While they have just experienced their first week with Xavier Sadourny at their head, the Castres have the possibility of ensuring their qualification for the round of 16 this Saturday against the Bulls. An opportunity not to be missed.
Since the start of its European campaign, Olympic Castres has been on a mission. Often placed in the group of French clubs which do not really play the Champions Cup, the CO intends to secure its qualification this season and take part in the knockout matches. “ Of course we have the ambition to qualifyassured opener Louis Le Brun a few weeks ago. We know that in this competition, if we win our two home matches, we will surely not be far from qualifying. These are the joys of this new format, I don’t know if it’s good or it’s not good sportingly, but in any case we know that we need that to qualify. And I want to say that it annoys me to hear people say that the OC distorts the competition. I don’t agree with that because we always do our best to win matches, whether at home or away. It’s annoying to see on social networks that the OC is letting the European Cup slip away. I really don’t agree. We aim to qualify. It was a goal from the start of the season and it still is..
After the words, the actions since last December 13, the Tarnais took a big step towards their goal by beating Pierre-Fabre on their lawn the Munster. So after this success of two small points (16-14), Julien Dumora was satisfied, while having the same calculation as Le Brun in his mind: “With this new formula, everything is possible if we manage to have two victories. We achieved the objective we set for ourselves by winning this match against Munster. Now there are still two games left. Everything is still possible and playable for us. So we continue to believe in our dream of qualification. » A dream that could well come true. If the Castres win against the Bulls after seeing Stade Français lose against Northampton earlier in the day on Saturday, the ticket for the eighth will be assured. Enough to start the adventure in the best possible way with Xavier Sadourny at their head…
South Africans with their backs to the wall
What exactly can we expect from these Bulls? Since its arrival in the Champions Cup, the Pretoria club has accustomed us to largely reshuffling its team during its trips to Europe. A new turnover would perhaps be damaging for the show but good news for Castres. However, with two defeats in as many outings since the start of the competition and zero points on the clock, the South Africans no longer have a choice if they want to hope to continue the adventure. The only danger for the CO will be to keep up the pace physically since the Bulls have not played since December 21. Physical freshness sufficient to spoil the party at Pierre-Fabre? Not so sure…
