the Toulouse stadium, head of Top 14 and reigning French and European champion, welcomes his neighbor from Castres Olympique (5^e), this Saturday, October 23 at 9 p.m., at Ernest-Wallon. UN Derby from the former Midi-Pyrénées region, which promises to be hot and exciting between two teams in shape at the start of the season.

On the Tarn side, we assume that this match is a meeting apart: “There is a real enthusiasm for this derby, which is as much Castres as Toulouse, but it is true that the Castres supporters give a rating of fervor even greater ”, thus affirmed the coach of the three-quarters of the CO, David Darcarrère, this Tuesday, October 19 at a press conference.

But the bell sound is not quite the same with its Toulouse confederate, Clement Poitrenaud : “Maybe they (the Castres, Editor’s note) make it a event for their part… For us, it’s a home championship match against a very good team of course, so we prepare it very seriously, but it’s still a Top 14 match “, Thus somewhat dispassionates the coach of the Red and Black rear, who is nevertheless himself native of … Castres !

Poitrenaud: “We do not create a particular event around this meeting”

“We found there all the necessary energy, of course, but on does not create a particular event around this meeting, that’s for sure, ”added the former international full-back to the 47 selections. Clément Poitrenaud, who knows these derbies perfectly against the Tarn neighbor, is still wary of this opponent.

And for good reason, the Toulousains had failed to beat the CO last year (a draw and a loss) and they only brought them downonly once during the last five confrontations played against Ernest-Wallon (three wins and one draw):

The Castres have clearly expanded their range. They are no longer solely in conquest and occupation. They offer a lot more things. We have seen it since the start of the season, moreover, their results are convincing. They have really had great encounters and they have fleshed out their rugby significantly, which makes them all the more dangerous, since they have high quality players and it shows in the content of their matches.

Return of Mallia, no Chocobares, no Elstadt

To overcome the Castres, Toulouse can count on the return of their versatile international Argentinian Juan-Cruz Mallia, able to evolve in the center, the wing or the rear: “He has resumed training and he is in full possession of his means. It took him a period of recovery and healing, but he is available for this weekend“, Underlined Poitrenaud, this Friday, October 22, in a press conference.

Unlike his compatriot Santiago Chocobares, ” Again delicately with one shoulder “And whose” convalescence will take longer than expected “. “We hope to find him in a few weeks, but for the moment, he is not fit to play,” said Clément Poitrenaud. Finally, the Springbok Rynhardt elstadt also returned to Toulouse, but he is also unavailable against Castres.

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