Castres look to capitalise on struggling Ospreys - Challenge Cup

History will be made this weekend as Saturday will mark the first clash between Ospreys and Castres in the Challenge Cup.

Things have looked better for Ospreys who are currently suffering a nine-match losing streak in European competition – the worst the club has ever experienced.

Castres, on the other hand, enjoyed a good run of five pool game victories last season after tasting defeat to Dragons in the first round.

Ospreys were truly the whipping boys in last season’s Champions Cup, scoring the lowest number of points as well as the lowest number of tries in the competition. Currently, in the Pro14, they are faring averagely with 3 victories from 7 outings which has earned them 13 points and third place on the Conference A table – a long way behind second-placed Leinster.

Castres are not at their best in the Top 14 either – posting just 3 victories from 9 games which places them in twelfth spot. If picked, their fans can look forward to a characteristically strong defensive performance from flanker Baptiste Delaporte who didn’t miss a single tackle in the 2019-20 Challenge Cup competition.

On the surface, it seems reasonable to favour Castres to take this one against the struggling Ospreys, although the latter will have home-ground advantage in what can be challenging Welsh conditions.