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Northampton Saints v Castres Olympique - Teams and Prediction

By Leezil Hendricks
Thursday 2 Apr 2026

CHAMPIONS CUP FRIDAY PREVIEW: The stakes are high as 16 sides from PREM Rugby, TOP 14, and the United Rugby Championship battle it out for the Champions Cup – starting with Northampton Saints and Castres Olympique on Friday.

The pair take on each other at Franklin’s Gardens in Northampton in what is predicted to be a massive clash.

Last year’s finalists, Northampton, will fancy their chances as the PREM Rugby club comes into the fixture in incredible form.

They are sitting top of the domestic league and will benefit from home advantage when they welcome the French side.

Friday’s match will mark the third meeting between the sides in the last twelve months, with the Top 14 outfit coming to Northampton twice in last season’s Champions Cup (in both the pool stage and quarterfinals) on the Saints’ route to the Final.

Loosehead prop Emmanuel Iyogun, who played a vital role in that memorable final run, has come a long way with the side since his academy days. And so has English rugby, according to the 25-year-old.

“When I was starting out, to think there’d be seven teams in the knockouts would’ve been unheard of!

“It speaks to the effort the boys are putting in to compete with these bigger clubs,” he said.

If Saints progress this weekend, a quarterfinal against either Bath or Saracens is on the cards.

“We rarely get the chance to play English teams in knockout games. It’s a unique experience and would be a real opportunity to relish,” Iyogun explained, ambitious to go one further this season.

Phil Dowson makes six changes to the line-up that downed Saracens at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the PREM last weekend – with Danilo Fischetti, Craig Wright, JJ Van Der Mescht, Callum Chick, Anthony Belleau and Fraser Dingwall all coming into the starting line-up on Friday.

Centre Dingwall and flyhalf Belleau start amongst Saints’ largely unchanged backs, with the duo partnering Tom Litchfield and Archie McParland – who combined for last weekend’s match-winning try – in Northampton’s midfield and halfbacks respectively.

Furbank captains Northampton from fullback as Dowson sticks with the same back three that defeated Saracens, where James Ramm and Tommy Freeman start on the wings alongside the skipper.

Fischetti and Wright come into Saints’ front row at loosehead prop and hooker, joining tighthead prop Luke Green there against Castres, while Tom Lockett and Van Der Mescht make up Northampton’s engine room behind them.

Chick is the new face in the back row for the Saints as he starts at No.8 alongside flankers Josh Kemeny and Henry Pollock to complete the pack.

Saints have opted for a six-two bench against Castres, naming the likes of Curtis Langdon, Chunya Munga and Tom Pearson as forwards replacements, while Jonny Weimann is set to make his Champions Cup debut as he provides backs cover alongside Rory Hutchinson.

Prediction:

Rugby365: Northampton Saints by seven points

Teams:

Northampton Saints: 15 George Furbank (captain), 14 Tommy Freeman, 13 Tom Litchfield, 12 Fraser Dingwall, 11 James Ramm, 10 Anthony Belleau, 9 Archie McParland, 8 Callum Chick, 7 Henry Pollock, 6 Josh Kemeny, 5 JJ van der Mescht, 4 Tom Lockett, 3 Luke Green, 2 Caig Wright, 1 Danilo Fischetti.
Replacements: 16 Curtis Langdon, 17 Tom West, 18 Cleopas Kundiona, 19 Ed Prowse, 20 Chunya Munga, 21 Tom Pearson, 22 Jonny Weimann, 23 Rory Hutchinson

Castres Olympique: 15 Theo Chabouni, 14 Christian Ambadiang, 13 Vilimoni Botitu, 12 Jack Goodhue, 11 Vuate Karawalevu, 10 Enzo Herve, 9 Jeremy Fernandez, 8 Abraham Papalii, 7 Tyler Ardron, 6 Baptiste Delaporte (captain), 5 Florent Vanverberghe, 4 Guillaume Ducat, 3 Nicolas Corato, 2 Teddy Durand-Pradere, 1 Qeuntin Walcker.
Replacements: 16 Pierre Colonna, 17 Lois Guerois-Galisson, 18 Aurelien Azar, 19 Gauthier Maravat, 20 Baptiste Cope, 21 Veresa Ramototabua, 22 Santiago Arata, 23 Geoffrey Palis

Date: Friday, April 3
Venue: Franklin’s Garden, Northampton
Kick-off: 20.00 (21.00 France time; 19.00 GMT)
Referee: Craig Evans (Wales)
Assistant referees: Morne Ferreira (South Africa) & Jonny MacKenzie (Scotland)
TMO: Marius Jonker (South Africa)

 

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