Benjamin Urdapilleta guides Castres to important win
June 3, 2018 - Saint Denis, Seine Saint Denis, France - The Fly-Halfof Castre Olympique BENJAMIN URDAPILLETA in action during the French championship Rugby Top14 final between Montpellier and Castre Olympique at the Stade de France - St Denis - France..Castre Olympique won 13-29 (Credit Image: © Pierre Stevenin via ZUMA Wire)
Castres moved up to third place in the Top 14 following a 25-11 triumph over fellow play-off contenders La Rochelle at the Stade Pierre-Fabre.
It was a close affair but the hosts always had the edge and went into the interval 14-8 in front thanks to Thomas Combezou’s try and three Benjamin Urdapilleta penalties.
Marc Andreu touched down for Jono Gibbes’ team and Ihaia West kicked a penalty, before the New Zealand pivot added to his tally after the interval, but it was not enough as Urdapilleta scored a brace of three-pointers and Alex Tulou went over late on to seal the win.
Defending champions Castres have struggled for consistency this season while La Rochelle have endured a torrid run of form in the league, so it was no surprise that a tight and tense encounter ensued.
It was a typically physical match and West opened the scoring for the visitors with a penalty before Urdapilleta responded for the home side with one of his own.
The hosts’ fly-half then added his second off the tee before Andreu scampered across the whitewash as La Rochelle regained their lead at the end of the first quarter.
Christophe Urios’ men maintained their composure, however, and Combezou took advantage of further good work from his forward pack to touch down for an 11-8 lead.
That soon become a six-point buffer due to the accuracy of Urdapilleta before the playmaker added to his tally after the interval.
The second period was even scrappier than the first and it descended into a dour affair, but Castres did enough to take the victory. The respective pivots traded penalties in the final quarter as the game remained finely poised, but the hosts’ fly-half kicked another off the tee and Tulou powered over to complete a fine evening for Urios’ charges.
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In the early game, Toulouse’s long unbeaten record in the Top 14 was ended by 14-man Toulon as Patrice Collazo’s men came away with a deserved 25-10 triumph at the Stade Mayol.
Florian Fresia was sent-off in the second half but two tries via Malakai Fekitoa and another from JP Pietersen took them to a win over Ugo Mola’s weakened team.
The top-six appears beyond the three-time European champions but they are well away from relegation trouble. Those bottom two positions are taken up by Grenoble and Perpignan, who endured contrasting fortunes on Saturday.
For the latter, they suffered a 31-22 reversal at the hands of Bordeaux-Begles, while the former emerged 21-17 victors over Stade Francais thanks to Gaetan Germain’s seven penalties.
Grenoble have duly put pressure on Agen after their 33-17 loss to Montpellier. Philippe Sella’s charges failed to withstand the power of the hosts as Louis Picamoles (twice), Timoci Nagusa, Yvan Reilhac and Paul Willemse all touched down.
The strugglers remain in 12th position but are now only five points above Grenoble.