Castres Olympique vs Stade Rochelais Prediction: A crucial game for the two teams

Stade Pierre Fabre will be the venue for this round 21 France Top 14 game between Castres Olympique and Stade Rochelais.

Castres Olympique continued to struggle, and once again, in their last game, they lost to Gloucester in the Challenge Cup round 1/8/ In that game, Castres Olympique lost 21-10 at halftime, and even though they got a 9-15 win in the second half, that was not actually enough to see them qualify for the quarterfinals. Looking at Castres Olympique's last five competitive games, the hosts have lost each, the four others coming against Stade Toulousain, Lyon, Racing Metro 92, and USA Perpignan.

Stade Rochelais were eliminated in the European Champions Cup quarterfinals by Leinster. In the meantime, last year's winner will now shift their focus on the league as they look to keep their playoff spot. So far this season, Stade Rochelais have just 51 points from 20 matches, the same as 4th placed RC Toulonnais, while being two points ahead of 6th placed Bordeaux Begles.

This is a tricky game, but regardless, I expect the scores to be a tight one. At the moment, Castres Olympique's level of play has reduced compared to the way they started the season. On the other hand, Stade Rochelais is inconsistent, but with the fact they are working hard to make it for the postseasonp, I think they have what it takes to pull off a road win.