Top 14: Castres see off Montpellier to reach semi-finals
Castres booked their place in the Top 14 semi-finals after a 22-12 victory over Montpellier at Stade Pierre-Antoine.
Last Updated: 11/05/13 5:09pm
Castres will now face Clermont in Nantes in two weeks for a place in the final against either Toulon or Toulouse, who face off in the other semi-final at the same venue.
France international Antonie Claassen scored the only try of the game while former South African scrum-half Rory Kockott kicked 14 points to guide CO to victory.
Castres led 12-9 at the end of a first half which was characterised by conservative tactics handling errors.
Montpellier started the second half a man short after after Mamuka Gorgodze was sent to the sin bin just before the interval for a high tackle on Brice Mach.
Gorgodze's absence proved pivotal as Claassen broke off the back of a scrum shortly after the break. With the Montpellier back row missing a man it was left to fly-half Francois Trinh-Duc to try and stop the charging No 8, but Claassen went right over to give Castres a decent lead.
Kockott's conversion and a further penalty on the 50-minute mark were enough to secure the win.
