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P. Garbisi (13'), V. Montgaillard (18'), T. Forner (23'), A. Aucagne (45'), P. Yato (69', 74')
Tries
S. Arata (8'), H. Watson (29'), A. Cocagi (50'), K. Ringuet (61')
A. Aucagne (13', 19', 24', 46', 75')
Conversions
L. Brun (30'), T. Vidal (51', 62')
A. Aucagne (3')
Penalties
L. Brun (21')
This fixture keeps telling the same truth about USA Perpignan: at Aimé-Giral they find front-foot ball from somewhere and they run with it. The visitors know the drill, yet Castres Olympique still gave up the momentum swings that matter here — two yellow cards out wide, a wobble at scrum time, and turnovers from the backfield when the game was on the line. USAP didn’t have to be perfect to win; they just had to be themselves at home, then finish hard.
It also underlined the other familiar thread in this rivalry. These teams still trade in narrow margins for long stretches — it was 31–29 with 18 to play — but Perpignan’s bench and their strike runners decide the closing beats. Once Peceli Yato arrived, Castres couldn’t live with the power on tired shoulders. Two late tries made the gap look comfortable. The contest was anything but until then.
If you’re hunting for the turn, start at 61 minutes. USAP had just lost Maelan Rabut to the bin and Castres pounced through Kyllian Ringuet to close within two. Aimé-Giral, suddenly tense. That’s where Perpignan won it: not through a neat set-piece variation or a whistle, but by doubling down on carry and cleanout with 14 men, then unleashing Yato into fractured lanes on 69 and 74 minutes. That response — under a card, under pressure — said more than the final margin.
The platform to get there came earlier. Castres gave away their shape twice in the back three. Remy Baget’s 13th-minute yellow immediately preceded Paolo Garbisi slicing in, and the next two Perpignan scores followed while the visitors were still rebalancing. After the break, Christian Ambadiang’s card (47’) again forced Castres to defend short for ten minutes. They nicked a try through Adrea Cocagi while down a man, credit for that, but the cumulative load told late.
Perpignan’s strike threats did the rest. Théo Forner was relentless on kick-return and infield switches, stacking 108 metres and five beaten defenders. Sevu Reece and Braydon Ennor kept the edges honest, and Lachlan Swinton punched 63 metres off 11 carries to keep Castres folding inside. With Antoine Aucagne calm on the last touch — 18 points, including a second-half try — USAP turned territory into points at a rate Castres couldn’t match without spotless discipline.
The numbers back up the feel. Perpignan carried more, beat more defenders and owned a perfect scrum while Castres coughed up two cards and a lower strike off their own put-in.
CARRIES
CLEAN BREAK
DEFENDER BEATEN
TACKLE
MISSED TACKLE
TURNOVER WON
TURNOVERS CONCEDED
PENALTY CONCEDED
YELLOW CARD
POSSESSION
SCRUMS
LINEOUTS
Set piece was quietly decisive. Lineout was pristine both ways, so the scrum became the separator: USAP were 6/6, Castres 2/3. That’s not a demolition, but it’s enough to dictate when to play and when to exit. Add in Victor Montgaillard and later Sama Malolo nailing 14/14 throws between them, and Perpignan rarely had to manufacture a platform; it was there on demand.
Castres did a lot right to be in the fight that long. Ringuet made 28 tackles and finished his score, Baptiste Delaporte hit 20, and in attack Louis Le Brun and Jack Goodhue found 59 metres apiece, with Santiago Arata sparking the early try. The issue wasn’t effort; it was control. Five missed tackles from Goodhue hurt on a night when Forner was humming, and full-back Théo Chabouni’s three turnovers bled field position. When your wings take two yellows and your 15 coughs up ball, you’re constantly firefighting your exits. That’s how you end up defending Yato with a broken line.
There’s context here too. These two played a knife-edge 29–27 at this ground in May, with USAP ahead on carries and gainline then as well. This felt like the same match extended: Castres’ phase defence can hang, their lineout functions, but Perpignan at home carry in waves and bend you until the gaps appear. The difference this time was the bench weight — Yato in particular — and Aucagne’s assurance to keep the board ticking. Once Castres had hauled it back to two, Perpignan still found 12 unanswered points. That’s not luck; it’s closing power.
Does 43–29 flatter USAP? A bit. It was a one-score game deep into the final quarter, and the late brace inflated it. But the better side won because they generated more launch moments, won the contact more often, and managed their red-zone entries with fewer self-inflicted errors. If you give Perpignan that many carries in your half at Aimé-Giral, you generally pay.
The takeaways are clear. For USA Perpignan, the attacking identity is intact and the bench weapons are real — Yato changes the temperature — but the Rabut yellow and a dozen turnovers are the sort of lapses that will cost them away. For Castres Olympique, the work-rate is there and the lineout is a bank, yet away-day discipline at the edges and a more reliable scrum need addressing fast. Fix the cards and clean up the backfield, and their attack has enough juice to travel. Leave those cracks, and teams like USAP will tear them open late again.
