Edinburgh Rugby vs Castres Olympique Prediction & Betting Tips - Challenge Cup

Prediction published on 14/12/2023, 11:30  by Devesh Jaganath | Modified on 15/12/2023 at 13:13 in Challenge Cup Predictions

Edinburgh Rugby and Castres will lock horns in Round 2 of the EPCR Challenge Cup on Saturday afternoon at Hive Stadium. The hosts currently sit in fifth place in Pool 3, while the visitors lead the way with five points. Edinburgh suffered a 31-18 loss to ASM Clermont Auvergne last weekend. Of particular note in that match, they were very poor at scrum time, winning only 42% against the French outfit. Despite Wes Goosen, Tim Swiel and big Javan Sebastian all getting over the scrumline, Edinburgh never looked likely to find their way back into the match. However, now that they are back on their home patch, they are likely expecting better this week. The hosts have won four of their last five matches at Hive Stadium, with their only defeat in that time coming against Benetton in the United Rugby Championship at the end of November. Edinburgh reached the last 16 of the Champions Cup last season and beat this opponent home and away before Leicester knocked them out. The hosts are the favourites in this one. 

Meanwhile, Castres got their 2023-24 EPCR Challenge Cup started in the best way possible. They secured a resounding 34-16 home win over Scarlets with Josaia Raisuqe, Abraham Papalii, and halves pair Louis le Brun and Jeremy Fernandez all running in tries in the match. That sets them atop the standings after round one, while they also claimed the all-important bonus point for their efforts. Castres recorded the highest average meters per carry across all sides in round one of the competition at 5.4 and were excellent at the breakdown to boot. The visitors have also been in good form in the Top 14 this season. They were runners-up in the competition last term and are already in third place this season with 28 points in nine games, just one behind leaders Racing 92. However, their away form has been their downfall, with all three of their defeats in the Top 14 this season coming on the road, including back-to-back losses ahead of this one.