Top 14 preview - Castres

Welcome to Stade Pierre-Antoine

We take an in-depth look at the runners and the riders of the 2005/06 Top 14 ahead of the new season. Today we tackle Castres.

Last time around:

Castres' potential was undermined by an appalling disciplinary record which saw them finish with 31 yellow cards and 3 red in 30 Top 16 games, as well as 2 yellow and 1 red in 6 Heineken Cup games. They always hung around the fringes of the top four in the league, yet could never quite get themselves fully into the running. Their biggest disappointment was in Europe though, after being drawn against Euro-novices the Ospreys and English strugglers Harlequins, their biggest challenge ought to have been limiting Munster, but they failed to win on the road at all and crashed out of the competition.

This time?

Castres, like Bourgoin, specialise in taking the players who are almost stars and making a solid unit to test the best. There has been a phenomenal amount of coming and going over the summer, not least the peculiar exchange of coaches with the afore-mentioned Bourgoin. The net of all the movement appears to be a loss for now; although the first-choice team will be as strong as ever, they appear to have lost international-experience depth to cope with the injuries that will most likely come. There is still plenty of quality around though, and the signings of Matthieu Barrau, Jean-Baptiste Peyras - who scored several tries in this year's U21 World Cup - and Phil Christophers particularly will spice up the backs. In Europe, they get the chance to lock horns with Munster again, but the Dragons' lair awaits them first up, and Sale will not be the weak English travellers that Harlequins were. A tough group which will most likely be too much for them will leave Laurent Seigne taking his lesser-known troop again towards the Heineken Cup qualification places, but that's about as far as they can go.

Captain: not yet announced

One to watch: Argentinean mouthful Jose Maria Nuñez Piossek was a real handful to the Lions in June's warm-up match in Cardiff, showing an eye for a gap and a flair for the unexpected. New signing Matthieu Barrau at scrum-half is an enterprising player as well, and Jean-Baptiste Peyras is a real prospect on the wing.

In: LaurentSeigne (coach) (Bourgoin), Patrick Chassaing ( coach) (Bourgoin), Mathieu Barrau (Agen), Jean-Baptiste Peyras-Loustalet (Pau), Florian Faure, Karim Ghezal and Julien Puricelli (Grenoble), Laloaoa Milford (Bayonne, Samoan), David Attoub (Clermont Auvergne), David Roumieu (Montauban), Akvsenti Giorgadze (Rovigo, Georgian), Phil Cristophers (Leeds), Carl Hoeft (Otago, New Zealander), Yann Fior (Mont-de-Marsan), Romi Ropati (Japan, New Zealander), Ramiro Pez (Bath, Argentinian Italian international), Laurent Cadau (Aix).

Out: Christophe Urios (coach) (Bourgoin), Christian Gajan (coach) (Japan), Justin Fitzpatrick (Ulster), Richard Dourthe (Bayonne), Benjamin Lhande (Bayonne), Jacques Deen (Japan, South African), Mark Denney (Bristol), Nicolas Raffault (Bristol), Alessio Galasso, Robert Froissart (coach) and Nicolas Morlaes (Agen), David Bory (Bath), David Barrier (Clermont Auvergne), Mario Ledesma (Clermont Auvergne, Argentinian), Mauricio Reggiardo (retired, Argentinian), Yohan Dalla Riva (Brive), Xavier Sadourny (Brive), Grégory Arganese, Yannick Caballero (Montauban), Stéphane de Besombes (retired)

Colours: Blue and white

Club info:

Stade Pierre-Antoine (9,423 places),
rue de Bisséous,
81100 Castres

Tickets: price not available

Travel connections: Toulouse is the nearest internationl airport, and Carcassone the nearest low-cost service airport. There is a local rail service, and regional roads from both airports.