La Rochelle will be looking to entrench themselves in the Top 6 when they play host to eighth-placed Castres this Sunday.
La Rochelle will be looking to cement their place inside the Top 6 when they take on Castres this Sunday. The visitors will have similar aspirations to their hosts, who are only a solitary point ahead of them on the Top 14 standings.
La Rochelle v Castres
Sunday 15 April
Stade Marcel Delfrandre
12:30
To Win (80 Mins)
La Rochelle 1/4
Draw 20/1
Castres 29/10
La Rochelle
Time is running out for last season’s defeated finalists to get themselves inside the Top 3 and earn a vital home play-off. The Mariners have continued to struggle to string a run of results together with their 40-24 loss to Montpellier last week bringing to an end a two-game winning streak.
Despite losing last weekend, La Rochelle still remains in the Top 6 and a bonus point win here could well see them move into the top 4 with the four sides set to face each other this coming weekend. La Rochelle will have to bring their A-game if this scenario as they take on a Castres side who beat them 31-15 when the sides met last November.
Castres
Castres really need to get something out of this game as they face a very tricky away trip next weekend against Toulon, while the final round will see them host an Oyonnax side who are likely to be still fighting tooth and nail to avoid relegation.
This weekend’s visitors head into Sunday’s tie in relatively good form having won two of their last three victories with their most recent being a 28-23 home victory over high-flying Toulouse. They have struggled on the road, losing three of their last four away fixtures.
Verdict: La Rochelle 1/4
They put in a decent enough display against Montpellier last week and were unlucky to go down by such a heavy scoreline. My money is on them bouncing back with a home win.
