 | |||
| Full name | Castres Olympique | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Founded | 1906; 119 years ago (1906) | ||
| Location | Castres, France | ||
| Ground | Stade Pierre-Fabre (Capacity: 12,500) | ||
| President | Pierre-Yves Revol | ||
| Coach | Xavier Sadourny | ||
| Captain | Mathieu Babillot | ||
| League | Top 14 | ||
| 2024–25 | 6th | ||
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| Official website | |||
| castres-olympique | |||
Castres Olympique (French pronunciation:[kastʁɔlɛ̃pik],CAST-(r)) is a Frenchrugby union club located in theOccitanian city ofCastres and is currently competing in theTop 14, the top level of theFrench league system.
Founded in 1898, the club took its current name in1906. They play at theStade 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.
In1898 severalalumni 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 amultisport club until1906. Unhappy with the dominating positioncycling 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 namedCastres 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 until1948 when they reached and won their firstCoupe de France. The prestigious championship would follow a year later, and again in1950.
From the 1960s the club would experience a stream of mediocre seasons and steady decline untilPierre Fabre, the founder of a localpharmaceutical company, decided to take over the club and restore it to its former relative glory in1988.
In 1993, Castres played the final of the1993French Rugby Union Championship againstGrenoble, a team who was nicknamed "the mammoths", because of its incredibly physical forward pack, coached by the former French national team managerJacques Fouroux.Castres won its third national title 14–11, in a controversial match.Indeed, a try ofOlivier Brouzet is denied to Grenoble[2] and the decisive try byGary 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 in1995 losing 31–16 toStade Toulousain.
Castres won the 2012–13French Rugby Union Championship beatingToulon 19–14 in the final.[8]
The team's owner, Pierre Fabre, the founder ofLaboratoires 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 withMontpellier on 9 September 2017.[10]
Castres won the 2017–18French Rugby Union Championship beatingMontpellier 29–13 in the final.
After finishing first in the 2021-2022 Top 14, Castres played a semi-final against theStade Toulousain ofAntoine Dupont andRomain Ntamack, beating them 24–18. The final is a rematch of 2018, but this time, Montpellier win 29–10.
| 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 |
| 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 |
| Date | Winners | Score | Runners-up | Venue | Spectators |
| 25 May 2003 | Castres Olympique | 40–12 |  Caerphilly | Madejski Stadium,Reading | 4,000 |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | TB | LB | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Toulouse | 9 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 334 | 217 | +117 | 32 | 18 | 4 | 1 | 29 | Qualification forplayoff semi-finals andEuropean Rugby Champions Cup |
| 2 | Toulon | 9 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 280 | 223 | +57 | 37 | 24 | 4 | 1 | 29 | |
| 3 | Pau | 9 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 249 | 211 | +38 | 29 | 22 | 3 | 1 | 28 | Qualification forplayoff semi-final qualifiers andEuropean Rugby Champions Cup |
| 4 | Bordeaux Bègles | 9 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 274 | 240 | +34 | 39 | 31 | 3 | 0 | 27 | |
| 5 | Bayonne | 9 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 273 | 260 | +13 | 31 | 34 | 2 | 0 | 26 | |
| 6 | Stade Français | 9 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 252 | 212 | +40 | 31 | 28 | 3 | 2 | 25 | |
| 7 | La Rochelle | 9 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 257 | 193 | +64 | 31 | 23 | 3 | 2 | 25 | Qualification forEuropean Rugby Champions Cup |
| 8 | Clermont | 9 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 321 | 244 | +77 | 41 | 30 | 3 | 0 | 23 | |
| 9 | Racing 92 | 9 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 212 | 243 | −31 | 23 | 31 | 0 | 1 | 21 | Qualification forEuropean Rugby Challenge Cup |
| 10 | Castres | 9 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 208 | 268 | −60 | 24 | 34 | 1 | 3 | 20 | |
| 11 | Montpellier | 9 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 222 | 191 | +31 | 27 | 20 | 3 | 2 | 19 | |
| 12 | Lyon | 9 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 231 | 278 | −47 | 27 | 36 | 2 | 0 | 18 | |
| 13 | Montauban | 9 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 202 | 406 | −204 | 24 | 56 | 0 | 1 | 7 | Qualification forrelegation play-off |
| 14 | Perpignan | 9 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 142 | 271 | −129 | 15 | 31 | 0 | 1 | 1 | Relegation toPro D2 |
The Castres squad for the2025–26 season is:[11][12]
Note: Flags indicate national union underWorld Rugby eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-World Rugby nationality.
Note: Flags indicate national union underWorld Rugby eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-World Rugby nationality.
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