European Champions Cup rugby Preview – 1.00 pm kick off
Things have been tight in Pool 2 of the European Champions Cup this season and there are some big showdowns on matchday five. Gloucester and Muster will have already met up on Friday night, so Exeter and Castres will know the standing of things before their kick off on Sunday.
Exeter v Castres odds*
Exeter 1/10
Castres 6/1
Draw 33/1
* (betting odds taken from bet365 on January 9th, 2019 at 9:31 pm)
Exeter v Castres Preview
Heading into matchday five, Exeter are sat in third place in Pool 2 just the four points behind leaders Munster and one behind their opponents on Sunday, Castres. There is a lot of work to do for Exeter to do but a win in this one could at least keep things interesting heading into the final round of pool matches when the Chiefs make a tough trip to Munster.
Exeter have not delivered on home soil this season in the Pool And that is where they have fallen down. They opened with a home draw against Munster and then suffered a heavy loss when Gloucester visited. Sandwiched in between those two home games as was a loss out at Castres on matchday two. They gave themselves lift last time out in the competition with a revenge win over Gloucester.
The Chiefs have actually scored more tries than anyone else in the group, but they haven’t been as tight defensively as you would have expected them to have been really. Because things are so tight, Castres are in the same boat pretty much. A win here would set me up really well and they have to go and face Gloucester in their final Pool match.
They collected a bonus point in a loss at Gloucester in their first away game in the pool but were then smashed 30-5 at Munster. But they deserve a lot of credit for the way they snapped back in round four and edged Munster back at the Stade Pierre-Fabre by a point. So there is still everything to play for and a Castres +15 handicap is at 10/11 odds* (betting odds taken on January 9th, 2019 at 10:47 pm).
Exeter v Castres Prediction
Both have something to play for here and surprisingly Exeter just haven’t been themselves at Sandy Park in Europe. Maybe the toil of their Premiership title chase has affected that. But everything in this group has been pretty even and we can only expect this to go the same way. We are backing the French side to grab a bonus point in losing and a Castres +15 handicap is a good proposition* (betting odds taken on January 9th, 2019 at 10:47 pm).
