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Castres Olympique

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Castres Olympique (French pronunciation: [kastʁ ɔlɛ̃pik], CAST-(r)) is a French rugby union club located in the Occitanian city of Castres and is currently competing in the Top 14, the top level of the French league system.

Castres Olympique
Full nameCastres Olympique
Founded1906; 119 years ago (1906)
LocationCastres, France
Ground(s)Stade Pierre-Fabre (Capacity: 12,500)
PresidentPierre-Yves Revol
Coach(es)Jeremy Davidson
Captain(s)Mathieu Babillot
League(s)Top 14
2023–247th
1st kit
2nd kit
Official website
castres-olympique.com

Founded in 1898, the club took its current name in 1906. They play at the Stade Pierre-Fabre, which is one of the smallest in Top 14 with a capacity of 12,500. The team wear blue and white kits.

The team won five French top-division championships in 1949, 1950, 1993 (in a match decided by an irregular try accorded by the referee),[1] 2013, and 2018 as well as one Coupe de France in 1948.

History

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In 1898 several alumni of Castres' municipal college met in a city centre bar and decided to create a team allowing them to play their favourite sport, rugby union. For the first few years this team was part of a multisport club until 1906. Unhappy with the dominating position cycling had within the club, the members of the rugby section decided to leave and create a club of their own, solely dedicated to their sport. It was decided that this club would be named Castres Olympique and its colours would be changed from yellow and black to its current blue, white and grey.

The new club reached the top flight after only 15 years of existence and has remained there ever since, bar for a couple of years during the 80s when the club was in the then Section B of the 1st division. The club has never left the 1st division since 1921.

For a while Castres Olympique would experience mixed fortunes until 1948 when they reached and won their first Coupe de France. The prestigious championship would follow a year later, and again in 1950.

From the 1960s the club would experience a stream of mediocre seasons and steady decline until Pierre Fabre, the founder of a local pharmaceutical company, decided to take over the club and restore it to its former relative glory in 1988.

In 1993, Castres played the final of the 1993 French Rugby Union Championship against Grenoble, a team who was nicknamed "the mammoths", because of its incredibly physical forward pack, coached by the former French national team manager Jacques Fouroux. Castres won its third national title 14–11, in a controversial match. Indeed, a try of Olivier Brouzet is denied to Grenoble[2] and the decisive try by Gary Whetton was awarded by the referee, Daniel Salles, when in fact the defender Franck Hueber from Grenoble touched down the ball first in his try zone. This error gave the title to Castres.[3] Salles admitted the error 13 years later.[4][5]

Jacques Fouroux, being already suspicious before the match of the referee, saw in this outcome a conspiracy of his enemies from inside the rugby union French Federation.[6][7]

The club reached the final again in 1995 losing 31–16 to Stade Toulousain.

Castres won the 2012–13 French Rugby Union Championship beating Toulon 19–14 in the final.[8]

The team's owner, Pierre Fabre, the founder of Laboratoires Pierre Fabre, died on 20 July 2013.[9] Castres home stadium, previously known as Stade Pierre-Antoine, was renamed in his memory during ceremonies in conjunction with Castres match with Montpellier on 9 September 2017.[10]

Castres won the 2017–18 French Rugby Union Championship beating Montpellier 29–13 in the final.

After finishing first in the 2021-2022 Top 14, Castres played a semi-final against the Stade Toulousain of Antoine Dupont and Romain Ntamack, beating them 24–18. The final is a rematch of 2018, but this time, Montpellier win 29–10.

Honours

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Finals results

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French championship

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Date Winners Score Runners-up Venue Spectators
22 May 1949 Castres Olympique 14–3 Stade Montois Stade des Ponts Jumeaux, Toulouse 23,000
16 April 1950 Castres Olympique 11–8 Racing Club de France Stade des Ponts Jumeaux, Toulouse 25,000
5 June 1993 Castres Olympique 14–11 FC Grenoble Parc des Princes, Paris 48,000
6 May 1995 Stade Toulousain 31–16 Castres Olympique Parc des Princes, Paris 48,615
1 June 2013 Castres Olympique 19–14 RC Toulon Stade de France, Saint-Denis 80,033
31 May 2014 RC Toulon 18–10 Castres Olympique Stade de France, Saint-Denis 80,174
2 June 2018 Castres Olympique 29–13 Montpellier Stade de France, Saint-Denis 78,441
24 June 2022 Montpellier 29–10 Castres Olympique Stade de France, Saint-Denis 78,245

European Rugby Challenge Cup

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Date Winners Score Runners-up Venue Spectators
26 January 1997   Bourgoin 18–9   Castres Olympique Stade de la Méditerranée, Béziers 10,000
28 May 2000   Section Paloise 34–21   Castres Olympique Stade Ernest-Wallon, Toulouse 6,000

European Shield

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Date Winners Score Runners-up Venue Spectators
25 May 2003   Castres Olympique 40–12   Caerphilly Madejski Stadium, Reading 4,000

Current standings

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2024–25 Top 14 Table
Pos Team
 Pld W D L PF PA PD TF TA TB LB Pts Qualification
1 Toulouse 20 14 1 5 649 337 +312 83 38 8 4 70 Qualification for playoff semi-finals and European Rugby Champions Cup
2 Bordeaux Bègles 20 14 0 6 596 436 +160 77 51 4 5 65
3 Toulon 20 13 0 7 556 439 +117 66 46 7 4 63 Qualification for playoff semi-final qualifiers and European Rugby Champions Cup
4 Bayonne 20 12 0 8 494 500 −6 55 62 2 3 53
5 Castres 20 10 2 8 482 506 −24 52 52 1 3 48
6 Clermont 20 9 0 11 473 488 −15 59 52 4 4 44
7 Lyon 20 9 2 9 518 510 +8 57 55 2 2 44 Qualification for European Rugby Champions Cup
8 Montpellier 20 9 0 11 480 442 +38 50 46 2 5 43
9 Pau 20 9 0 11 500 574 −74 53 74 3 3 42 Qualification for European Rugby Challenge Cup
10 La Rochelle 20 8 1 11 434 503 −69 54 53 3 3 40
11 Racing 92 20 8 1 11 504 548 −44 56 63 0 5 39
12 Stade Français 20 8 0 12 462 564 −102 49 69 2 2 36
13 Perpignan 20 6 2 12 338 482 −144 29 52 2 2 32 Qualification for relegation play-off
14 Vannes 20 6 1 13 504 661 −157 57 84 0 4 30 Relegation to Pro D2
Updated to match(es) played on 30 March 2025. Source: Top 14


Current squad

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For player movements before or during the 2024–25 season, see List of 2024–25 Top 14 transfers § Castres.

The Castres squad for the 2024–25 season is:[11][12]

Note: Flags indicate national union under World Rugby eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-World Rugby nationality.

Player Position Union
Gaëtan Barlot Hooker   France
Pierre Colonna Hooker   France
Loris Zarantonello Hooker   Italy
Aurélien Azar Prop   France
Wayan de Benedittis Prop   France
Levan Chilachava Prop   Georgia
Will Collier Prop   England
Nicolas Corato Prop   France
Lois Guérois-Galisson Prop   France
Antoine Tichit Prop   France
Quentin Walcker Prop   France
Guillaume Ducat Lock   France
Paul Jedrasiak Lock   France
Gauthier Maravat Lock   France
Leone Nakarawa Lock   Fiji
Tom Staniforth Lock   Australia
Florent Vanverberghe Lock   France
Tyler Ardron Back row   Canada
Mathieu Babillot Back row   France
Baptiste Cope Back row   France
Baptiste Delaporte Back row   France
Simon Meka Back row   France
Izaiha Moore-Aiono Back row   Samoa
Abraham Papali'i Back row   New Zealand
Yann Peysson Back row   France
Feibyan Tukino Back row   France
Player Position Union
Santiago Arata Scrum-half   Uruguay
Gauthier Doubrère Scrum-half   France
Jérémy Fernandez Scrum-half   France
Louis Le Brun Fly-half   France
Luka Matkava Fly-half   Georgia
Pierre Popelin Fly-half   France
Vilimoni Botitu Centre   Fiji
Adrea Cocagi Centre   Fiji
Joris Dupont Centre   France
Jack Goodhue Centre   New Zealand
Adrien Séguret Centre   France
Christian Ambadiang Wing   Cameroon
Rémy Baget Wing   France
Josaia Raisuqe Wing   Fiji
Nathanaël Hulleu Wing   France
Antoine Zeghdar Wing   France
Julien Dumora Fullback   France
Théo Chabouni Fullback   France
Geoffrey Palis Fullback   France

Espoirs squad

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Note: Flags indicate national union under World Rugby eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-World Rugby nationality.

Player Position Union
Lukas Mitu Hooker   Romania
Rayan Balti Prop   France
Baptiste Brau Prop   France
Louis Chanet Prop   France
Noah Cuynet Prop   France
Loic Dutrey Prop   France
Mate Gurtskaia Prop   Georgia
Gabin Waterlot Prop   France
Nolhan Caasez Lock   France
Alexey Konnov Lock   Russia
Hugo Lopes Lock   France
Romain Macurdy Lock   France
Robin Boyer Back row   France
Kevin Diaz Back row   France
Dmitrii Dronov Back row   Russia
Julian Guiraud Back row   France
Remi Loop Back row   Belgium
Enzo Loubet Back row   France
Maxime Rakotomalala Back row   France
Leo Sagnes Back row   France
Atunaisa Sokobale Back row   Fiji
Player Position Union
Colin Dupuy Scrum-half   France
Martin Verdu Scrum-half   France
Louis Bothorel Fly-half   France
Gabin Galy Fly-half   France
Louison Gras Fly-half   France
Clement Barthes Centre   France
Dylan Ferrie Centre   France
Pierre Ourtaud-Cren Centre   France
Alban Collin Wing   France
Mathys Falguera Wing   France
Yansi Lartigue Wing   France

Notable former players

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Gerry Thornley: Grenoble's Jackman fast becoming one of top Irish coaches". irishtimes. April 12, 2016. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  2. ^ "Combien de fois Bayonne s'est imposé dans la capitale ?". www.rugbyrama.fr. Midi olympique. 3 January 2013. Retrieved 21 August 2013.
  3. ^ "MICHEL RINGEVAL (PART 2): " AU BOUT D'UN QUART D'HEURE, J'AI COMPRIS QU'ON NE GAGNERAIT PAS"". lesportdauphinois.com. November 19, 2016. Archived from the original on February 12, 2019. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  4. ^ "Daniel Salles à propos de Castres-Grenoble en 1993 : " Je me suis trompé "". sudouest. 1 June 2013. Retrieved 24 October 2013.
  5. ^ "Parc des Princes, Paris, 5 Juin 1993". LNR. 28 December 2004. Retrieved 24 October 2012.
  6. ^ Salviac, Pierre (9 September 2015). Merci pour ces moments: 50 ans de grands reportages. Hachette Book. ISBN 9791093463247. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  7. ^ "Top 14: Toulon-Castres, souviens-toi, il y a vingt ans..." www.lepoint.fr. June 1, 2013. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  8. ^ "Castres et " la magie du rugby "". www.republicain-lorrain.fr. 3 June 2013. Retrieved 3 June 2013.
  9. ^ "Pierre Fabre, founder of pharmaceutical giant, dies". Agence France Presse. France 24. 2013-07-20. Archived from the original on 2013-07-23. Retrieved 2013-08-17.
  10. ^ "Castres : ce sera le Stade Pierre-Fabre" [Castres: it will be Stade Pierre-Fabre]. La Dépêche. 12 August 2017. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
  11. ^ "Effectif". Castres Olympique. 27 January 2025. Retrieved 27 January 2025.
  12. ^ "Castres squad for season 2024/2025". All Rugby. 27 January 2025. Retrieved 27 January 2025.
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