You said derby? Nine tries, five yellow cards, and fighting at all levels: the match between the Top 14 leader and CO lived up to expectations. Toulouse beat Castres (42-25) this Saturday, consolidating its lead with 76 points, 12 more than Pau, the runner-up. Castres, who saw this clash in the 21st round as a pivotal match, remain distant from the top 6 and the playoffs.
For the Toulouse players, still reeling from the loss at Bordeaux last Sunday, missing out on an eighth consecutive Champions Cup semi-final, the trip to Castres was no walk in the park. And for good reason: they hadn’t won there since 2019. While the initial minutes seemed to promise a never-ending night for the Tarnais, with two quick tries by Léo Banos and Matias Remue and a yellow card for Vilimoni Botitu (14-0, 6th minute), Castres’ response was up to the challenge.
The issues seen in Gironde quickly resurfaced for the Toulouse players, penalized nine times in the first half, suffocated by the pressure from Xavier Sadourny’s men. The persistent Enzo Hervé then led the charge with a brilliant play, before Efrain Elias and Cyril Baille made mistakes, leaving their teammates with 13 players.
Castres took advantage, moving ahead thanks to Guillaume Ducat and Geoffrey Palis, leading 19-14 at halftime. But like against Northampton in the Champions Cup round of 16, CO also showed indiscipline, receiving three yellow cards in total. This led to their downfall against the triple French champions, who brought Thibaud Flament and Antoine Dupont on around the 55th minute. It was tough to resist under these conditions, and Chocobares, Bertrand, and Pouzelgues widened the gap and secured the bonus point at the same time.
