at StoneX Stadium establishing himself as a regular in the first team The 21-year-old joined the senior academy in 2022 and made his […] With Saracens about to face Newcastle Falcons at the StoneX Stadium in their penultimate home fixture of the season it’s time to look back on the last time the Falcons made the trip to North London: Saracens Men saw out 2023 in style with a 37-19 bonus-point victory over Newcastle Falcons at a sold-out StoneX […] Learn how to describe the purpose of the image (opens in a new tab) Leave empty if the image is purely decorative Following Northampton Saints’ 51-16 victory over Castres in the quarter-finals of the Champions Cup here is how we scored Phil Dowson’s men from Franklin’s Gardens 15 James Ramm: Reacted well to the positional shift Always posed a threat ball-in-hand and made some decent inroads through the Castres defence as a result 14 Tommy Freeman: Superb, yet again, as his Lions stock continues to rise His desire to carry really came to the fore as he consistently popped up in different spaces and managed to break through the Castres defence multiple times as a result 13 Burger Odendaal: Gave Saints some serious punch in midfield which gave them regular front-foot ball to play from 12 Fraser Dingwall: His playmaking skills again came to the fore as he got Northampton attacking those wider channels where they thrive Also instantly clicked back into gear in that axis with Fin Smith and George Furbank upon the full-back’s arrival from the bench Edinburgh v Bulls: Five takeaways as ‘shambolic’ first half leaves Springboks too much to do against superb Scots 11 George Hendy: Came off after just three minutes with a head injury 10 Fin Smith: Another incredibly mature performance from Smith who again continues to push his name up the Lions ranks He just seemed to know exactly what to do at exactly the right time to get his side on the front-foot and eventually run away with the game 9 Alex Mitchell: A very busy showing from the scrum-half Mitchell notched a mammoth four assists across his stint but on top of that he just injected so much pace into their attack and really combined well with the rest of the backs around him 8 Juarno Augustus: Industrious performance from the outgoing number eight Carried well through traffic when called upon and got stuck into the defensive efforts too 7 Henry Pollock: Quiet in comparison to his previous few outings Got heavily involved in the battle up-front against a strong pack 6 Josh Kemeny: Denied a classy try in the first-half Made consistent inroads ball-in-hand and importantly was more than willing to get himself involved in the attack but that was just reward for a proper workhorse performance Always seemed to be popping up near the action and made some good efforts on both sides of the ball as a result Opinion: Munster’s ’embarrassing’ execution not befitting of proud club while Bordeaux’s ‘soft underbelly’ threatens title charge 4 Temo Mayanavanua: Worked tirelessly for his side in the tight which helped them get the better of their French opponents 3 Trevor Davison: Scrummaged pretty well and made a decent dent around the park too 2 Curtis Langdon: Nailed the basics to give his side a nice platform and added a few deft flashes and a try for good measure 1 Emmanuel Iyogun: More than held his own in the scrum against a hungry Will Collier and complimented that nicely with some good efforts around the park too he should be right in the mix for the England summer tour to the Americas and a performance like this will please Steve Borthwick Replacements: Furbank by himself probably deserves an 8 as the full-back dazzled on his first game back from injury The England star made an immediate impact on the Saints’ attack nabbing a delicious assist with one of his first touches in the game and didn’t slow down from there with another assist to Langdon and later scoring one of his own the rest of the bench also made a good impact on things Tom West and Elliot Millar-Mills made themselves busy Tom Pearson also notched a lovely try late in the day The bench should be very pleased with their evening’s work READ MORE: Bordeaux-Begles v Munster: Five takeaways as ‘schoolboy stuff’ costs Ian Costello’s side while ‘outstanding’ French general shines Following a 32-24 victory for Castres against Saracens in the Investec Champions Cup here’s our five takeaways from the pool clash at StoneX Stadium on Sunday What a game it was to bring down the curtain on Pool 3 of the Champions Cup as a vastly under-strength Castres side shocked Saracens in a brilliant performance All too often we see French sides heavily favour home matches and all but roll over on the road Castres were superb in this win as Feibyan Tukino Adrien Seguret (2) and Theo Chabouni’s tries sealed them a home Round of 16 fixture in the knockout stages it was a disappointing end to the pool stages as successive defeats saw them miss out on a home tie when the action resumes on April 4 We have touched on their showing already but that was outstanding from a much-changed Castres side as Sarries appeared stunned by their determined visitors Tukino and many others stamped their authority on the gainline and to a man the French side showed admirable hunger which was refreshing to witness When the teams were named it did appear as though Castres would be easy meat for Saracens but how wrong we were as this much-changed XV were more than deserving of a famous win Not since 2002 have they progressed to the knockouts and it’s 12 years since they last won an away Champions Cup game Toulouse v Leicester: Five takeaways as Antoine Dupont and co. make seventh star statement after ‘humiliating’ Tigers in point per minute victory who rightly celebrated in front of their travelling fans at full-time but Saracens were well below par as they fell to defeat it was expected they would bounce back at home and secure a home tie in early April A brace apiece from hooker Theo Dan and back-row Ben Earl was as good as it got for Saracens and they have to look in the mirror after this showing as the once European and Premiership heavyweights were miles off title-winning form McCall will be seething and rightly so as his team were a shadow of their former selves on Sunday Grasped his opportunity with both hands as he claimed two tries and was busy around the field again punching above his weight due to his pace across the ground With regular starter Jamie George on bench duty for this match it was a chance for Dan to make a statement especially with the Six Nations only two weeks away England head coach Steve Borthwick would have been warmed by the up-and-coming hooker’s performance as he considers the make-up of his matchday squad George and Luke Cowan-Dickie are the other rivals for the starting jersey and while they have greater international experience The centre was excellent in this amazing win as he powered over for one of his tries on 26 minutes bumping off the sizeable frame of Earl en route to the try-line He wasn’t alone as the measured performance at fly-half from Louis Le Brun and impact off the bench from Santiago Arata also had a big say in a memorable win Castres go home with their tails up after a famous night on English soil with new head coach Xavier Sadourny clearly having an immediate impact at the helm READ MORE: Bordeaux-Begles v Sharks: Five takeaways as ‘unstoppable’ Damian Penaud dumps out Springboks-laden side after ‘campaign to forget’ It will be the last chance to see Saracens' international contingent before the Six Nations with the Men in Black aiming to secure both a home Round of 16 and a potential home Quarter-Final clash With Northampton Saints already qualified in Pool C only three spots remain in the Round of 16 Saracens and Castres currently occupy the final two but the outcome could shift with the top four sides facing off in a blockbuster final round Castres travel to North London on the back of one of their biggest wins of the season who scored a hat-trick in that Champions Cup clash having notched five tries in his last three games The 27-year-old winger will face stiff competition from Williams could line up against Nick Tompkins and Alex Lozowski in what promises to be a fascinating midfield tussle exciting Uruguayan Santiago Arata will steer the ship for Castres Having burst on the international scene last year as a livewire scrum-half Arata has continued his form into the domestic calendar with the opportunity to battle it out with fellow international Ivan Van Zyl this weekend a Champions Cup veteran with nearly 50 appearances for Glasgow will face an in-form Saracens pack led by Maro Itoje and Nick Isiekwe Tickets are selling fast for this European clash—be sure to secure your seat at the StoneX Stadium here The 28-23 win featured a try by Uruguayan scrum-half Santiago Arata The win moves Castres above Toulouse into this position in the Top 14 after five rounds Santiago Arata is chasing a second Top 14 title with Castres His time at Catres have involved playing in the 2022 Top 14 Final He is under contract with the club until 2026 though reports indicate that this season will Toulouse and Stade Français are potential new teams Click here Los Teros will play three test matches in Europe in November. The matches will be part of the November 2024 Internationals. Los Teros will be up against familiar opposition from recent years. The test matches will see the South Americans facing Spain, Japan and Romania. The match against Japan will be played in France Arata started against France in July He was forced off injured in the first-half The injury prevented him from facing Argentina and Scotland in subsequent matches Tags Top 14 Video Mexico hosted and defeated Jamaica on Saturday The winger will lead the team out for his 100th appearance and will bring up three figures in a decisive Investec Champions Cup pool tie that will see both teams battle for a in the knockout stages After losing narrowly to Munster in a hard-hitting battle last Saturday at Thomond Park Saracens will look to make amends in a crucial game which could guarantee the North Londoners a home round of 16 tie if they can secure the win Director of Rugby Mark McCall makes six changes from the side that fell short in Limerick last weekend with three of them coming in the front row Eroni Mawi and Theo Dan will start this Sunday Fraser Balmain also joins the pair at tighthead making his first Champions Cup appearance of the season After being named England captain in the week Saracens skipper Maro Itoje lines up in the second row alongside the returning Hugh Tizard The pair pack down in front of an unchanged back row featuring England call-up Tom Willis at eight Ivan Van Zyl links up with Fergus Burke at scrum-half and fly-half respectively with Nick Tompkins partnering Alex Lozowski in the midfield The two changes to the backline come out wide with Segun and Tobias Elliot returning on the wings in place of Lucio Cinti and Liam Williams who both picked up knocks in Ireland Amongst the replacements there is a returning Toby Knight alongside a potential Champions Cup debut for 19-year-old Angus Hall Marco Riccioni will also mark his 50th club appearance upon his arrival off the bench Segun is delighted to make his 100th appearance for the club in this all-important match “When I made my debut against Scarlets in the LV Cup I never believed I’d make it to 100 There’s been so many ups and downs during my journey here but Sunday will certainly be a special memory I've been so lucky to rub shoulders with some incredible players and friends throughout my time here so to run out with many of them on Sunday in a crucial Champions Cup tie is really exciting.” Saracens Men team to play Castres Olympique: Learn how to describe the purpose of the image (opens in a new tab). Leave empty if the image is purely decorative. Champions Cup Group A: Castres Olympique 16 Munster 14 Once again Munster came up short against modest French opposition in the Champions Cup with a distracted ill-disciplined and error-prone performance Although Castres maintained their unbeaten home record A scrappy contest was dominated by the whistle of pernickety English referee Christophe Ridley who penalised each side a whopping 17 times but Munster could not avail of the three yellow cards for a Castres side that played on the edge and were more physical and direct the Munster think tank must privately question their decision to rest Gavin Coombes for the first time since the season before last season and one lost count of the handling errors in Munster’s stilted running game Right from the off it was hard to keep up with the elementary errors which Munster were making in addition to some over-elaborate and laboured handling A lack of intent in the collisions and at the breakdown was evident Jack Crowley missed a penalty to touch and Munster conceded soft penalties leading to a narrow escape when hooker Gaetan Barlot just failed to complete the grounding to his own chip with an advantage play The former Connacht number eight Abraham Papalii was then prevented from grounding over the line by his opposite number and Champions Cup debutant Brian Gleeson [ Castres 16 Munster 14 as it happenedOpens in new window ] But the warnings were not heeded. When Munster attempted to reach the edge well inside their own 10-metre line Tom Farrell’s intended pass to Thaakir Abrahams was forward and a second high tackle by Stephen Archer led to Castres going to the corner again. Jeremy Davidson and co had done their homework, the heavily involved Tyler Ardron popping the ball down at the front of the lineout for Papali’I to target the blindside defence of Craig Casey and Abrahams to crash over. Calvin Nash’s aerial abilities earned some momentum but a 42-metre penalty by Jack Crowley, who didn’t seem to be striking the ball well, fell short. Short-term signing Dian Bleuler then copped Jack Goodhue’s knee on the head due to his own no-arms tackle, which meant Dave Kilcoyne coming on barely 20 minutes in for his first game in almost exactly a year. And he had a tough night. Crowley kicked out on the full, Peter O’Mahony was pinged for side entry and Papali’i tapped and charged before Quentin Walcker crashed through Kilcoyne’s tackle to score. The only plus for Munster at this stage was that Jeremy Fernandez again missed the kickable conversion, albeit Casey had to be carried off with what looked a problematic knee injury. There were also injuries for David Kilcoyne, Peter O’Mahony and Craig Casey. So, when Walcker was binned for a high shot on Gleeson and Crowley kicked toward the corner, Niall Scannell’s throw hit Tadgh Beirne and John Hodnett peeled infield and ploughed through three tackles with a combination of footwork and strength for a fine try. What’s more, Crowley landed a good conversion, although even then Mike Haley kicked out on the full to invite some additional and unnecessary pressure before trotting off grateful to be 10-7 down. Munster looked well-placed when Geoffrey Palis was rightly binned on the resumption for a cynical deliberate knock-on to prevent Crowley’s pass reaching Farrell. But Munster made an absolute mess of the lineout – again being over-elaborate. Instead, a couple of scrum penalties led to Fernandez making it 13-7 before Palis returned without Munster troubling the scoreboard. They also had a fortunate reprieve after Tadhg Beirne had conceded a daft penalty when flying off his feet when Julien Dumora somehow missed a penalty from almost straight in front of the posts. Munster responded by going to their catch-and-drive, which earned a couple more close-range penalties and a yellow card for the Castres replacement prop Nicolas Corato for blatantly pulling down the maul. Even then, the next lineout malfunctioned, but was retried by Beirne, and Munster went through the phases. Diarmuid Barron, Jack O’Donoghue and Beirne again made inroads before Hodnett burrowed over his second try, which was awarded on review despite Santiago Arata seeming to force a knock-on from Paddy Patterson. Crowley converted for the lead, but Munster’s weakened scrum was again pinged for Louis le Brun to kick Castres 16-14 ahead. Despite Archer returning for Kilcoyne, with Oli Jager moving to loosehead, the scrum coughed up another penalty. They had one final shot from just inside halfway, and understandably opted to go up the line, but much like the performance, Crowley’s kick fell short of that target too. Scoring sequence: 13 mins Papali’I try 5-0; 30 mins Walcker try 10-0; 37 mins Hodnett try, Crowley con 10-7; (half-time 10-7); 49 Fernandez pen 13-7; 69 mins Hodnett try, Crowley con 13-14; 73 mins le Brun pen 16-14. Castres Olympique: Julien Dumora; Geoffrey Palis, Jack Goodhue, Andrea Cocagi, Rémy Baget; Louis le Brun, Jeremy Fernandez; Quentin Walcker, Gaetan Barlot, Will Collier, Gauthier Maravat, Leone Nakarawa, Mathieu Babillot (capt), Tyler Ardron, Abraham Papalii. Replacements: Wayan de Benedittis for Papali’I (36-43 mins) and for Walcker (63 mins), Santiago Arata for Fernandez (52 mins), Loris Zarantonello for Barlot, Paul Jedrasiak for Nakarawa, Feibyan Tukino for Papali’i, Adrien Seguret for Cocagi (all 63 mins), Nicolas Corato for Collier, Theo Chabouni for Dumora (both 67 mins), Collier for Babillot (71 mins). Sinbinned: Walcker (33-43 mins), Palis (44-54 mins), Corato (68-78 mins). Munster: Mike Haley; Calvin Nash, Tom Farrell, Alex Nankivell, Thaakir Abrahams; Jack Crowley, Craig Casey; Dian Bleuler, Niall Scannell, Stephen Archer; Fineen Wycherley, Tadhg Beirne (capt); Peter O’Mahony, John Hodnett, Brian Gleeson. Replacements: Dave Kilcoyne for Bleuler (22 mins), Paddy Patterson for Casey (32 mins), Jack O’Donoghue for Gleeson (50 mins), Tom Ahern for O’Mahony (52 mins), Diarmuid Barron for N Scannell, Oli Jager for Archer (both 55 mins), Rory Scannell for Abrahams (59 mins), Alex Kendellen for Hodnett (71 mins), Archer for Kilcoyne (75 mins). Gerry Thornley is Rugby Correspondent of The Irish Times Facebook pageTwitter feed© 2025 The Irish Times DAC Following Castres’ 49-10 win over the Bulls in the Investec Champions Cup here’s our five key takeaways from the game Both teams pride themselves on their physicality and that was clear to see from the get-go at Stade Pierre-Fabre The visitors made the first dent in the scoreboard as Springbok Jan Hendrik Wessels crossed after just six minutes but Castres came back into it with a try of their own from Geoffrey Palis Trench warfare took over the remainder of the half with both sides unable to break the other down; however Castres managed to extend their lead through a Jeremy Fernandez penalty Both sides swapped three-pointers at the start of the second-half which probably reflected the caginess of the tie Momentum quickly swung the way of the hosts though and they finally managed to get some breathing room on the scoreboard Another Fernandez penalty gave them a six-point buffer in the contest and that was swiftly turned to 13 thanks to Remy Baget’s try and Fernandez’s conversion Castres were looking to go for the jugular now and they extended their lead with a three quick-fire tries to kill the game off The first came from a truly sensational finish from Julien Dumora who latched onto a clever grubber kick to score former All Black Jack Goodhue dotted down in the corner Outstanding control from Julien Dumora to somehow get that one grounded in the corner for Castres 👏#InvestecChampionsCup pic.twitter.com/gqejIzByWz — Premier Sports (@PremSportsTV) January 11, 2025 Baget rounded off a fine hat-trick with a true poacher’s try The only way to describe this game is it was one for the purists but the tactical nature of it was actually gripping there were constant ebbs and flows which kept you on your toes and it just had the feeling of a proper cup tie Neither side were able to fully get away from their opponents with most departments fairly even and the scoreboard just kept ticking over too it was by no means a game that would attract a new fan to the game but sometimes you do just need a game like this to really get you back in the rugby mood It wasn’t all plain sailing for the hosts tonight but the late flurry of tries helped secure a pivotal bonus-point win which puts them back in the mix for the last 16 they now leapfrog Stade Francais into fourth place in the pool heading into the final week of group action and are within touching distance of a home tie too Sharks v Toulouse: Five takeaways as Springboks front-row given ‘torrid time’ with visitors’ ‘rumbling beef’ and ‘impish’ Thomas Ramos starring but they should head to the StoneX in good spirits after this win with fifth-placed Stade Francais needing to better their result Qualifying for the knock-out stage would be a good feat for Castres but the possibility of a home tie in the next round would hopefully make them select their strongest team to head to the English capital at the StoneX would move them above their Premiership opponents and depending on the result of Northampton’s clash with Munster could also boost them to a home knockout Despite the late blowout and the fact they are now out of contention for the knockouts, the Bulls can probably take a few positives out of this game Exeter v Bordeaux: Five takeaways as ‘sublime’ French contingent boost Six Nations chances with ‘indulgent’ victory Castres have made their home ground a serious fortress but they made the hosts fight all the way for the win and even heading into the final quarter they were in touching distance before the late rampage This should fill them with plenty of pride too again considering it was a rotated side against a full-strength Castres at Stade Pierre-Fabre the end result is another loss in the Champions Cup which leaves them rooted to the bottom of the table and unable to reach the knockout stages Jake White has been fairly open with the club’s issues with travel for Champions Cup fixtures but a record of three losses from three isn’t what you would expect from a Bulls side and you expect they will look to be much better next weekend Whilst this was a rotated Bulls side, Rassie Erasmus will have been fairly pleased with the try-scoring performance of Wessels. The hooker, who made his Boks debut last year against Portugal and was part of the touring party for the November Tests was a standout for his side during his shift and his withdrawal was arguably the catalyst that let Castres run away with the game and came up with some decent efforts around the park too Wessels led the way for turnovers in the game and also chipped in with five carries and eight tackles will please Erasmus ahead of the 2025 Test season and shows he is still looking to put his hand up for selection READ NEXT: Munster v Saracens winners and losers: Thomond Park ‘slobber-knocker’ brings best out of Ireland and England hopefuls ahead of Six Nations Benetton Rugby made history in January when the Italian club qualified for the Investec Champions Cup playoffs for the first time after a third-place finish in Pool 2. And while it feels the hard part is over for the club that hadn’t played in the Champions Cup since 2020 actually winning in the Round of 16 will be a challenge. Castres Olympique is 10-2-8 in Top 14 play and finished second in Pool 3 with wins over Munster Rugby A Round 1 blowout loss to the Northampton Saints is the only blemish. Benetton Rugby went 2-0-2 in Pool play and is 7-1-6 in the United Rugby Championship The winner will play either Clermont Rugby or the Northampton Saints in the quarterfinals. Benetton will have to win in France with Castres hosting at 10 a.m ET at Stade Pierre-Fabre on April 5. And the match is streaming live in the United States and North America. The match is streaming live on FloRugby and the FloSports app in the United States and all of North America. The Investec Champions Cup Playoffs kick off with the Round of 16 on April 4, as the Northampton Saints take on Clermont Rugby. The remaining seven games of the round will be played April 5-6. The quarterfinals will follow from April 11-13, with a short break until the semifinals on May 2-4. The Champions Cup Final will take place at Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales, on May 24. Jeremy Davidson has stepped back from his role as head coach at Castres with immediate effect at his own request Ireland and Ulster secondrow will take on a different role as “adviser to the President for the club’s sports development,” according to an official communique from the French Top 14 club more transversal role until the end of the season that of adviser to the President for the club’s sports development Xavier Sadourny is therefore taking on the responsibility of head coach a few months early “I preferred that Xavier have all the responsibilities from now on so that everything runs more smoothly and that he can now prepare for the future,” Davidson said “Xavier knows that he can count on me if needed and I will finish my mission here with total commitment.” Davidson was previously an assistant coach to current Saracens boss Mark McCall in Ulster back in 2011 and since then has coached Aurillac in ProD2 whom he helped guide to a Champions Cup win over Munster in December who had been due to move on as Castres coach at the end of the season recently said he would like to coach in Ireland again as home teams are heavily favored across the board. with six games featuring some of France’s premier rugby clubs. Here’s a closer look at the key games and betting forecasts: La Rochelle will look to maintain its strong form at home when it takes on Clermont. La Rochelle is expected to emerge on top in a close contest. Predicted scores suggest a 29-20 win for the hosts though Clermont’s attacking flair could make for an exciting game Montpellier plays host to Racing 92 in what is expected to be another home-team success. Forecasts give Montpellier a 71% chance of winning Racing’s defensive inconsistencies have been a concern and Montpellier will look to capitalize on its home-ground advantage Toulon enters its matchup against Pau as the round’s biggest favorite. Toulon is widely backed to dominate at Stade Mayol. A projected score of 32-16 underscores the mismatch on paper as Pau faces an uphill battle against a Toulon side that has been near-unbeatable at home Newcomers Vannes will aim to continue its strong showing in its debut Top 14 season Betting spreads give Vannes a 66% chance of victory in a game expected to be closely contested. The forecasted scoreline of 24-22 reflects Bayonne’s potential to keep the game within reach Stade Français is heavily favored to dispatch Perpignan in Paris. With an 80% chance of winning and a predicted score of 30-19 the Parisians will look to cement their place in the upper half of the table. will need a strong performance to avoid slipping further into the relegation zone Castres hosts Bordeaux in what is expected to be a tightly contested evening matchup. This game could prove pivotal for both teams’ playoff ambitions Fans can look forward to standout performances and perhaps a surprise or two as the Top 14 season heats up Three players were sent to the sin-bin by referee Andrea Piardi in one fell swoop in Northampton Saints’ Champions Cup clash with Castres at Franklin’s Gardens Northampton Saints were winning 34-16 at the time of the incident which resulted in Saints lock Temo Mayanavanua and Castres duo Remy Baget and Lois Guerois Galisson spending 10 minutes on the naughty step The incident occurred in the 53rd minute of an entertaining Champions Cup quarter-final which was also a repeat of a pool stage clash earlier this season as winger Baget flew into newly capped international Henry Pollock As a result, Pollock got entangled with Castres prop Galisson who took offence and pinned the back-rower on the ground Fijian lock Mayanavanua came to his teammate’s rescue and got involved with the loosehead Andrea Piardi was having none of that! #NORvCAS pic.twitter.com/5V7Ds83IVP — Jared Wright (@jaredwright17) April 12, 2025 who in turn sent all three men to the sin-bin 🏆 Bordeaux-Begles v Munster: Five takeaways as ‘schoolboy stuff’ costs Ian Costello’s side while ‘outstanding’ French general shines The cardings certainly had an effect on the French visitors, despite already conceding five tries courtesy of Tommy Freeman, Curtis Langdon, Alex Coles, George Furbank and Pollock himself, as Northampton later added 10 more points to their tally in that window thanks to another Pollock try and five from the boot of Fin Smith Tom Pearson powered over for his side’s seventh of the night While the scoreline might have suggested Saints were dominant throughout and they certainly were full merit for the win Castres were firmly in the game up until the early stages of the second-half thanks to a 16-point haul from Jeremy Fernandez This win for Northampton sees them secure a second-successive semi-final date with Leinster at the Aviva Stadium 👀 READ MORE: Northampton Saints player ratings v Castres: Concern for England returnee despite ‘dazzling’ display while ‘superb’ Lions hopefuls impress yet again Northampton Saints star George Hendy has announced on social media that his season has come to an early end Already a subscriber? Pool 3 of the 2024-2025 Investec Champions Cup sets the stage for a fascinating battle with a mix of European heavyweights and ambitious challengers. Featuring teams from the Gallagher Premiership United Rugby Championship and France’s Top 14 Leading the charge from the United Rugby Championship are Munster Rugby two-time Champions Cup winner and past URC champion Munster aims to build on recent momentum. whose physicality and Springboks firepower make them dangerous three-time Champions Cup winner Saracens brings its wealth of European experience last season’s Gallagher Premiership champions face a transitional year after the departure of several veterans Stade Français and Castres Olympique round out the pool. has an exciting squad but faces inconsistency. is experienced but will need to rediscover its best form to compete in this challenging group The Munster captain is a game-changer in every sense breakdown mastery and dynamic ball carrying. With Munster welcoming back several star players from injury Beirne’s leadership and versatility will be central to their push for pool supremacy Saracens’ talisman and England secondrow is the heartbeat of their defense With his commanding presence in the set-piece and relentless work rate Itoje’s influence in tight matches will be pivotal as Saracens looks to maintain its European pedigree The World Cup-winning winger is one of the most electrifying players in the game Arendse’s explosive pace and agility make him a constant threat particularly on the fast pitches of Pretoria where the Bulls will aim to dominate their home fixtures pace and finishing ability make him one of the Saints’ most dangerous weapons As Northampton adjusts to life without key leaders Freeman will need to step up and provide the attacking spark needed to challenge Europe’s elite The England international center brings speed creativity and defensive solidity to Stade Français Marchant’s ability to exploit gaps and organize the backline will be critical if the Parisians are to mount a serious challenge The All Blacks center offers Castres a blend of physicality and skill in the midfield Goodhue’s experience and rugby IQ will be vital for Castres which will be looking to punch above its weight in this competitive pool This clash of titans could decide the winner of Pool 3. reinvigorated by the return of injured stars and buoyed by its URC title will look to play with its trademark grit and expansive style. and Craig Casey injecting pace at scrumhalf Munster will aim to dominate in all facets of the game. Throw Munster's incredible home record at Thomond Park into the mix and that gives the home team the edge in this one brings a battle-hardened squad and a proven European track record. combined with the tactical brilliance of new fly-half Fergus Burke will be key as Saracens looks to impose its structured and disciplined game plan. This meeting of two European giants promises fireworks and could determine the pool’s pecking order. Munster Rugby is our favorite to top Pool 3 thanks to returning stars and dynamic squad. What feels like it could be a positive coaching move with head coach Graham Rowntree now departed the team will be well-positioned to emerge as a contender for the Champions Cup title The team's European pedigree and consistency in high-stakes matches makes it formidable but Saracens may struggle to match Munster’s firepower across all rounds The Vodacom Bulls are likely to secure third place relying heavily on their home advantage in Pretoria where altitude and their physical style often overwhelm visiting teams their strategy of rotating heavily for away fixtures could limit their points tally without the leadership of departed veterans Courtney Lawes and Lewis Ludlam inconsistency could see them finish fourth despite flair and exciting players like Joe Marchant lacks the depth and consistency needed to challenge the pool’s top teams leaving Stade Francais in fifth place. struggling to keep pace with the quality and intensity of this pool Here is the complete Investec Champions Cup schedule: so that's an achievement that won't be missed by us but we know we've got three more games to keep building on that." Henry Pollock and his band of brothers pulled off a remarkable heist in Dublin on Leinster to make them believe anything's possible Northampton Saints player ratings: Phil Dowson’s side booked a Champions Cup semi-final with Leinster after seeing off an ill-disciplined and quarrelsome Castres at Franklin’s Gardens on an impressive 51-16 scoreline Saints marched into the semi-finals with no little swagger eventually outgunning a French side intent on doling out cheap shots Here’s how the men from Franklin’s Gardens rated 1. Emmanuel Iyogun – 7A solid outing from Manny Played a key part in the phase play for Furbank’s try and showed tidy hands The Boks Office boy speculate as to whether Felix Jones’ return could set him up for a long term future with the Springboks Watch nowWill Felix Jones be the next Bok Head Coach | RPTVThe Boks Office boy speculate as to whether Felix Jones’ return could set him up for a long term future with the Springboks window.scriptsToInit.push('BrightCoveEmbeddedScrollVideo.init("6369885842112");'); 2. Curtis Langdon – 8Brilliant awareness to control Furbank’s grubber and bag a five-pointer Continues to impress in the tight and loose – a 107kg terrier with a nose for the line 3. Trevor Davison – 7Anchored the scrum with minimal fuss and offered a few decent interventions in open play 4. Temo Mayanavanua – 6.5Yellow carded for his role in a scuffle 5. Alex Coles – 8Rewarded for his hustle with a well-deserved opportunistic try at a lineout Put in a big shift defensively and looked hungry all game 6. Josh Kemeny – 8The standout carrier among the forwards made ground every time he touched the ball and looked unlucky not to grab a try of his own 7. Henry Pollock – 8.5Two well-taken tries and a constant presence around the ball but his influence on the game was undeniable Targeted with a nasty clearout from Rémy Baget 8. Juarno Augustus – 6A little quieter than usual from the big Bok No.8 Got stuck in during the forward exchanges but couldn’t quite impose himself in the loose as he so often does 9. Alex Mitchell – 7.5Uncharacteristically sloppy at times but made up for it with sheer flair His pair of assists for Pollock were superb especially the second which was full of dummies Also came up with a huge defensive turnover when Saints needed it Fin Smith – 7Didn’t set the game alight but kept things ticking Nailed his kicks (mostly) and steered the Saints ship through some choppy Castres waters 11. George Hendy – N/ASadly lasted just four minutes before a monster hit from Vilimoni Botitu ended his afternoon 12. Fraser Dingwall – 6.5A few tidy carries and a calm presence in midfield Not flashy but kept the ball moving in the right direction 13. Burger Odendaal – 7Put in some meaty hits and offered a solid threat with ball in hand An underrated cog in Saints’ backline machine 14. Tommy Freeman – 8Took his try with real class after linking beautifully with Furbank Looked dangerous every time he got a sniff 15. James Ramm – 7.5Impressive and made sure Castres never got comfortable out wide 16. Henry Walker – 7Kept the lineout ticking and added good energy off the bench 17. Tom West – 7Another solid contribution Elliot Millar Mills – 7The Scot was a steady presence in the closing stages 19. Tom Lockett – N/ACame on and kept things tidy Did the basics well but on long enough to rate 20. Tom Pearson – 7Finished off a flowing team move with a try that summed up Saints’ ambition Brought real impact off the bench with his carrying and energy and showed a lovely turn of pace to be on hand for the finish 21. Tom James – N/ANot on long enough to rate 22. Rory Hutchinson – 7Slotted in seamlessly and helped maintain backline cohesion 23. George Furbank – 8What a comeback stopped a certain Castres score with a try-saving tackle on Papali’i and added class to the backfield Conceded a couple of penalties but that’s nit-picking Sadly left the field injured on 55 minutes Munster’s hopes of winning a third Investec Champions Cup came to an end after a 47-29 quarter-final defeat to Bordeaux at Stade Chaban-Delmas Join free and tell us what you really think Henry Pollock and his band of brothers pulled off a remarkable heist in Dublin on Leinster to make them believe anything's possible Is the Queensland boss the right man to lead Australia forward And will Joe Schmidt be tempted to stick around for Rugby World Cup 2027 Northampton Saints found a way of beating the fabled Jacques Nienaber blitz and inflicting another 'horrific' Champions Cup loss on the Leinster giants It’s like tackle school 101 Start on your knees as the other 10 year old walks towards you It isnt just how he hits it’s his positioning and pace He got skinned by Ramm (I think) for the first try He chased the kick but could deal with a small swerve then turned slower than Freddie Stewart on an ice rink He really is a great prospect and if it wasnt a Lions year everybody would give him another year to improve Sasha keeps my heart in my mouth with his head on tackling He has made some very dominant tackles for the Stormers in the past few games and also he is a great cover defender Manie has made some classic corner flag tackles to save tries If the 10 is retiring to backfield he should be sweeping - that didn’t work out too well for SP He just doesn’t seem to have the appetite for tackling - he plays more like Naas Botha of old He’s a highly skilled rugby player I remember similar discussions about Sexton He’s been pushed forward by Leinster because of what he’s been doing in training Frawley has been put back as a utility player The Byrnes are both probably leaving Leinster and I agree with most of what has been said on this post He should have been sent out to Connacht or Ulster to gain more experience before being made no 1 Fly in Ireland My comment about stats was a lead-in to how having good tackle completion stats don’t necessarily mean you're a good defensive team The Brumbies game a few weeks ago was when I became concerned about Les as a Wallabies coach and I haveh’t seen enough to be anything more than hopeful he’ll succeed Looks like a beefier Oli Mathis Can Les give the Wallabies the Kiss of Life?',1);"> I am as neutral as can be but I agree with your reservations He was D coach for the Boks in 21/22 and their record in those years on D was shocking in 21 50% wins and a draw and in 22 when his should have come into his own a few wins early season against Wales Argentine and Somoa followed by six losses in the last seven games Can Les give the Wallabies the Kiss of Life?',1);"> Well Nick you have to wonder what the long term plan is for RA I cannot think that they would appoint Kiss only to have Schmidt back in 2027 but then it is a world cup year on home soil so perhaps that is the plan I reckon RA need to target the 2027 world cup as it seems like their best opportunity 2031 is so far away and who knows what the state of the game in Aus will be like at that point Also the squad isnt exactly bursting with talent which you could confidently say will be there come 2031 especially when you consider how young players are being hunted by foreign clubs 2027 must be the target and I just wonder if Kiss is the right man to win it all in 2027 He has not shown enough at Ulster or London Irish to be considered the main man and his Reds side while really good are hardly pragmatic and are prone to some whacky reversals like the one suffered in Fiji For me Kiss is not the man for 2027 yet he has the top job but he will bring continuity and wont tear up the gameplan so at least they wont be starting from scratch with a new coach In a way he was just about the only appointment they could make at this stage Can Les give the Wallabies the Kiss of Life?',1);"> He’s a loose cannon on D TL The unpredictability can be a great addition on attack but on D you need someone to be reliable and disciplined It would be asking a huge amount from Les to lead Aussie into a WC with a 15-month runway which is why I feel Joe has not quite let go yet I think McCarthy is a very over-rated player 14-man French team in 2024 is all he has done Prendergast I feel sorry for - a few good games at u20s and because he plays for Leinster he gets the international gig Aki and Ringrose are first choice and have been for years Henshaw cannot affect an 80 minute match anymore multi-phase power game doesn’t work he doesn’t have the pace Keenan looked the fittest player in rugby two years ago but in last years game v England and this weekend he looks well off the pace not being picked for the Lions really helped Ireland in 2022 as Sexton Lowe and Ryan had storming seasons if I remember rightly If those players were picked for the Lions would they have won that series England players suffered a lot in 2018 after the 2017 Lions so while its nice to have your teams players get Lions recognition it might not be the worse thing if they aren’t there either Can Les give the Wallabies the Kiss of Life?',1);"> I think they need Joe’s overview there JS You don’t want a novice head coach at a home WC As you say both of Les’ teams at Irish and Queensland have tended to attack well but the output is uneven Mistakes in specific areas can come in bunches without correction - look at my previous pieces on the Reds’ lineout and exit strategy They often do not change even when something is not working At risk of flattering the Reds/Wallabies too much I fear they are at risk of potentially turning into a Scotland-esque team under LK - i.e. great set plays - but lacking the killer physicality/X factor to beat the top teams Can Les give the Wallabies the Kiss of Life?',1);"> I thought Ryan had a shocker Nick and those clips make it explicit Hopefully the problem is sorted over the next few weeks or they’ll be cooked Interestingly there was a lot of emphasis from Waugh about winning between world cups and getting the system right Their D is better than UBB’s so grounds for hope Ed Squad will need a utlility back who can play both Ah they would have taken the 3 - Leinster teams of the recent past have prob erred more on the roll of the dice from short-range lineouts If he wasn’t injured I’d have James R starting with McCarthy Mostert works harder and is more reliable G Yes the pre-game commentary def did Leinster no favours Players and coaches say they don’t read the media but they do Surprising since the video they should have been watching was last year’s narrow squeak v the same opponents I’d still take Saints over Bath with both on their best day Ed Bath are good but they are not that good - c.f their result v Leinster compared to Saints The lad is overhyped Needs a season or two solely at club level to learn how to play the sportl as he struggles in almost every aspect of the game Shouldn’t be anywhere near the Irish squad Can’t lace Crowley's boots at this stage and pretty much the sole reason Ireland lost the Grand Slam To be fair to him though - it is a common problem of the D4 player Never as good as their thicko supporters tell you they are They love to spew inordinate amounts of ignorant 💩 - much like the Saffas and the other SH thickos I wouldn’t put it down to arrogance but there is def some sort of mental block there Leinster have had tourneys with all home ties in Dublin at the knockout stage - as in 2023… Northampton Saints flanker Henry Pollock has drawn a mixed response from supporters following his performance in Northampton Saints’ 51–16 Champions Cup quarter-final win over Castres The 20-year-old scored twice in the rout at Franklin’s Gardens but drew criticism for his exuberant celebrations — which some fans saw as unnecessary showboating Pollock, who has been touted as a potential outside bet for the British & Irish Lions tour of Australia this summer dotted down in the 47th minute following a clean break and offload from scrum-half Alex Mitchell Pollock delayed grounding the ball and then thumped it into the turf in celebration His second try, minutes later, was set up by another piece of sharp work from Mitchell, who produced a series of dummies before releasing Pollock beneath the posts. Again, Pollock waited before touching down and then mimicked a basketball shot over a Castres defender While the flanker’s try-scoring instinct and support play were plain to see not all observers were impressed by his decision to celebrate in such a fashion Henry Pollock’s second try ✌️ Another fine display from the @SaintsRugby man as they claimed a big victory today 😇#InvestecChampionsCup pic.twitter.com/9OVxtV4SC2 — Premier Sports (@PremSportsTV) April 12, 2025 Reactions online ranged from admiration of his flair to concern about perceived arrogance Premier Sports commentator Miles Harrison was among those caught off guard by the moment remarking during the broadcast: “Pollock scoring once more “Pollock needs a lesson in humility,” wrote one fan on social media Another noted: “I read something saying he’s not arrogant…seems like he is though Feel like he’d have been filled in if he played 15 years ago.” Pity there’s no strong characters in the club to guide him a bit better,” while another moaned: “His arrogance leaves a lot to be desired Let us see if he does that against Van der Flier and RG Synman…” which has always had its nose in the air around celerbations and “showboating” needs to embrace a player like Pollock who isn’t scared to get in opponents’ faces in what is an aggressive “This ‘criticism’ of Henry pollock is just ridiculous!,” wrote one of the few fans coming to his defence he’s arguably the biggest talent in English rugby if not world rugby and you’ve got people moaning because he’s arrogant/cocky…for **** sake What seems to have been lost on many is just how bad-tempered Castres had been with cheap shots flying throughout the contest “How good is that? Massive win tonight, bring on Leinster away,” said Pollock after the game on Premier Sports. The England U20s flanker was clattered in one tackle by Castres standoff Louis Le Brun “I don’t think I’ve ever been hit like that I saw him and next thing I know I’m on the floor… It was the fly-half but don’t tell them [his Saints teammates] that lads!” Owen Farrell gave British & Irish Lions head coach – and father – Andy Farrell plenty to ponder as he delivered a composed cameo in Racing 92’s chaotic 43–40 win over Connacht in Galway to reach the semi-finals of the Challenge Cup Too many boring tosspots in sport nowadays Not entirely interested in showboating and daft little dances Any country but England would be proud of such a talent There have been many top players show their skills and celebrate their success whether in golf Pollock is a product of a Stowe private school who’s fees are £53k per annum This is not some attitude and exhuberance that suddenly emerged as he crossed the try line NZ who have developed a winning mentality over a century have a no d1ckhead rule for very good reason D1ckheads are not conducive to tight teams The Lions also have an unwritten similar rule through bitter experience He has zero chance of making this or any future Lions tour unless he unlearns whatever belief system he holds I hardly see player “celebrate” these days Most of them just celebrate with the team - that’s what its about he comes from a £53,000 per year private school The attitude in those schools is not good to lower classes Some people of good nature might be strong enough to avoid the resultant stink of privilege That combined with the exuberance of youth He will control it as he will grow out of it as he matures He won’t be getting any Lions call ups until then under the unwritten ‘no d1ckheads’ policy What has got all you fans’ knickers in a knot If his team feel it's OTT then they will keep him in check niggly s hit in the ruck like untying players laces….nah thats making yourself a target They will be too busy diving on the wrong side or going into rucks at the side Let him be .He may yet get a couple of corners knocked off him but then again maybe not .It’s fun watching No chance of making Lions with a character like that He’ll get his comeuppance against leinster Let’s see how smart he is coming up against that leinster team away from home If he wants to showboat abit then fair enough It’s up to his coaches and teammates to pull him aside and advise him while keeping his personality at the forefront if he gets abit left on him and gets a humility check off either RG Well then that might not be a bad thing in the long term as well but I wouldn’t put a bet on him doing so in a game of that magnitude He’ll be too busy looking on at conversions from under his own posts to be worried about acting like a bloody prat There is no room for showboating in rugby If he had dropped those balls before dotting them down he would have looked very stupid his coach would be roasting him and all your gung ho “let him be himself” comments would seem ridiculous His coach and fellow players should all be on his case many top flight players have made fools of themselves doing the same thing be professional and make sure before whooping and hollering Probably one of the reasons we don't have many superstars is because we start shooting them down if they show a bit of arrogance He's a young man and I'm sure he's got a lot of great role models around him who will help to keep him on the right track Let's cut the kid some slack and give him time He is privileged and needs to learn some humility fast NZ who have developed a winning mentality over a century have a no d1ckhead rule for good reason Looks like the ‘kid’ has had slack cut for him his whole life Toulouse demolish Leicester Tigers 80-12 to finish second in Pool 1 Castres shock Saracens 32-24 to clinch second spot in Pool 3 Damian Penaud scores record six tries as Pool 1 winners Bordeaux thrash Sharks 66-12 Bordeaux's big win means Ulster finish above Sharks on points difference and qualify for knockout stage It is a shame we have to wait until April for more Investec Champions Cup rugby Here is what will be happening on 4/5/6 April 11317Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingSarries to win on the road?published at 20:00 Greenwich Mean Time 19 January20:00 GMT 19 JanuaryFT: Sale 33-7 Toulon will Saracens be happy with that draw away to Toulon Victory however would likely bring Toulouse 418Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingGeorge goes off injured during Saracens defeatpublished at 19:59 Greenwich Mean Time 19 January19:59 GMT 19 JanuaryJamie George has given England an injury scare after limping off with a hamstring problem late in Saracens' 32-24 defeat by Castres who was replaced as England captain by Sarries team-mate Maro Itoje on Tuesday will be desperate to play in their Six Nations opener against Ireland on 1 February The hooker came on for two-try Theo Dan in the 55th minute but was forced off in the closing stages We’re not quite sure how serious that hamstring is at the moment," director of rugby Mark McCall said 15Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingQuins to fancy chances in Dublin?published at 19:56 Greenwich Mean Time 19 January19:56 GMT 19 JanuaryFT: Sale 33-7 Toulon but Harlequins may prefer the short trip to Dublin and their attacking style may suit Leinster's blitz defence 4272Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingO'Gara welcomes Munsterpublished at 19:52 Greenwich Mean Time 19 January19:52 GMT 19 JanuaryFT: Sale 33-7 Toulon Ronan O'Gara's La Rochelle will host Munster in what could be an emotional day for O'Gara The former Munsterman is yet to face Munster as a head coach after guiding his home province to two European Cups as a player 280Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingToulouse v Leinster final?published at 19:47 Greenwich Mean Time 19 January19:47 GMT 19 JanuaryFT: Sale 33-7 Toulon Bordeaux will have something to say on the matter but last year's finalists are on opposite sides of the draw Bordeaux /Ulster/La Rochelle/Munster v Toulon/Saracens/Toulouse/Sale Leinster/Harlequins/Glasgow/Leicester Tigers v Northampton Saints/Clermont/Castres/Benetton 4111Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingGood draw for Saintspublished at 19:45 Greenwich Mean Time 19 January19:45 GMT 19 JanuaryFT: Sale 33-7 Toulon Benetton's surprise win over La Rochelle and Saracen's surprise defeat by Castres has helped Northampton Victory over Clermont would give Saints a good chance of reaching the semi-finals as they would be favourites to beat Castres or Benetton And then is could be a potential rematch of last year's semi-final against Leinster 282Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingPotential quarter-finalspublished at 19:41 Greenwich Mean Time 19 January19:41 GMT 19 JanuaryFT: Sale 33-7 Toulon Bordeaux or Ulster v La Rochelle or Munster Leinster or Harlequins v Glasgow or Leicester Tigers Northampton Saints or Clermont v Castres or Benetton 282Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharing'You have to beat the best'published at 19:38 Greenwich Mean Time 19 January19:38 GMT 19 JanuaryFT: Sale 33-7 Toulon speaking to Premier Sports on Toulouse: "That is what you are here for If you want to win the competition then you have to beat the best 183Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharing'Toulouse a massive task'published at 19:35 Greenwich Mean Time 19 January19:35 GMT 19 JanuaryFT: Sale 33-7 Toulon speaking to Premier Sports: " I am just trying to really enjoy my rugby as you can get on top of yourself with Premiership and international rugby and put yourself under a lot of pressure "I am in a place where I am actually enjoying it and that has helped me." I saw the space and knew I had to do something." On Toulouse: "It is a massive task but tonight was another task ticked off." 233Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingLast 16 - full drawpublished at 19:29 Greenwich Mean Time 19 January19:29 GMT 19 JanuaryFT: Sale 33-7 Toulon 9611Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingFull-time - Sale 33-7 Toulonpublished at 19:24 Greenwich Mean Time 19 January19:24 GMT 19 JanuarySale get the job done and are into the last 16 707Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingPostpublished at 81 mins81 minsSale 33-7 Toulon One final scrum after Sale are pinged for taking too long 1912Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingSin-bin - Sale (Robert du Preez)published at 79 mins79 minsSale 33-7 Toulon Robert du Preez is given a yellow card for a deliberate knock on Toulon go off in search of a consolation score 1315Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingPostpublished at 78 mins78 minsSale 33-7 Toulon Sale will be heading away to Toulouse in the last 16 4920Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingConverted try - Sale 33-7 Toulonpublished at 75 mins75 minsTom Roebuck (con Robert du Preez) A loose pass is hacked on by Tom Curry for Tom Roebuck to tidy up and go over 889Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingPostpublished at 74 mins74 minsSale 26-7 Toulon Nye Thomas does really well to get across and down on the ball ahead of a steaming Gabin Villiere 446Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingPostpublished at 71 mins71 minsSale 26-7 Toulon The Sale forwards get in to disrupt Toulon's maul to win a scrum 458Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingPostpublished at 70 mins70 minsSale 26-7 Toulon Toulon come back for a penalty and pop it into the corner 1518Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingReplacementpublished at 69 mins69 minsSale 26-7 Toulon Sam Bedlow is on for the excellent George Ford Here's how to watch the 2025 Castres Olympique vs ASM Clermont Auvergne on FloRugby Castres have brought forward their planned end-of-season changing of the guard, installing Xavier Sadourny as head coach with immediate effect and allowing Jeremy Davidson to ’move upstairs’ for the final months of his time at the club Irishman Davidson had been told earlier this season that his contract would not be renewed at the end of the 2024/25 campaign Castres defeated Pau 24-19 at home last Saturday to consolidate eighth place in the Top 14, but the win was followed on Sunday by confirmation that the club was bringing forward its head coach change and that Sadourny would be in charge for next weekend’s home game versus the Bulls in the Investec Champions Cup window.scriptsToInit.push('BrightCoveEmbeddedScrollVideo.init("6366712248112");'); A club website statement read: “At his request our president highlighted Jeremy’s significant contribution to the club’s sports policy since his arrival and therefore acceded to his wish to take a step back from the field.” “Xavier Sadourny is therefore taking on the responsibility of head coach a few months early,” explained Davidson I preferred that Xavier have all the responsibilities from now on so that everything runs more smoothly I have a special attachment to this club and I will finish my mission here with total commitment.” a starter in the recent Autumn Nations Series wins over New Zealand and Argentina was injured on club duty with Racing 92 last weekend Rugby’s best of the best, ranked by experts. Check out our list of the Top 100 Men's Rugby Players and let us know what you think! Here's how to watch the 2024 Northampton Saints vs Castres Olympique on FloRugby Munster player ratings: Munster’s overall discipline and execution issues cost them a chance of turning over Castres at Stade Pierre Fabre and they ultimately had to settle for 16-14 scoreline and a losing bonus point Here’s how we rated the Munster players: 15. Mike Haley – 4Pinged early for holding on lobbed the ball into touch like he was aiming for row Z and rounded things off with a forward pass that wouldn’t have looked out of place in a pub sevens match 14. Calvin Nash – 5Struggled to assert himself in the game with few chances to show his pace or skill on the wing Schalk Burger discusses the way Bok captain Siya Kolisi has played at the back of the scrum Watch the full Boks Office episode on RugbyPass TV now Watch nowSchalk Burger on Siya Kolisi’s move to No.8 | RPTVSchalk Burger discusses the way Bok captain Siya Kolisi has played at the back of the scrum Watch nowwindow.scriptsToInit.push('BrightCoveEmbeddedScrollVideo.init("6365893068112");'); Tom Farrell – 5.5Tried his best to inject some grunt into Munster’s backline and was solid defensively but couldn’t dent Castres’ resolute defence 12. Alex Nankivell – 6Showed plenty of fight and aggression throwing himself into tackles and carries with real intent his efforts often felt like a solo mission in a misfiring backline 11. Thaakir Abrahams – 5A real comedown after last week’s heroics. Did his best defensively, including a valiant but futile attempt to stop former Connacht No.8 Abraham Papali’i’s try before being forced off with a shoulder injury 10. Jack Crowley – 5.5Nearly the architect of Munster’s comeback hopes with solid conversions, but his missed touchfinder in the 80th minute will haunt him more than a dodgy Christmas pudding. He’ll need to do better than this if he’s to fend off Sam Prendergast for the Ireland 10 jersey 9. Craig Casey – 6Injured early though he battled to organize the attack before leaving the field 1. Dian Bleuler – 5The South African was one of a number of Munster players who needs to look at their tackling technique 2. Niall Scannell – 5.5One of the few brightish sparks in the pack with solid defensive work and a key role in Munster’s maul try must hold up his hand for Munster’s setpiece omni-shambles 3. Stephen Archer – 4Seemed determined to be on first-name terms with the referee with his appalling tackling costing Munster dearly here It might be time for Munster to finally start looking beyond the 36-year-old 4. Fineen Wycherley – 5Struggled to make an impact after a pretty poor start to the game 5. Tadhg Beirne – 7Led the side well and provided some key turnovers though not his most commanding performance Peter O’Mahony – 6.5Fought the good fight with his usual grit and determination scrapping for every inch at the breakdown and in defence His departure due to injury left Munster missing a vital edge in the closing stages 7. John Hodnett – 8Munster’s standout performer Hodnett crossed the whitewash twice and worked tirelessly in defence A gutsy display that kept his team in the fight 8. Brian Gleeson – 6On his first start of the season he showed promise with physical carries and defensive contributions but faded slightly as the game progressed 16. Diarmuid Barron – 5Brought energy to the pack and was effective in the maul but missed a crucial lineout opportunity late on 17. Dave Kilcoyne – 6The old warhorse added some much-needed heft to the scrum and brought his usual brand of controlled aggression 18. Oli Jager – 5Had limited time to make an impact in the scrums or open play Tom Ahern – 7Brought fresh energy to the forwards and was reliable in the lineout 20. Alex Kendellen – 5Had little time to impose himself on the game 21. Paddy Patterson – 5.5Provided quick service from the breakdown and added tempo after replacing Casey in the first half 22. Rory Scannell – 5A steady presence off the bench but had little chance to influence proceedings Jack O’Donoghue – 6Added some physicality in the final stages of the game Harlequins are closing in on a deal to take Toulon and Samoa inside centre Duncan Paia’Aua to the Twickenham Stoop from the start of next season when his deal with the Top 14 high flyers runs out EPCR has confirmed the disciplinary outcomes from the weekend’s Investec Champions Cup and EPCR Challenge Cup quarter-finals, with two players suspended and a citing against Castres Olympique wing Rémy Baget dismissed Baget was cited for a tackle on Northampton Saints back row Josh Kemeny in the 20th minute at Franklin’s Gardens The citing commissioner alleged a dangerous tackle under Law 9.13 Baget admitted to foul play but denied it warranted a red card An independent disciplinary committee reviewed footage and evidence before ruling that while foul play had occurred the offence did not meet the red card threshold Robbie Fleck weighs in on if the Springboks can handle the Wallabies away from home in the Rugby Championship WATCH NOWCan the Wallabies beat the Springboks in Brisbane | RPTVRobbie Fleck weighs in on if the Springboks can handle the Wallabies away from home in the Rugby Championship window.scriptsToInit.push('BrightCoveEmbeddedScrollVideo.init("6359978573112");'); The citing was dismissed and Baget is free to play Meanwhile Union Bordeaux-Bègles second row Cyril Cazeaux has been suspended for one week after receiving two yellow cards The case was reviewed on a papers-only basis The judicial officer upheld the red card and applied a 50% reduction from a two-week entry point due to Cazeaux’s good disciplinary record and co-operation with the process In the Challenge Cup, Racing 92 wing Wame Naituvi was banned for four weeks following a red card for a dangerous tackle on Connacht’s Finn Treacy The offence was judged mid-range in severity While Naituvi received mitigation for his guilty plea and remorse his prior disciplinary record limited the reduction He is suspended until 12 May but could return a week earlier if he completes a World Rugby intervention course All players and EPCR have the right to appeal the decisions Castres 16-14 Munster - Irish province lose away from home Sale's Jean-Luc du Preez and Tom Roebuck score first-half tries You can read Mike Henson's full match report here join us again on Saturday for a full schedule of Champions Cup rugby.. 50Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharing'My body is a bit battered'published at 22:09 Greenwich Mean Time 13 December 202422:09 GMT 13 December 2024FT: Sale Sharks 29-7 Racing 92 Sale Sharks hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie said: "It was tough and physical like we thought it would be my body is a bit battered now but we have two days off which is good Sale centre Robert du Preez added: "That was very tiring but good to come out with five points It's pretty special playing with my brothers but seeing them every day is the special bit and what we will miss whenever we move on." 80Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharing'That was more like us'published at 22:02 Greenwich Mean Time 13 December 202422:02 GMT 13 December 2024FT: Sale Sharks 29-7 Racing 92 Sale Sharks captain Ben Curry said: "That loss last week wasn't us so the messaging all week was about returning home and doing what we do best and that was more like us "It is nice winning at home but we have Exeter here next week and then Bristol away so we want to keep improving and we know we need to be winning away if we want the big trophies "It's about backing it up now." 164Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingFull-time - Sale Sharks 29-7 Racing 92published at 21:56 Greenwich Mean Time 13 December 202421:56 GMT 13 December 2024Robert du Preez thinks he's over for a final flourish but the try is chalked off for a knock-on in the build-up Sale Sharks have bagged all five points on offer 432Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingFull-timepublished at 21:54 Greenwich Mean Time 13 December 202421:54 GMT 13 December 2024Castres 16-14 Munster the way this game ends has just about summed up Munster's night They have a penalty on halfway right in the centre of the pitch and Jack Crowley tries to get every inch out of the kick to touch an acrobatic take by Geoffrey Palis keeps it in play and he boots it out to scenes of joy from the hosts Munster do get a losing bonus point as Jeremy Davidson's men stay unbeaten at home but Mike Prendergast will know they left points out there 3023Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingPostpublished at 79 mins79 minsSale Sharks 29-7 Racing 92 Ben Curry is named man of the match for his stellar all-round display and you can't argue with that 445Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingCan Munster do it?published at 78 mins78 minsCastres 16-14 Munster 187157Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingPostpublished at 76 mins76 minsSale Sharks 29-7 Racing 92 A former England wing tries to run over a current one but Tom Roebuck puts in a thumping hit on Henry Arundell That will do his chances of being picked for the Six Nations no harm at all 342Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingNo trypublished at 75 mins75 minsCastres 16-14 Munster Replacement Jack O'Donoghue thought he was in the corner for a try but the final pass from Mike Haley is forward 1218Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingPostpublished at 72 mins72 minsSale Sharks 29-7 Racing 92 There has been a bit of needle throughout and we've got time for a bit more before the end of the night Raffi Quirke follows in on his opposite number Clovis le Bail and the two parties have a bit of a tussle It doesn't escalate into anything more but the crowd certainly enjoyed it 242Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingPenalty Castres 16-14 Munsterpublished at 21:44 Greenwich Mean Time 13 December 202421:44 GMT 13 December 2024Louis le Brun - 73mins A third Castres kicker takes the tee and it is out half Louis le Brun who splits the uprights with a penalty after Munster were penalised at the scrum The visitors' lead has not lasted long but there is still time on the clock 1413Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingPostpublished at 68 mins68 minsSale Sharks 29-7 Racing 92 Ben Curry has been thumping Racing players all night but he shows a touch of flair as he grubbers the ball through for the onrushing Tom Roebuck to chase Sale old boy Sam James is back to clean up but that was nearly try number five 213Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingPostpublished at 21:41 Greenwich Mean Time 13 December 202421:41 GMT 13 December 2024Sale Sharks 29-7 Racing 92 Chris JonesBBC rugby union correspondent on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra and 5 Live It's a tough night at the office for Racing 92 there weren't too many wins on the opening weekend for the Premiership sides This is much more like it for Sale after they were well-beaten by Glasgow 223Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingConverted Try Castres 13-14 Munsterpublished at 21:40 Greenwich Mean Time 13 December 202421:40 GMT 13 December 2024John Hodnett - 69mins (con Jack Crowley) Munster have Castres deep in their own territory and Santiago Arata illegally dives over the ruck on the line and dislodges the ball out of Paddy Patterson's hands which means that Hodnett burrowing over is legal and 3014Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingTry reviewpublished at 69 mins69 minsCastres 13-7 Castres On-field decision is 'try' as we go upstairs 126Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingPenalty - Sale Sharks 29-7 Racing 92published at 66 mins66 minsRobert du Preez Sale have the penalty but they point to the sticks for a shot at goal Robert du Preez makes no mistake and the hosts put a bit more distance between themselves and their visitors 211Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingSin-binpublished at 21:38 Greenwich Mean Time 13 December 202421:38 GMT 13 December 2024Castres 13-7 Munster A third yellow for Castres as replacement prop Nicolas Corato - barely on the pitch two minutes - is penalised for repeated breakdown penalties close to the line 86Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingPostpublished at 64 mins64 minsSale Sharks 26-7 Racing 92 The cheers from the Sale faithful tell you their side are on top Max Spring's attempted clearance doesn't travel very far and the hosts can launch another attack from the line-out 171Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingMissed penaltypublished at 63 mins63 minsCastres 13-7 Munster Something that may let Munster off the hook this evening is Castres' errant kicking Full back Julien Dumora has taken over place kicking duties after Jeremy Fernandez's exit but he shanks a penalty wide from straight in front That is now seven points the hosts have left out there 76Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingConverted Try - Sale Sharks 26-7 Racing 92published at 60 mins60 minsBen Curry (con Robert du Preez) Ben Curry has been a menace all night and he gets his reward for a fine display with a try from close range Robert du Preez adds the conversion and surely Sale are home and hosed now Saracens must play their Investec Champions Cup round-of-16 match away from StoneX Stadium after they were stunned 32-24 by Castres With both teams having already qualified for knockout phase the clash in north London was a shootout for home advantage – and the three-time champions fell to a major upset Castres named an entirely new starting XV following their 49-10 demolition of the Bulls last weekend and in defiance of their reputation as poor travellers they sealed the win that clinched second place in Pool Three The Boks Office boys speculate on who would take over should Rassie Erasmus retire Watch nowWho is the next Springbok coach if Rassie leaves | RPTVThe Boks Office boys speculate on who would take over should Rassie Erasmus retire Watch nowwindow.scriptsToInit.push('BrightCoveEmbeddedScrollVideo.init("6367119518112");'); A 24-17 lead established early in the second half hinted that Saracens had weathered the storm from the Top 14’s eighth-placed team, with England forwards Theo Dan and Ben Earl crossing twice each But Castres kept on coming and showed greater appetite for the fight when the match hung in the balance although the warning signs that they meant business were apparent right from the start Only two minutes were on the clock when Andrea Cocagi bulldozed through the home defence with number eight Feibyan Tukino arriving to complete the score but the try provided the jolt Saracens needed they crossed when Dan took a quick penalty and stormed over Saracens were slowly getting on top with their scrum particularly effective but when they were turned over close to the whitewash Castres issued a reminder of their threat through a dynamic run by Josaia Raisuqe Vulnerabilities in the home defence were being cleverly exploited as Castres moved downfield and in the 27th minute they struck for the second time, with Adrien Seguret charging over from a free-kick move Saracens were foiled inches short of the line by a turnover and then Earl spilt forward with players lining up to continue another promising attack Pressure was building on Castres with their scrum infringing once again and they were breached by a route-one approach with Earl the last of several forward drives Saracens were then presented with a very kickable penalty but boldly opted for touch and were rewarded with a line-out drive that ended with Earl touching down for his second try It gave them the lead for the first time and a 19-17 interval advantage which was quickly extended when play resumed with Dan finishing another line-drive But they could not afford to relax as Castres hit back, Cocagi offloading out of the tackle to Raisuqe and once the Fijian wing had bounced off Elliot Daly, Theo Chabouni was on hand to complete a thrilling riposte And Saracens were undone again, although this time their defence was glaringly at fault as replacement scrum-half Santiago Arata Perrone danced into space Play was held up after substitute back row Toby Knight received treatment for a significant injury and Castres withstood an attack and then produced a key 50-22 With seconds remaining, Louis Le Brun kicked a penalty to send the visitors eight points clear Marcus Smith sent Harlequins fans into over-drive and salivating about a potential of a raid on Brisbane Broncos for second-row star Jordan Riki with a six-word post on Instagram Watch the latest episodes of Stronger Than You Think on RugbyPass TV now Saracens player ratings: A dark day for former European heavyweights Saracens, who fell to an embarrassing 32-24 home defeat to an understrength Castres outfit Here are the Saracens player ratings: 1. Eroni Mawi – 5Solid in the scrum but struggled to impose himself in open play 2. Theo Dan – 8Saracens’ best performer including a crucial effort to secure the try bonus point Carried with intent and worked tirelessly at the breakdown The Boks Office boys name their best moments from the latest round of action Watch nowInvestec Champions Cup Moments of the Week | RPTV The Boks Office boys name their best moments from the latest round of action Watch nowwindow.scriptsToInit.push('BrightCoveEmbeddedScrollVideo.init("6367119114112");'); 3. Fraser Balmain – 5Held his own at the scrum but lacked impact around the field 4. Maro Itoje – 6Not a poor performance as such from Itoje but Saracens and England fans will be hoping there’s more fight left in the second-row than was on show today. On a bleak day for the London club, you have to wonder has Steve Borthwick made the right choice in appointing him England captain 5. Hugh Tizard – 5Showed some promise early on with powerful carries and dominant hits but faded as the game progressed 6. Juan Martin Gonzalez – 7Impressive at the breakdown Made important tackles and was unlucky not to score after coming inches short 7. Ben Earl – 7Scored two tries but was guilty of conceding three turnovers and was bumped off too easily for Seguret’s opening try 8. Tom Willis – 8Like a battering ram he consistently dented the Castres defence with powerful carries Along with Dan was a standout in Saracens’ otherwise fairly anonymous forward pack 9. Ivan van Zyl – 4Decent service but struggled defensively with Castres repeatedly targeting his channel 10. Fergus Burke – 5Showed moments of creativity but failed to control the game under pressure from Castres’ extra nasty defence 11. Rotimi Segun – 7Lively in attack and made several important breaks His speed and footwork caused problems for the French defence 12. Nick Tompkins – 5Quiet performance and struggled to create opportunities in midfield 13. Alex Lozowski – 5Bit of a no-show and he wasn’t the only one Reliable from the tee and showed a little of what he can do in attack 14. Tobias Elliott – 6Profligate with possession Showed plenty of beans when he could hold on to the ball though 15. Elliot Daly – 5Paper-thin defence for Seguret’s second try and failed to shore-up the backfield Did well to find touch on a few penalties but overall a disappointing outing 16. Jamie George – 6Added experience and composure in the final quarter but couldn’t shift the momentum 17. Phil Brantingham – 6Threw himself about 18. Marco Riccioni – 6Worked hard in the scrum got through a decent bit of defensive work 19. Nathan Michelow – NALimited time to influence the game 20. Toby Knight – NAA quiet performance before his game ended prematurely with injury 21. Gareth Simpson – NANot on long enough to rate 22. Olly Hartley – 5Failed to spark the backline after replacing Tompkins 23. Angus Hall – 5Little opportunity to showcase his ability Go behind the scenes of both camps during the British and Irish Lions tour of South Africa in 2021. Binge watch exclusively on RugbyPass TV now Gavin Coombes has been an ever-present both last season (starting 20 of 25 games), and this season, when starting six of eight competitive games. Yet he has been rested from this crunch pool tie, as has Shane Daly, mindful of those derbies and the need to rest Tadhg Beirne and others at some point soon too. Nonetheless, given the commonly held view – once expressed by the departed Graham Rowntree – that Coombes performed all the better with regular match time, it does seem odd that he has been rested entirely for this game of all games, and is not even kept in reserve off the bench. What’s more, in his stead, the exceptionally talented 20-year-old Brian Gleeson – star turn in Ireland’s Under-20s last season – will make his first competitive Champions Cup start for Munster as one of six changes from last week’s bonus-point win at home to Stade Francais. Injured at the start of the season, Gleeson has been performing strongly and running in tries for Garryowen in the AIL of late, and this will be his first appearance of the campaign for Munster. Among the replacements, Dave Kilcoyne returns from a long-term injury to take his place on the bench alongside Oli Jager, whose last match was against the Ospreys at the beginning of October. If recent history has taught the men in red anything it is that this game looks like a must-win in advance of the January games at home to Saracens and away to the English champions Northampton, who beat Munster twice last season. This looks especially true if Munster are to secure the lucrative and coveted advantage of home tie(s) in the knockout stages. No two teams have met as often in the 30-year history of the tournament than old foes Castres and Munster and, although much of the spite has abated since the regularity of the clashes in the early noughties, the history of the fixture demands that Jeremy Davidson’s side respond to last week’s heavy 38-8 loss in Northampton. Davidson admits “it wasn’t a particularly good performance” in Northampton but he added that key men such as tighthead Will Collier and backs Julien Dumora and Geoffrey Palis would be among those back on Friday night. In the event, Davidson has made a dozen changes compared to the significantly weakened starting XV which Castres fielded in Franklin’s Gardens, the only exceptions being outhalf Louis le Brun, Fijian lock Leone Nakarawa and Tyler Ardron. Former All Blacks centre Jack Goodhue, captain and blindside Mathieu Babillot and another key man, number eight Abraham Papalii, are others who have been restored. Suffice to say that 10 of this starting XV lined up in their last home game three weeks ago when they beat La Rochelle. “We will put more emphasis on this home tie than we will on away games in the Champions Cup,” Davidson told The Irish Times. “Historically, Castres prioritise the Top 14 over the Champions Cup but you can still qualify with two pool wins and bonus points. “That’s a bit of a long shot but we also need to build going into Bordeaux Begles [at home] next week, which is a huge, huge ask for us just before Christmas. So, it’s important for us to go into that game with a bit more confidence.” Castres invariably punch above their weight, particularly at the Stade Pierre-Fabre, where they are unbeaten at home this season, with Toulouse and La Rochelle among their six scalps in the Top 14. In front of a Friday night home crowd, they will be expected to front up. It goes with the territory. “The Castres identity is a small town taking on bigger towns and cities. Their main rivals are Toulouse, which is the biggest club in France with the biggest budget, with the best players, even those who don’t play. Their second and third teams would have more internationals than we do. “That increases the necessity to fight and go beyond who you are in a collective capacity. So, identity and team spirit are what we play for. “I know every club in France plays for their town and their territory but here in Castres [that applies] more than anywhere else.” Munster can possibly identify with that and certainly should know from experience. Overall, the sides have met 18 times in the competition’s history, which is all the more remarkable as Castres have taken a relatively disinterested approach to the Champions Cup despite qualifying regularly for it – as if an unwanted bonus in reaching the French Championship play-offs. They haven’t advanced to the knock-out stages in 14 attempts since Munster beat them in the semi-finals 22 seasons ago. That was one of 13 wins, as well as one draw, and just four defeats for Munster in those 18 clashes. Yet Munster should appreciate better than anyone else in the Champions Cup how difficult it can be to overcome Castres in their own ground. Admittedly, Munster do hold a slight edge in the 10 meetings at the Stade Pierre-Fabre, having won five times, drawn once and lost on four occasions, but three of those wins have been by exactly three points. So, come the end of the night, Munster could well be grateful enough for such an outcome again. Castres Olympique: Julien Dumora; Geoffrey Palis, Jack Goodhue, Andrea Cocagi, Rémy Baget; Louis le Brun, Jeremy Fernandez; Quentin Walcker, Gaetan Barlot, Will Collier, Gauthier Maravat, Leone Nakarawa, Mathieu Babillot (capt), Tyler Ardron, Abraham Papalii. Replacements: Loris Zarantonello, Wayan de Benedittis, Nicolas Corato, Paul Jedrasiak, Feibyan Tukino, Santiago Arata, Theo Chabouni, Adrien Seguret. Munster: Mike Haley; Calvin Nash, Tom Farrell, Alex Nankivell, Thaakir Abrahams; Jack Crowley, Craig Casey; Dian Bleuler, Niall Scannell, Stephen Archer; Fineen Wycherley, Tadhg Beirne (C); Peter O’Mahony, John Hodnett, Brian Gleeson. Replacements: Diarmuid Barron, Dave Kilcoyne, Oli Jager, Tom Ahern, Alex Kendellen, Paddy Patterson, Rory Scannell, Jack O’Donoghue.