Top 14, r11: Castres within a whisker of shock win at defending champions Perpignan

30 October 2009

Perpignan 17 (3) Castres 15 (12)

Castres came within a whisker of pulling off a stunning away win at Perpignan, with the season’s surprise package opening up a 12-0 lead before eventually going down 17-15.

The defending French champions required two second-half tries to rescue their 16-match unbeaten run at home and grab the narrow win that saw them leapfrog Castres at the top of the table. But the visitors will have taken immense confidence and pride from their performance, especially in the first 40 minutes, as they emerged from the Stade Aimé Giral with a priceless defensive bonus.

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“It’s disappointment that I feel,” said Castres co-coach Laurent Travers afterwards. “We had the opportunity to win here in Perpignan, but it is the mark of an experienced team that they [Perpignan] didn’t panic. In the 60^th minute they switched to forward and we went into reverse,” he added.

Perpignan coach Jacques Brunel admitted his team had been too tense before the half-time interval. “After the break we put our game in place. We held territory in the opposition camp and our front row put Castres under such pressure they gave away the penalty try. Our replacements were also crucial in making this victory,” he added.

Perpignan dominated most of the possession in the first-half but were consistently penalized for a string of errors, with Castres fly-half Romain Teulet landing four out of four penalty attempts to put the visitors 12-0 up after 33 minutes.

The subsequent loss of prop Luc Ducalcon due to a twisted right knee was not only a blow to their pack, but also to the player himself and France head coach Marc Lièvremont following the 25-year-old's maiden international call-up earlier in the week.

His departure signalled a change in fortunes for the plucky away side, with Perpignan finally getting on the scoreboard when Jerome Porical kicked a 51m penalty three minutes before the interval.

The ‘Sang et Orr’ emerged with redoubled vitality after the break and took just eight minutes to register the game’s first try after referee David Rosch correctly ruled that Castres had illegally halted a Catalan maul and awarded a penalty try.

Porical’s conversion narrowed the gap to just two points, but Teulet was on target yet again just before the hour mark as Castres battled valiantly to stay ahead.

But it wasn’t to last, and the home side were now in virtual domination mode, especially up front where their powerful pack continued to pummel the away side’s forwards.

Perpignan’s second try duly arrived after 64 minutes when replacement hooker Guilhem Guirado broke off the back of yet another rolling maul to score in the corner. Porical was again on target with the conversion, lifting Perpignan into the lead for the first time in the match.

The home team’s full-back squandered a 70^th-minute penalty to ease Perpignan further ahead, and the champions almost paid the price when Teulet attempted an injury-time drop-goal that would have snatched the win. His 40m effort flew wide, however, leaving Perpignan to breathe a sigh of relief after they reclaimed top spot with their hard-fought win.

Castres, meanwhile, will rue the way they fell off in the final 20 minutes to allow a famous away to slip from their grasp. There was no disgrace in their performance, though, and this display should stand them in good stead for the forthcoming trio of home matches against Clermont Auvergne, Stade Toulousain and Biarritz. Only after that testing triple will we be able to truly reflect on their play-off aspirations, but if they show half the mettle they did at the Aimé Giral then it looks like Castres could be in the upper echelons for the season’s duration.

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