Castres fans ready to make noise

CASTRES fans are turning up the heat in anticipation of Munster’s arrival this weekend, with one of their chief supporters calling on the club’s fans to come out in numbers to cheer on the French side in this Friday’s crucial Heineken Cup encounter.

Though Castres are out of contention, Olivier Saint Loubert, a member of the supporters’ club Puissance Castres, didn’t mince his words on the club website this week.

“This isn’t a match like all the others,” said Saint Loubert. “Munster is a special team because their supporters are incredible, their support is unconditional.

“With Munster, we’ve met them each time we’ve played in the Heineken Cup - it’s a gala match!”

Acknowledging that Munster always bring a passionate crowd - Castres are expecting at least 2,000 red-jerseyed fans.

Saint Loubert compares the ‘match’ between those on the terraces to that between the players.

“It’s never easy, neither on the pitch nor on the terraces. That’s why we’re making a call to supporters to come out in numbers to support the team and to make more noise than the Irish.

“But for that it’s necessary also to be in the colours of the club, in blue and white with hats and scarves, with flags and banners - because I can assure you that they’ll all be coming dressed in red!”

Asked if that will be sufficient to beat ‘l’ogre Irlandais’, Saint Loubert is frank about the challenges his beloved Castres face.

“We’ll see about that at the end of the game, but Castres are also a big team with great support. In all these cases it’s the support of the fans which should give the team that little bit extra to overcome the difficulties of this encounter.

“We want people to come out in big numbers and to dress in blue and white in order to show our players that all of Castres is behind them - and those from the surrounding area!”