All their six previous encounters have been in the Heineken Champions Cup, with the Scottish side winning all but one, including two in Pool A last term, which we reflect on below.

2022: Edinburgh Rugby 31 Castres Olympique 20

Edinburgh marked the first Heineken Champions Cup match at the DAM Health Stadium with a deserved bonus-point victory over Castres in Round 2 of the pool stage.

Tries from Bill Mata, Charlie Savala and Ben Vellacott, plus a first-half penalty try, secured the bonus point, with Emiliano Boffelli converting all three tries and kicking a penalty.

Castres only trailed 14-13 at the break after tries from Pierre Colonna and Julien Blanc allied to a Julien Dumora penalty, but they were restricted to an Adrien Seguret try goaled by Ben Botica in the second half.

2023: Castres Olympique 21 Edinburgh Rugby 34

Edinburgh qualified for the Round of 16 with a match to spare after completing a quickfire double over Castres at the Pierre Fabre Stadium in Round 3.

21-14 behind at the interval after a fast-paced first half, Edinburgh produced a stirring second-half display to nil Castres and snatch a bonus-point success after proving themselves the fitter and more disciplined side over the course of the full 80 minutes.

Edinburgh’s four tries came from David Cherry and Bill Mata in the first half, with Cameron Hutchison and Ben Vellacott following them over in the second. Blair Kinghorn converted all four and kicked two penalties for a tally of 14 points.

Castres scored three first-half tries through Josaia Raisuqe, Adrien Seguret and Wilfrid Hounkpatin, all of which were goaled by Benjamín Urdapilleta, but were unable to hold on for a maiden win in the pool stage.

After 12 years without meeting each other, Edinburgh Rugby and Castres Olympique will clash for the third time in two seasons when they are paired for the first time in the EPCR Challenge Cup in 2023/24.