In the cold of winter, the Union Bordeaux-Bègles made a big impact on this twelfth day of the Top 14 2024-2025. On the pitch of Castres Olympique, undefeated at home since the start of the season, UBB won after a rigorous defensive performance (13-3).
A little more skillful on his feet in disastrous weather conditions and thanks to a try from Yoram Moefana, the French vice-champion mastered the elements by making as many tackles as possible and occupying the opposing half of the field to save time. Thanks to this third away success in the league this season, Yannick Bru's men temporarily take the lead in the regular season. For Castres, the place in the top 6 will wait…
It was not the most spectacular match of the year, but the UBB did not come to the Pierre-Fabre stadium with the aim of practicing the beautiful game. Faced with the Girondin XV on the road, Castres Olympique represented a serious bogeyman after his victory last October against Stade Toulouse. From the warm-up, both teams understood that this duel was going to be played in pouring rain. With a very slippery oval ball, the difference was mainly made by the kicking game. For its last home game of the year, Castres started with laudable intentions but a missed penalty from Louis Le Brun (7th) then an imprecise drop from Julien Dumora (8th) set the tone for a struggling local team. comfortable when scoring three points.
The self-sacrifice of Moefana, the imprecision of Le Brun
For its part, the UBB was more realistic. If Joey Carbery put the visitors ahead in the score (15th, 0-3), Le Brun converted his second attempt to get back on track (20th, 3-3). Solid in the scrum, Union Bordeaux-Bègles led to Castres' mistakes to allow Carbery to score three new points (32nd, 3-6). Courageous and determined, Moefana was opportunistic enough to flatten in the goal, win his case on video and see Carbery convert the only try of this meeting (38th, 3-13).
With a ten-point lead at the break, UBB gained a significant advantage. Pugnacious but clumsy, the Castres collective has multiplied its advances to allow the Béglo-Bordeaux organization to gain ground and time. As a last chance, Le Brun's left foot did not find the target on two successive penalties (49th, 53rd). Enough to lead to a certain frustration, but above all a defensive bonus point lost at the heart of a defeat that was ultimately logical in view of the appearance of the game. For the UBB, this unexpected victory comes like a nice Christmas present under the tree.
