Castres vs Edinburgh Predictions - Castres to bounce back with a home win over Edinburgh

Brad Newcomb

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Last updated: 1 hour ago

Brad Newcomb 1 hour ago

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Castres have won 5 of their last 7 home games.
Edinburgh struggle to win away from home.
Castres tipped to cover -5.5 handicap.

Castres have been getting results at home lately (Getty Images)

Castres had no answer in their opening Investec Cup match last weekend, but they perform better at home. Edinburgh caused an upset in their first Pool 2 fixture and have an excellent record against Castres.

Castres have won 2 of their last 5 fixtures in all competitions.
Castres have won 5 of their last 7 home matches (Top 14).
Castres have lost 4 consecutive home games against Edinburgh.
Edinburgh have lost 4 consecutive away fixtures (URC).
Edinburgh have won 2 of their last 3 visits to Castres.

Head to Head

Edinburgh have a commanding lead with six victories to one against Castres in seven meetings.

Castres Form

Castres had a solid first half against Gloucester in their first European Rugby Champions Cup match of the season, scoring two converted tries to go into the break on level terms.

However, Castres failed to add to their points tally, conceding two penalties and two converted tries to lose 34-14 away to Gloucester last weekend.

Castres' previous five home games have yielded solid results. They defeated Bayonne 48-17, Racing 92 20-16, Stade Francais 29-24, lost 28-26 to Bordeaux before beating Perpignan 23-7.

Castres Olympique are currently 8th in the Top 14 standings with 28 points from 11 matches.

Castres have struggled to beat Edinburgh over the years, losing four in a row against the URC side; however, they have been in solid form domestically this season, winning four of their last five.

Edinburgh Form

Edinburgh edged Toulon by a point in the first half of their European Rugby Champions Cup clash last weekend, scoring two penalties, two tries, and a conversion to lead 18-17 at half-time.

Edinburgh added a penalty, a penalty try, and a try in the second half to beat Toulon 33-20 at home.

Edinburgh defeated Connacht 31-21 before losing 42-33 to the Bulls, 31-28 to Zebre, 20-19 to Munster, and 20-19 to Cardiff in their last five away fixtures.

Edinburgh are in 10th place in the United Rugby Championship table with 13 points from five matches.

Edinburgh will be pleased to start their Investec Cup campaign with an excellent victory over Toulon, and they will fancy their chances against Castres due to their solid record against them; however, they have lost four in a row on their travels.

Team News

Castres

Vuate Karawalevu and Loris Zarantonello each scored a try against Gloucester last weekend.

Pierre Popelin slotted two conversions in the match last weekend.

Edinburgh

Forwards coach Stevie Lawrie has stated he expects another tough match against Castres after Edinburgh's recent victory over Toulon: “I don’t like using the phrase turn the corner, because you’ve got to work every single week,” Lawrie said. “So I think it’s fair to say that we want to go there and we want to make sure that we win. If you want to go deep in this comp, you want to get a home tie in the round of 16.

“The brass band’s going to be going, there’s going to be flares going off. It’s awesome. It’s awesome, and the boys are aware of the challenge.”

Scotland centre Matt Currie has overcome vertigo and will likely feature against Castres.

Ollie Blyth‑Lafferty has secured his first senior professional contract, playing for Edinburgh until the end of the 2027/28 season.