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The Ospreys head to France this Friday with their Heineken Cup hopes close to being extinguished by the halfway mark of the campaign. - 05/12/2013 10:53
The Ospreys head to France this Friday with their Heineken Cup hopes close to being extinguished by the halfway mark of the campaign.
Back-to-back defeats to Leinster and Northampton Saints have left them marooned at the bottom of Pool 1 and another reverse would all but end their European involvement before the knockout stages.
Steve Tandy’s troops have failed to pick up a single point so far after a 19-9 Liberty Stadium loss to the triple Heineken Cup kings and a 27-16 defeat to the Saints at Franklin’s Gardens. The region haven’t reached the last eight since 2010 and successive wins against Castres would now appear to be a must if they are to put that right this time around.
The Ospreys have won just two of the six games that have followed their last Heineken Cup outing, even though four of those fixtures have been on home soil. Their last away win came against Connacht in Galway in late September and they haven’t won on the road in Europe since beating Viadana in December 2009.
But they are still in the running for a RaboDirect PRO12 play-off spot and have a history of producing big performances in the Heineken Cup pool stages having beaten the likes of Castres’ fellow French giants Toulouse and Toulon in recent times.
Castres began with a win over Northampton in Round 1 and were unlucky not to pick up at least a losing bonus point at Leinster last time out so victory this week is vital to their own chances of a first Heineken Cup quarter-final place since 2002.
The former European Shield winners won the first encounter between the two teams at the Stade Pierre Antoine 38-17 in the 2004/05 season but were beaten 20-11 in the return leg in Swansea.
Castres, who claimed the French Championship crown with victory over Heineken Cup holders Toulon in May, won their last domestic fixture 46-16 at home to Bayonne on Saturday. They are unbeaten since defeat in Dublin after victories over Biarritz Olympique and Montpellier and a draw with ASM Clermont Auvergne preceded the bonus point win over Bayonne.
Serge Milhas’ men haven’t lost at home all season, with Grenoble, Stade Francais, Toulon and Racing Metro joining Northampton and Biarritz in falling short at the Stade Pierre Antione.
Match Facts
Castres have lost their last three Heineken Cup clashes with sides from Wales.
Ospreys have played 12 Heineken Cup games in France, losing 11.
Castres had the worst scrum (68%) and ruck (89%) win-ratios after the opening two rounds of action this season.
Un succès poussif du champion de France face aux Ospreys (15-9) lui permet de croire encore à une qualification en quart de finale de la H Cup. Mais il faudra leur montrer un autre visage le week-end prochain à Swansea. - 06/12/2013 21:56
Castres Olympique closed the gap on Leinster in Pool 1 of the Heineken Cup after clinging on for a hard-fought victory over the Ospreys.
The French champions lost in Dublin in Round 2 but drew level with the three-time tournament champions on eight points to kick-start their campaign.
Leinster face Northampton Saints tomorrow, but Castres remain very much in the running for qualification following the slender win.
The Ospreys, desperate for a victory to keep their slim Heineken Cup hopes alive, started well at Stade Pierre Antoine. Dan Biggar was agonisingly off-target with an early drop-goal but he quickly made amends with a penalty.
Rory Kockett should have responded but uncharacteristically missed a pair of penalties, the latter after Aisea Natoga was shown yellow for a deliberate knock-on. He temporarily found his range to level the scores on 15 minutes but missed a third shot at goal as the Ospreys indiscipline went unpunished.
Biggar nudged the visitors back into the lead but Kockett levelled the scores as the sides entered the break at 6-6.
The French champions began the second-half with far more purpose and they enjoyed a sustained period of pressure following a fine counter-attack from Brice Dulin. The Ospreys survived that attack unscathed but Kockett soon nudged the hosts into the lead after their juggernaut pack roared into life at the set-piece.
Castres remained camped in Ospreys territory and launched wave after wave of attacks but the Welsh region held strong. The pressure eventually told, though, as Sam Lewis infringed at the breakdown within five minutes of coming on and paid the price for his side’s incessant offences with a yellow card. Kockett was successful with the ensuing penalty to hand his side a 12-6 lead after little more than an hour.
The Ospreys fought desperately in the closing stages and Biggar closed the gap on 73 minutes to maintain his side’s hopes of snatching a dramatic victory.
Geoffrey Palis instantly responded to restore the hosts’ six-point advantage and they clung on for dear life as both Palis and Seremaia Bai were sin-binned in the closing stages.
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