By performing an hour of recital on Saturday against Montpellier, the Castres Olympique is moving away very seriously from the bottom of the table and sees the bibs of the qualifiers on the horizon. The OC has made a big step forward, but be careful, Racing will do everything possible from Friday to disrupt the Castres machine.
It is well known for the orchestra to play correctly it must tune the violins. On Saturday, the OC took a long time to find harmony. There were hiccups at the start of the match, such as a blocked clearance allowing the Montpellier to visit the Tarn in-goal. The discipline was not immediately at the rendezvous, even if the CO remained at 15 on the lawn.
Benjamin Urdapilleta, who will without any possible dispute be appointed as the conductor of the evening, readily acknowledged the shortcomings at the start of the meeting: “We made a lot of mistakes, we took penalties”. He was also the one who gave it away in the 20th minute by scoring the first try. It is no coincidence that Urdapilleta was able to surpass the record for points scored in a Top 14:33 match this Saturday, including 23 at the foot.
Indeed, for the first time this season, with such success, the Castres collective held the reins of a match in all areas of the game. Faced with Castres forwards united in the advance, the Montpellier pack did not hardly had the right to speak. The Castres alignment has not weakened.
Gold hinge
The defense was ruthless. So much so that the people of Montpellier, however well armed, were not able to express themselves. Let us also mention a precise coaching from the Castres staff, with 12 rotations among the 23 players who entered the field.
The Tarn symphony was therefore of high quality on all floors with the added bonus of a gold hinge. We saw Urdapilleta establish a record, we must also estimate the role of Rory Kockott with a captain’s armband allowing him to exchange with the referee. The opportunistic attempt of the Castres scrum half at the resumption was decisive, it reduced to nothing the inclinations that the Héraultais had the opportunity to store at the break.
Castres Olympique has therefore coordinated all its forces to defeat the MHR, but it does not have time to dwell on its merits. The preparation week is short, it will be expected with great suspicion from Racing on Friday evening in the Paris La Défense Arena venue. The Castres ensemble is in tune against Montpellier, but the score will be very different in Paris where Laurent Travers also has arguments to make.
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