Pollard seals first Top 14 title for Montpellier

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Handre Pollard capped victory with a late penalty as Montpellier beat Castres on Friday to claim their maiden French Top 14 title at the Stade de France in a rerun of the 2018 final.

The flyhalf, who will join English Premiership side Leicester Tigers next season, nailed his spot kick in the 77th minute for a 29-10 victory in Paris, with England No 8 Zach Mercer playing a leading role.

Fellow Springbok Jan Serfontein also put in a shift for the newly crowned champions, but Pollard won’t have long to celebrate as he was one of two flyhalves selected in a 48-man Bok squad chosen for a three-Test series against Wales, which kicks off at Loftus Versfeld on 2 July.

Mercer, who joined Montpellier this season from Bath, set up Arthur Vincent for the Mediterranean side’s opening try as the 2018 runners-up gained revenge for the defeat four years ago.

“It was really exceptional. We had a huge season, we really deserved that,” Montpellier’s Paolo Garbisi told Canal+. “We knew with Castres that you have to surprise them with desire from the start. We knew they never give up, that’s what they did.

“We managed to hold on until the end and now it’s superb.”

Both Castres and Montpellier named the same starting XVs which won last weekend’s semi-finals against record 21-time champions Toulouse and Bordeaux, respectively.

A Philippe Saint-Andre-coached Montpellier dominated from the off and they were rewarded after six minutes as wing Vincent dived over in the corner from a grubber kick by Mercer, who is ineligible for his country as he plays abroad.

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By the 13-minute mark Montpellier led 17-0 as lock Florent Vanverberghe and fullback Anthony Bouthier, who was beautifully set up by a Vincent loop pass, added to Castres’ woes, who seemed to be frozen by the pre-match buildup.

“That start to the match was catastrophic,” Castres captain Mathieu Babillot said. “We’re very disappointed tonight. That’s how sport goes, it’s difficult, it’s cruel.”

Castres head coach Pierre-Henry Broncan’s early worries intensified just a quarter of an hour in, as influential flyhalf Benjamin Urdapilleta left the field with an ankle issue and, without a recognised backup on the bench, fullback Julien Dumora deputised in the No 10 shirt.

Montpellier’s retiring ex-France captain Guilhem Guirado left the field for the final time as a professional player on 27 minutes as he suffered a neck injury, and was replaced by Australian hooker Brandon Paenga-Amosa.

The score was 23-3 at the break after Dumora opened his team’s account, while Benoit Paillaugue kicked two penalties for Montpellier to put the seal on an almost perfect first half.

Castres began the second 40 minutes on a positive note and were denied shortly after the interval as Mercer and Vincent held up Dumora over the line.

Montpellier, last season’s European Challenge Cup winners, were then able to clear their lines as captain Yacouba Camara won a penalty at a ruck a quarter of an hour into the second half.

Castres, who finished the regular season top of the table despite only having the league’s 10th-highest budget, were denied a second time as replacement prop Wayan de Benedittis failed to ground with 32 minutes left.

The final quarter was a turgid affair in humid early summer conditions and Garbisi extended the advantage for the two-time runners-up with a penalty goal with 12 minutes remaining.

Castres scored a consolation try as Vilimoni Botitu glided over with four minutes to go but it failed to dampen the Montpellier fans’ long-awaited celebrations.

© Agence France-Presse

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Devin Hermanus