Nice had never hosted a Top 14 semi-final in its history. The first of the two matches took place on Friday, June 17, featuring Castres Olympique, leader of the qualifying phase, against the previous edition’s winner, Stade Toulousain, who qualified against La Rochelle.
The kickoff of this decisive match lived up to the stakes for both teams. Right from the start, the Toulousains applied a lot of intensity and aggression. It was the French internationals Antoine Dupont and Mathis Lebel who immediately stood out. On his second touch of the ball, Lebel found space and finished in the try zone despite a tackle. 7-0 in just two minutes thanks to the conversion by Thomas Ramos. Ramos would again affect the score with a penalty from the right of the posts and from around 35 meters, making it 10-0 for Toulouse in the 17th minute. Urdapilleta sounded the charge for Castres by scoring two penalties within 6 minutes (21st-27th). Castres came back into the game, but remained somewhat clumsy. By provoking Toulouse’s mistakes, CO managed to create confusion. During the only sequence by the Tarn club in the red and black’s 22, we believed Palis had scored a try. Referee Ludovic Cayre decided there was no real downward pressure. Try disallowed, but reverting to an advantage allowed Urdapilleta to bring his team back to 9-10 at halftime.
In a numerical advantage after Marchand’s yellow card, Castres Olympique began the second half like their opponents started the first. With intense play that destabilized Toulouse, Arata slipped through a tiny gap. 16-10, Castres was ahead for the first time in this match. Toulouse responded immediately with Ntamack taking the initiative towards the left corner with his speed and grounding the ball. 16-15 as Ramos missed his first conversion of the evening. At the hour mark, the French international made amends by giving Stade Toulousain the lead again with a penalty of more than 35 meters and straight between the posts. 16-18 for Toulouse. CO battled to regain control of the match. After 10 minutes, it was Urdapilleta again scoring 3 decisive points from a penalty. Castres regained the lead. 19-18. With almost only 5 minutes left, Ramos attempted a 45-meter shot to come back, but missed again for 19-21. It was Castres who delivered the knockout punch with a try from Dumora, thanks to strong work by Nagusi. 24-18, Hugo Mola’s men could still win the match with a converted try, as Urdapilleta missed 26-18. But the fate of the match was sealed, and Castres Olympique qualified for the Top 14 final.
The opponent for CO will be determined tomorrow in the second semi-final at the Allianz Riviera in Nice. Montpellier (2nd) will face Union Bordeaux Bègles, who defeated Racing Club 92 (36–16) this Sunday.
