Following a 32-24 victory for Castres against Saracens in the Investec Champions Cup, here’s our five takeaways from the pool clash at StoneX Stadium on Sunday.
The top line
What a game it was to bring down the curtain on Pool 3 of the Champions Cup as a vastly under-strength Castres side shocked Saracens in a brilliant performance.
All too often we see French sides heavily favour home matches and all but roll over on the road, whether that is in the Top 14 or Europe, but today was different.
Castres were superb in this win as Feibyan Tukino, Adrien Seguret (2) and Theo Chabouni’s tries sealed them a home Round of 16 fixture in the knockout stages.
For Mark McCall’s men, it was a disappointing end to the pool stages as successive defeats saw them miss out on a home tie when the action resumes on April 4.
Credit to much-changed Castres
We have touched on their showing already but that was outstanding from a much-changed Castres side as Sarries appeared stunned by their determined visitors.
Seguret, Tukino and many others stamped their authority on the gainline and to a man the French side showed admirable hunger which was refreshing to witness.
When the teams were named it did appear as though Castres would be easy meat for Saracens but how wrong we were as this much-changed XV were more than deserving of a famous win. Not since 2002 have they progressed to the knockouts and it’s 12 years since they last won an away Champions Cup game. Both those droughts are over.
Saracens well below par
Not to take anything away from Castres, who rightly celebrated in front of their travelling fans at full-time, but Saracens were well below par as they fell to defeat.
On the back of a loss away to Munster, it was expected they would bounce back at home and secure a home tie in early April. However, they came off second-best.
A brace apiece from hooker Theo Dan and back-row Ben Earl was as good as it got for Saracens and they have to look in the mirror after this showing as the once European and Premiership heavyweights were miles off title-winning form. McCall will be seething and rightly so as his team were a shadow of their former selves on Sunday.
Theo Dan a small positive
Grasped his opportunity with both hands as he claimed two tries and was busy around the field, again punching above his weight due to his pace across the ground.
With regular starter Jamie George on bench duty for this match, it was a chance for Dan to make a statement, especially with the Six Nations only two weeks away.
England head coach Steve Borthwick would have been warmed by the up-and-coming hooker’s performance as he considers the make-up of his matchday squad.
George and Luke Cowan-Dickie are the other rivals for the starting jersey and while they have greater international experience, Dan offers something unique.
Adrien Seguret, take a bow
The centre was excellent in this amazing win as he powered over for one of his tries on 26 minutes, bumping off the sizeable frame of Earl en route to the try-line.
He wasn’t alone as the measured performance at fly-half from Louis Le Brun and impact off the bench from Santiago Arata also had a big say in a memorable win.
Castres go home with their tails up after a famous night on English soil, with new head coach Xavier Sadourny clearly having an immediate impact at the helm.
Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/saracens-v-castres-five-takeaways-as-outstanding-visitors-end-12-year-wait-for-away-win-as-they-edge-former-champions-to-home-knockout-tie
