Olympic Castres achieved a huge feat this Sunday evening by winning at Saracens! The Tarnais won on the London pitch at Stone X Stadium (32-24) at the end of a close encounter. The CO achieved something historic, since the Sarries had not lost at home in the Champions Cup since December 11, 2017, it was against Clermont.
The match starts ideally for Castres Olympiquewhich strikes in the second minute. Cocagi pierces the English defense with a dazzling run, allowing Tukino to flatten with strength. Le Brun transforms and the CO quickly leads 7-0. Saracens reacted immediately with their pack, Dan scoring a try from a handball penalty. Burke transforms and equalizes (7-7). Castres regains the advantage in the 27th minute with a try from Séguret, well served by Meka after a winning scrum. Le Brun adds the conversion, making the score 14-7.
Saracens react before the break
The English intensified their pressure at the end of the first period. After several Castres mistakes, the Sarries came back thanks to the power of their pack. Ben Earl scores a double with two consecutive tries after a pick and go then a maul. Burke, despite a missed conversion, allows his team to lead 19-14 at halftime. Castres, despite limited possession, showed formidable efficiency in scoring areas and remained in contact during the break.
The Tarn exploit takes shape
As soon as the restart, Le Brun brings Castres back to two points with a long-range penalty (19-17). The Saracens, although dominant in the combat phases, are struggling to achieve success. They score another try by Dan, their hooker in great shape, to get some air (24-17), but the conversion is missed. The people of Castres, far from being discouraged, responded brilliantly. Raisuqe dynamites the English defense and serves Chabouni, who concludes a superb collective movement to bring CO to a point (24-22).
-In a tense atmosphere, Castres hit the nail on the head in the 64th minute. Santiago Arrata escapes from his camp and offers a double to Séguret after a masterful breakthrough. Le Brun transforms and gives Castres a precious lead (29-24). The English, rushed, made more technical errors. Despite several sequences of domination, they failed to find the fault in a heroic Castres defense which took advantage of an opposing fault to drive the point home with a final penalty from Le Brun.
A historic success for Castres
Castres achieves a resounding feat by winning on the Saracens pitch. Despite a reshuffled team, the Tarnais display impressive defensive solidity and offensive efficiency. With this victory, the CO finishes second in its group and will play their round of 16 at home. This success marks an exceptional collective performance against a high-level opponent.
