Massive underdogs Castres upset Montpellier to claim Top 14 glory
Castres stunned Montpellier to claim a surprise 29-13 victory in Saturday’s engrossing Top 14 final at the Stade de France.
Montpellier came into the meeting as strong favourites, having finished top of the table at the end of the regular season and Vern Cotter’s men were high on confidence following a resounding 40-14 semi-final win over Lyon.
Their opponents, by contrast, had only taken the sixth and final play-off berth, edging out Toulouse and Racing 92 en route to the decider in Paris.
Montpellier were desperate to end the club’s wait for a Top 14 title, having lost the 2011 final, but their agonising drought goes on while Castres were left to celebrate a fifth crown – and their second in six years.
Benjamin Urdapilleta starred for the victors, slotting all of his efforts from the tee to finish with 19 points, including converting tries from Julien Dumora and Steve Mafi at the end of either half.
Montpellier, meanwhile, were left to rue their ill-discipline and inability to match Urdapilleta’s efficiency with the boot – both Ruan Pienaar and Francois Steyn guilty of spurning opportunities – as Castres survived the fightback that threatened to materialise early in the second half.
Le @CastresRugby remporte un nouveau Bouclier de Brennus, 5 ans après son dernier titre, suite à sa victoire (13-29) contre Montpellier ?#MHRCO pic.twitter.com/o5aQAifkh2
— TOP 14 Rugby (@top14rugby) June 2, 2018
Pienaar wasted the chance to draw first blood inside five minutes as he erred from the tee, and Urdapilleta showed him how it was done by making no mistake shortly afterwards.
Steyn’s monster effort soon had Montpellier back level but the favourites continued to show a damaging lack of discipline, Urdapilleta punishing two further transgressions to open up a six-point lead with a quarter of the game gone.
That advantage was stretched to nine on the half-hour, after Steyn had sent a penalty from inside his own territory narrowly wide, and when Castres were pinged much closer to the posts Pienaar took over duties and pulled his side back to within three.
But Montpellier’s scrappy opening period was summed up shortly before the interval as a botched line-out resulted in excellent field position for Castres, who worked the ball right for Dumora to barge over, Urdapilleta adding the extras to maintain his unblemished record.
LE CO EST CHAMPION DE FRANCEEEEEEEEEE ! ILS L'ONT FAIT, nos joueurs ont battu le @MHR_officiel 29 à 13 ! QUEL MATCH, QUEL PARCOURS, QUELLE EQUIPE et QUEL PUBLIC !
#TousEnsemble #Fierté #IrreductiblesCastrais ?? pic.twitter.com/dnByz7TMrX— Castres Olympique (@CastresRugby) June 2, 2018
One sensed Cotter’s men would not be so sloppy after the resumption and so it proved, twice turning down kickable opportunities before winning a penalty try once Loic Jacquet had been sin-binned for the latest in a succession of cynical fouls from the retreating Castres.
The response from Christophe Urios’ side was impressive, however, as they charged back into Montpellier territory and drew another penalty in front of the posts, from where Urdapilleta was never going to miss.
The same could not be said of Pienaar when he erred from the 10-metre line with 13 minutes remaining, and the game was up when Mafi crashed over to allow Castres’ celebrations to begin in earnest.
Comments on RugbyPass
It couldn’t have been Ryan Crotty. He wasn’t selected in either World Cup side - they chose Money Bill instead. And Money Bill only cared about himself, and that manager he had, not the team.
25 Go to commentsYawn 🥱 nobody would give a hoot about this new trophy. End of the day we just have to beat Ireland and NZ this year then they can finally shut up 🤐
13 Go to commentsTalking bout Ryan Crotty? Heard Crotty say in a interview once that SBW doesen't care about the team . He went on to say that whenever they lost a big game, SBW would be happy as if nothing happened, according to him someone who cares would look down.. Personally I think Crotty is in the wrong, not for feeling gutted but for expecting others 2 be like him… I have been a bad loser forever as it matters so much to me but good on you SBW for being able to see the bigger picture….
25 Go to commentsThis sounds like a WWE idea so Americans can also get excited about rugby, RUGBY NEEDS A INTERNATIONAL CALENDER .. The rugby Championship and Six Nations can be held at same time, top 3 of six nations and top 3 of Rugby championship (6 nations should include Georgia AND another qualifying country while Fiji, Japan and Samoa/Tonga qualifier should make out 6 Southern teams).. Scrap June internationals and year end tours. Have a Elite top six Cup and the Bottom 6 in a secondary comp….
13 Go to commentsThe rugby championship would be even stronger with Fiji in it… I know it doesen’t fit the long term plans of NZ or Aus but you are robbing a whole nation of being able to see their best players play for Fiji…. Every second player in NZ and AUS teams has Fijian surnames… shame on you!!! World rugby won’t step in either as France and England has now also joined in…. I guess where money is involved it will always be the poor countries missing out….
77 Go to commentsNo surprise there. How hard can it be to pick a ball off the ground and chuck it to a mate? 😂
2 Go to commentsSometimes people just like a moan mate!
1 Go to commentsexcellent idea ! rugby needs this 💪
13 Go to comments9 Brumbies! What a joke! The best performing team in Oz! Ditch Skelton for Swain or Neville. Ryan Lonergan ahead of McDermott any day! Best selection bolter is Toole … amazing player
12 Go to commentsI like this, but ultimately rugby already has enough trophies. Trying to make more games “consequential" might prove to be a fools errand, although this is a less bad idea than some others. Minor quibble with the title of the article; it isn’t very meaningful to say the boks are the unofficial world champions when it would be functionally impossible for the Raeburn trophy not to be held by the world champions. There’s a period of a few months every 4 years when there is no “unofficial” world champion, and the Raeburn trophy is held by the actual world champions.
13 Go to commentsIts a great idea but one that I dont think will have a lot of traction. It will depend on the prestige that they each hold but if you can do that it would be great. When Japan beat the Boks (my team) I was absolutely devestated but I wont deny the great game they played that day. We were outclassed and it was one of the best games of rugby I have seen. Using an idea like this you might just give the the underdog teams more of an opportunity to beat the big teams and I can absolutely see it being a brilliant display of rugby. They beat us because they planned for that game. It was a great moment for Japan. This way we can remove the 4 year wait and give teams something to aim for outside of World Cup years.
13 Go to commentsHi, Dave here. Happy to answer questions 🥰
13 Go to commentsDon’t think that headline is accurate. It’s great to see Aus doing better but I’m not sure they’ve shown much threat to the top of the table. They shouldn’t be inflating wins against the lousy Highlanders and Crusaders either.
3 Go to commentsSuch a shame Roigard and Aumua picked up long term injuries, probably the two form players in the comp. Also, pretty sure Clarke Dermody isn’t their coach. Got it half right though.
3 Go to commentsOh the Aussie media, they never learn. At least Andrew Kellaway is like “Woah, yeah it’s great, but settle down there guys” having endured years of the Aussie media, fans, and often their players getting ahead of themselves only to fall flat on their faces. Have the “We'll win the Bledisloe for sure this year!” headlines started yet? It’s simple to see what’s going on. The Aussie teams are settled, they didn't lose any of their major players overseas. The Crusaders and Chiefs lost key experienced All Blacks, and Razor in the Crusaders case, and clearly neither are anywhere near as strong as last year (The Canes and Blues would probably be 3rd & 4th if they were). The Highlanders are annually average, even more so post-Aaron Smith and a big squad clean out. The two teams at the top? The two nz sides with largely the same settled roster as last year, except Ardie Savea for the Canes. They’ve both got far better coaches now too. If the Aussies are going to win the title, this is the year the kiwi sides will be weakest, so they better take their chance.
3 Go to commentsThe World Cup has to be the gold standard, line in the sand. 113 teams compete for what is the opportunity to make the pool stages, and then the knockout games for the trophy. The concept is sound. This must have been the rationale when the World Cup was created, surely? But I’m all for Looking forward and finding new ways for the SH to dominate the NH into the future. The autumn series needs a change up. Let’s start by having the NH teams come south every odd year for the Autumn/Spring series games?
13 Go to commentsWhat’ll happen when the AI models of the future go back in time and try to destroy the AI models of the past standing in their way of certain victory?
44 Go to commentsThanks, Nick. We (Seanny Maloney, Brett and I) just discussed Charlie as a potential Wallaby No 8, and wondered if he has truly realised how big he is in contact (and whether he can add 5 kg w/o slowing down). Your scouting report confirms our suspicions he has the materiel. No one knows if he has the mentality (as Johann van Graan said this week about CJ, Duane and Alfie B) to carry 10-15 times a game.
57 Go to commentsHe would be a great player for the Stormers, Dobbo should approach the guy.
3 Go to commentsGood article. A few years back when he was playing for the Cheetahs, he was a quiet standout for exactly the seasons stated here. I occasionally get to see his games in the UK, and he has become a more complete player and in many ways like an Irish player. His work ethic is so suitable to the Leinster game. I wonder if Rassie would have him listed somewhere.
3 Go to comments