Pool placing

A 23-point display from scrum-half Rory Kockott in their 33-27 Round 6 victory at Worcester Warriors enabled Castres to head Pool 1 by three points from Dragons – the smallest gap in all five pools. However, it was not enough to earn them a home quarter-final, as their points difference was worse than that of Pool 5 winners Leicester Tigers (86-56), their opponents.

Lockdown news

Castres have waved goodbye to two club stalwarts following the retirement of locks Rodrigo Capo Ortega and Christophe Samson. However, they have boosted their resources by signing Canada back-row forward Tyler Ardron from Super Rugby side the Chiefs, South African lock Ryno Pieterse from the Bulls and Fijian forward Semi Kunatani from Harlequins.

Quarter-final record

Castres have a 50 per cent record in Challenge Cup quarter-finals – winning two (in 1996/7 and 1999/2000) and losing two (in 1997/8 and 2007/8). In the two seasons they qualified for the last four, they went on to reach the final, only to lose out to Bourgoin in 1997 and Pau in 2000.

European history

Castres’ proudest moments in European competition were those two Challenge Cup finals. Their best performance in the European Cup came in 2001/2, when they made the semi-finals and lost 25-17 to Munster Rugby in what is their only appearance to date in that tournament’s knockout stages.

With the European Rugby Challenge Cup quarter-finals just around the corner, we’ve taken an in-depth look into all eight sides who will be competing for a spot in the final in October.