Americas Rugby News Rugby news from across the Americas!
Teammates from opposite sides of the Rio de la Plata were outstanding performers for Castres on Friday. The small-town Top 14 side upset reigning champions Toulouse to advance to the 2022 Top 14 Final.
Castres were 24-18 winners in the Semi Final in Nice. The French city will play host to Uruguay’s pool match against Italy at RWC 2023. Santiago Arata will likely be the poster boy from Uruguay for that match. The 25-year-old from Montevideo left a strong impression against Toulouse.
Arata was a try scorer. He crossed in the second-half to give Castres the lead. The team had been behind following a strong opening half from Toulouse. They scored a try in just the second minute of play, a score in which Arata almost prevented.
Before Castres had points Toulouse had ten. The Tarns clawed back with three penalties to Argentine Benjamín Urdapilleta. The 10-9 half-time scoreline meant the match was wide-open; however, Castres had reason to feel let down by the officials. First, a clear red card incident was adjudged to be a yellow card. Second, an Urdapilleta assist try was deemed a knock-on.
Arata’s 43rd minute try put Castres ahead. The Uruguayan spotted a gap and darted over. He managed to get between two defenders and stretch for the score. Urdapilleta converted from an unfavorable angle; his display all night underlines why Michael Cheika has recalled him for the July Internationals against Scotland.
Toulouse reclaimed the lead before Urdapilleta added another penalty and provided a try assist for Julian Dumora for the win. Urdapilleta had a fine showing against French star Romain Ntamack. Arata was up against the best player in the world, Antoine Dupont. The Uruguayan arguably outplayed him.
