Castres wins against Toulouse
The Pierre-Fabre Stadium remains an impregnable citadel! For the 19th time in a row, Castres won on their lawn during the opening match of the 22nd day of the Top 14, dedicated to derbies, against Toulouse. A meeting for which Ugo Mola had to review his plans at the last moment with the package of Julien Marchand, replaced by Peato Mauvaka, initially announced replaced at kick-off. A poster that started modestly, Thomas Ramos missing the opener in the 5th minute on failure. The latter, however, set the sights shortly before the quarter of an hour of play while his team played with the wind during the first act. The Castrese defense then put up barbed wire to stop all Toulouse offensive attempts. As half-time approached, the CO began to boast and Jérémy Fernandez, despite the great difficulties in placing the ball on his tee, was able to equalize. On the very last action of this first period, the Toulousains played their all-out.
Castres knew how to react
A perfectly fitting kick pass from Antoine Dupont found Sofiane Guitoune on the right wing. If the center was able to flatten, the referee of the meeting had a doubt on a ruck preceding this decisive action. The images highlighted a slight forward from Thibaud Flament, canceling this test. However, on the return to the lawn, the Toulouse people resumed their march forward, pushing back the Castres defensive curtain. Five minutes after the restart, Richie Arnold forced the passage on a pass from Thibaud Flament to flatten the first try of the game. It was enough to wake up the CO. Driven by their audience, Pierre-Henry Broncan’s players first reduced the gap on a drop perfectly made by Julien Dumora. On the recovery, the Castres forced the Toulouse to a dismissal from the goal line. On receiving the kick, Geoffrey Palis shifted Gaëtan Barlot. The latter, breaking two tackles and taking advantage of a rough substitution from the Rouge-et-Noir defense, gave his team the advantage for the first time in the match.
Toulouse start without a single point
Ugo Mola’s response was the entry of Emmanuel Meafou, Rodrigue Neti and Dorian Aldegheri. An opening of the bench insufficient to reverse the trend since Ben Botica, replacing Benjamin Urdapilleta for this meeting, added to the bill shortly before the hour mark after a fault on the ground by Rynhardt Elstadt. Hope returned to the Toulouse side when Juan Cruz Mallia, six minutes later, played the Castres defense on an action initiated by Antoine Dupont, with a relay from Selevasio Tolofua. A gap of three points which did not move after a failure at the foot of Ben Botica but the Toulousains maintained the pressure in a tense end to the match. The efforts of the reigning French champions were not rewarded and, at the very last second, the defensive bonus point slipped away from them on a final defeat by Ben Botica. With this victory (19-13), Castres settles temporarily on the podium of the Top 14 when Toulouse, beaten for the eighth time in a row outside, will have to whip to validate its place in the final phase.
TOP 14 / DAY 22
Saturday April 2, 2022
Castres -Toulouse: 19-13
5:00 p.m.: Clermont Brive
5:00 p.m.: Biarritz – Pau
5:00 p.m.: London – Toulon
5:00 p.m.: Perpignan-Montpellier
9:05 p.m.: Bordeaux-Bègles – La Rochelle
Sunday, April 3, 2022
9:05 p.m.: Racing 92 – French Stadium Paris