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Castres Olympique will face Racing 92 in next weekend’s Top 14 Semi Finals. The small-town French south west club defied the odds, and a red card, to reach the final four.
Castres have been there before. The club made back-to-back appearances in the Top 14 Final in 2013 and 2014. Both finals were against Toulon with Castres winning in 2013 and losing in 2014.
The 2013 final was historic for Uruguay. Winning was Rodrigo Capó Ortega, doing so ten years after appearing in a Rugby World Cup. The Uruguayan great would return to help Los Teros qualify for RWC 2015, playing against Russia.
Then, this past January, Capó Ortega made a return for international duty. The veteran helped Uruguay to wins over Canada in Vancouver and Montevideo. As a result the South Americans qualified for RWC 2019 in Japan.
Now aged 37, Capó Ortega is targeting a second RWC. He will turn 38 in December making him to potentially be the oldest player at the tournament next year. Back in 1999 Uruguay was captained by Diego Ormaechea who was 40 at the time. His son, Agustín Ormaechea played at RWC 2015.
In addition to Capó Ortega Castres had Benjamín Urdapilleta in their win over Toulouse. The former Puma played fly half and put in a gutsy performance. Not the biggest of players, the Buenos Aires play-maker tackled life his life depended on it. He also came away with seven points as he converted two tries and landed a penalty.
