Dragons are back in European Challenge Cup action in France this weekend as the team tackles Castres Olympique at Stade Pierre-Fabre on Saturday (kick-off 2pm UK time).
Ahead of the game, we take a closer look at all the stats and information you need to know:
Pool 1:
Castres vs Dragons
- Referee: JP Doyle (Eng)
- Assistant Ref: Mike Hudson (Eng) & Jonthan Healy (Eng)
- Citing Commissioner: John Buyett (Eng)
Match facts:
- This will the sixth meeting between Castres and Dragons in European competition, and all five previous clashes have been won by the home side on the day.
- Castres have not lost at home in European competition since being defeated by Sale Sharks in December 2015 – going 12 games undefeated.
- Dragons have picked up three away wins against Top14 opposition in the Challenge Cup, the last of these coming in December 2015 against Pau.
- Castres have conceded the most (73) and won the fewest (13) turnovers this season.
- Castres’ Camile Gerondeau has stolen eight opposition lineouts, two more than any other player in the competition.
Tournament Record:
- Castres: P59 – W39, D0, L20. Win Rate: 66%
- Dragons: P64 - W36, D0, L28. Win Rate: 56%
Round 5 Notes:
- If Pool 2 leaders, RC Toulon, manage to win at the Scarlets on Saturday, they will book their place in the quarter-finals.
- Knockout stage places will also be guaranteed for Bristol Bears if they defeat Brive at Ashton Gate in Pool 4, and for Leicester Tigers if they get the better of Cardiff Blues at Welford Road in Pool 5 on Sunday.
- Bordeaux-Bègles, who top Pool 3, are the leading try and points scorers with 21 and 162 respectively.
- Since the tournament format was changed in 2014/15, the average points total required to qualify for the knockout stage as a best runner-up is 20.5.
- The highest total for a best runner-up is 24 points (Cardiff Blues 2014/15 and La Rochelle 2016/17) while the lowest is 17 (London Irish 2015/16, Brive and Stade Francais Paris 2017/18).
- Matthieu Jalibert of Bordeaux-Bègles is the top points scorer with 50 while Owen Lane of the Cardiff Blues, who scored a hat-trick against Pau in Round 4, and Leicester’s Jonah Holmes lead the try scoring charts with four each.
- After four rounds, Jarrod Evans of the Cardiff Blues leads the way for most defenders beaten with 20.
- Pau’s Charly Malie and Steff Evans of the Scarlets have made the most offloads to date with 7 apiece.
- Bordeaux-Bègles are the only club to date not to have received either a yellow card, a red card, or a citing complaint.
- Castres Olympique’s Camille Gerondeau is the leading line out exponent to date with 37 wins, including 8 steals.
- Wasps back row, Jack Willis, has made the most turnovers with 9.
Can Dragons make the knockout stages in Europe? Find out when we face Enisei-STM in the final pool game of the European Challenge Cup at Rodney Parade on Friday, January 17 (kick-off 8pm). Click HERE to buy tickets or call the Ticket Office on 01633 674990.
