Bad times for La Rochelle. Swept by Leinster last weekend in the quarter-finals of the Champions Cup, the Maritimes hoped to raise their heads with the return of the championship on Saturday. But Ronan O'Gara's men fell against a solid Castres team (25-24), who returned to victory after five defeats in a row in all competitions.
In the ranking, the Tarnais, 7th with 49 points, are getting closer to the top 6 and a play-off place. La Rochelle is 4th with 52 points.
La Rochelle is more efficient
Both teams appear timid in the first minutes. A sign of waning confidence in recent weeks. After an observation phase with too much kicking, the Castres managed to put the Rochelais in difficulty, but did not score, like Seguret (13th, 3-0), stopped a few meters from the line . The Rochelais, Iribraren, was not stopped early enough, a few minutes later, to score the first try of the match (3-7, 21st). The Castres do not flinch and continue to endanger the Rochelais. And it will pay off. On a long touch poorly negotiated by the Maritimes, Yoan Tanga loses the ball under pressure from Baptiste Delaporte, who will score under the posts (8-7, 26th). The Castres are in control, but remain under threat from Antoine's teammates Hastoy, holder at the back. After a good return from Reus, the ball flies and finds Seuteni on the left wing, who allows the Rochelais to go in front at the break (12-13, 36'). The Rochelais were more effective than their opponents, despite a difficult first half for them.
Castres ends up bringing down the Maritimes
Undisciplined in the scrum, the Rochelais brought in Atonio, then Grégory Aldritt quickly in the second half. They were more dangerous for a few minutes before retreating in the face of the Castres reaction in the second half. The mistakes are multiplying on the La Rochelle side and the Castres are taking advantage of them. Arata flattens (63rd), but Jérémy Rozier, the referee of the match, refuses the try. But the people of Tarn are not giving up. Three minutes later, Nathanaël Hulleu plays with the maritime defense, at the foot, to give his team the advantage (18-17, 67th). An advance of short duration or almost. Jules Favre takes advantage of a good gap to restore leadership at Stade Rochelais, symbol of the efficiency of his team, to Pierre Fabre (20-24, 71st). We then think that the Castres show signs of weakness at the end of the match, that they are missing something to win. But ultimately, Hulleu turned into a savior to score a saving try for his team (25-24, 75th). Castres wins its first success in 5 matches in all competitions.