French Top 14 round two: Castres upsets Toulouse
Castres put together a strong game against Toulouse at home on the weekend. The team was able to burst out to a quick lead in the first half and continued to find their form in the second stanza, leading the whole way through and taking an exciting 22-16 victory over Toulouse.
Castres wasted no time out of the gate in the first half with fly-half Cameron McIntyre scoring a drop-kick in the second minute to give the home side a 3-0 lead.
Romain Teulet then began what was an impressive day at the tee with his first penalty of the match in the 11th minute to push the advantage to 6-0.
Castres then notched the first try of the match courtesy of number eight Chris Masoe in the 16th minute. Teulet then added the conversion to give Castres an impressive 13-0 lead inside of the 20-minute mark.
Jean-Marc Doussain was able to get Toulouse on the board before the end of the half kicking a penalty in the 32nd minute. Nevertheless, the hosts were able to take a 13-3 lead into halftime.
After the break Doussain and Teulet traded two penalties each, and by the 50th minute the score was adjusted to 19-9.
Teulet added to the advantage, once again hitting a penalty in the 66th minute to expand the lead to 22-9.
Toulouse would attempt to get back in the game late with a try from Sylvain Nicolas in the 69th minute, however even after a conversion from Nicolas Bezy, Toulouse still found themselves down 22-16 to an impressive Castres side.
Castres took advantage of a sleeping Toulouse early, coming ready to play managing to open up a substantial 10-point lead at the break. After halftime Teulet kept them in front matching Doussain with his boot and allowing his squad to focus on defence.
Toulouse still find themselves in a favourable position in the standings, and picked up the bonus point in the match. Nevertheless, they will not be happy as they were favoured to beat Castres, who struggled last week.
Castres meanwhile will be happy with their performance completing the upset of the week. The win over Toulouse can go a long way for moving them up the table. In addition, they have displayed the competence to challenge some of the League’s top squads and may not be an easy target for both Stade Francais and Toulon.
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