Following Castres’ 49-10 win over the Bulls in the Investec Champions Cup, here’s our five key takeaways from the game.
The top line
Both teams pride themselves on their physicality, and that was clear to see from the get-go at Stade Pierre-Fabre.
The visitors made the first dent in the scoreboard as Springbok Jan Hendrik Wessels crossed after just six minutes, but Castres came back into it with a try of their own from Geoffrey Palis.
Trench warfare took over the remainder of the half, with both sides unable to break the other down; however, Castres managed to extend their lead through a Jeremy Fernandez penalty.
Both sides swapped three-pointers at the start of the second-half, which probably reflected the caginess of the tie.
Momentum quickly swung the way of the hosts though, and they finally managed to get some breathing room on the scoreboard. Another Fernandez penalty gave them a six-point buffer in the contest, and that was swiftly turned to 13 thanks to Remy Baget’s try and Fernandez’s conversion.
Castres were looking to go for the jugular now, and they extended their lead with a three quick-fire tries to kill the game off. The first came from a truly sensational finish from Julien Dumora, who dived around the corner flag to score, and his effort was followed up by Baget, who latched onto a clever grubber kick to score. Rounding off the impressive flurry, former All Black Jack Goodhue dotted down in the corner.
How about that for a finish! 😱
Outstanding control from Julien Dumora to somehow get that one grounded in the corner for Castres 👏#InvestecChampionsCup pic.twitter.com/gqejIzByWz
— Premier Sports (@PremSportsTV) January 11, 2025
With the clock winding down, Baget rounded off a fine hat-trick with a true poacher’s try, completing a fine win for the hosts.
Purists day out
The only way to describe this game is it was one for the purists. It was clunky, cagey, tense and somewhat ugly, but the tactical nature of it was actually gripping.
Throughout the game, there were constant ebbs and flows which kept you on your toes, and it just had the feeling of a proper cup tie. Neither side were able to fully get away from their opponents, with most departments fairly even and the scoreboard just kept ticking over too.
Again, it was by no means a game that would attract a new fan to the game, but sometimes you do just need a game like this to really get you back in the rugby mood.
Castres back in the mix
It wasn’t all plain sailing for the hosts tonight, but the late flurry of tries helped secure a pivotal bonus-point win, which puts them back in the mix for the last 16.
As a result of the bonus-point win, they now leapfrog Stade Francais into fourth place in the pool heading into the final week of group action, and are within touching distance of a home tie too.
One thing standing in their way, apart from Saracens, is their torrid away form in Europe, but they should head to the StoneX in good spirits after this win. Crucially, they are actually in the driving seat too, with fifth-placed Stade Francais needing to better their result.
Qualifying for the knock-out stage would be a good feat for Castres, given their Top 14 form this season, but the possibility of a home tie in the next round would hopefully make them select their strongest team to head to the English capital.
A win, and especially a bonus-point win, at the StoneX would move them above their Premiership opponents, and depending on the result of Northampton’s clash with Munster could also boost them to a home knockout. Could they spring a surprise?
Bulls’ Champions Cup woes continue, but positives to take
Despite the late blowout and the fact they are now out of contention for the knockouts, the Bulls can probably take a few positives out of this game.
Castres have made their home ground a serious fortress, but they made the hosts fight all the way for the win. They kept it to 10-7 at half-time, and even heading into the final quarter they were in touching distance before the late rampage. This should fill them with plenty of pride too, again considering it was a rotated side against a full-strength Castres at Stade Pierre-Fabre.
But, the end result is another loss in the Champions Cup, which leaves them rooted to the bottom of the table and unable to reach the knockout stages. Jake White has been fairly open with the club’s issues with travel for Champions Cup fixtures, but a record of three losses from three isn’t what you would expect from a Bulls side and you expect they will look to be much better next weekend.
Bok watch
Whilst this was a rotated Bulls side, Rassie Erasmus will have been fairly pleased with the try-scoring performance of Wessels. The hooker, who made his Boks debut last year against Portugal and was part of the touring party for the November Tests, was a standout for his side during his shift, and his withdrawal was arguably the catalyst that let Castres run away with the game.
He nabbed his side’s only try, and came up with some decent efforts around the park too. Wessels led the way for turnovers in the game, recording two, and also chipped in with five carries and eight tackles.
A performance like this, against a brutal Castres pack, will please Erasmus ahead of the 2025 Test season, and shows he is still looking to put his hand up for selection.
Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/castres-v-bulls-five-takeaways-as-hosts-get-themselves-back-in-the-mix-with-late-flurry-over-bok-less-visitors
