Latest news with #Castres'
France 24
17-05-2025
- Sport
- France 24
'Emotional' Castres fall short at Bordeaux-Begles in first game since Raisuqe death
Raisuqe, who turned 30 in July, was killed on May 8 after being hit by a train while driving to training and his mother and father were present at Stade Chaban-Delmas to watch the game. Following the match, players from both sides came together for an emotional on-field rendition of the gospel song "We Shall Overcome" -- synonymous with Fijian rugby -- with Raisque's mum in tears. Raisuqe's team-mate and compatriot Leone Nakarawa was also overcome by emotion as the whole stadium rose to applaud the singing. "With all we've experienced, we were going to play a game with a lot of emotion," Castres' winger Remy Baget said. "On top of the pressure of the match, the resultat and everything, tears were expected," he added. "We managed to control the emotions withing the squad because we could broken down," The hosts, who are preparing for next weekend's Champions Cup final against Northampton, stay second in the table with two rounds of the season to play. Castres are fifth and strengthened their claim for a place in the play-offs with a bonus point thanks to Jeremy Fernandez's late penalty. Pre-game, Bordeaux-Begles fans unfurled a banner saying 'Rest in Peace Josaia', illustrating the impact the Olympic silver medallist's death has had on the sport in France. The away side, five-time French champions, started the game the better, racing into a 14-0 lead after 17 minutes which included a superb finish from Uruguay scrum-half Santiago Arata. The half-back celebrated his try by looking up to the sky in reference to the passing of Raisuqe, who had become a popular member of the Castres squad since his arrival in 2021. The home team took control of the fixture before half-time however, scoring five tries to make it 29-14. The pick of them came just before the half-hour mark from fly-half Matthieu Jalibert, who also set-up half-back partner Maxime Lucu seven minutes earlier. Castres came back into the match thanks to two second-half touchdowns but were unable to find the crucial try late on. O'Gara suspension Raisuqe's first club in France, 13th-placed Stade Francais moved a point out of the relegation play-off spot with a 31-30 win over Lyon thanks to a 79th minute penalty from English fly-half Zack Henry. Bottom-side Vannes suffered a 38-32 loss at Bayonne and Perpigan dropped into 13th place with a 31-13 loss away to Clermont. Champions Toulouse entertain Racing 92 in the final game of the day. On Sunday, Ronan O'Gara's La Rochelle face Montpellier in the hunt for the play-offs with the former Ireland fly-half in the midst of a five-week suspension. Last week, O'Gara refused to leave the team bus for the start of the win at Vannes in protest against his ban for his behaviour towards a match official in January's loss at Toulon.
Toronto Sun
08-05-2025
- Sport
- Toronto Sun
Olympic rugby medalist Josaia Raisuqe of Fiji dies at 30
Published May 08, 2025 • 1 minute read Castres' Fiji wing Josaia Raisuqe (L) runs with the ball. Getty Images Josaia Raisuqe, a Paris Olympics medalist, was killed in a road crash on Thursday, his Castres rugby club said. He was 30. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Raisuqe was reportedly on his way to training when his vehicle was hit by a train. 'Castres Olympique is in mourning,' the club said in a statement on its website. 'It is with heavy hearts that we learned of the death this morning of our player Josaia Raisuqe in a road accident. 'The entire CO family is devastated by this terrible news. Josh had been a member of the club since 2021. He was a wonderful teammate, much loved by everyone, including the Castres supporters who had embraced him. We extend our sincere condolences and thoughts to his family and loved ones.' Raisuqe appeared on the wing for the Top 14 club less than two weeks ago. He was in the Fiji team which won the Olympic silver medal in rugby sevens in Paris last year. He scored a try against the United States in pool play and started in the final against France. He's been playing club rugby in France since 2015, when he joined Top 14 champion Stade Francais. He also played for second-division side Nevers, and got into an infamous incident in 2021 when, overjoyed by a win, he hoisted the referee over his head after the fulltime whistle. The ref gave him a red card. The following season, Castres deployed Raisuqe as a flanker en route to the 2022 Top 14 final. 'He was a radiant boy on and off the field, a pillar of the Fijian community we have at the club and to which we are very attached,' Castres chairman Pierre-Yves Revol said. 'It is also difficult at this time not to mention the faith of all these (Fijian) players and of Josaia. My thoughts are with his fiancee and his entire family.' Check out our sports section for the latest news and analysis. Toronto Maple Leafs Canada Editorial Cartoons Ontario Sunshine Girls
New York Times
08-05-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Olympic silver medalist rugby player dies in road accident aged 30
Josaia Raisuqe, who won a silver medal with Fiji at the 2024 Olympic Games, has died at the age of 30. His death was announced by his club, French team Castres Olympique, on Thursday afternoon. 'Castres Olympique is in mourning,' the club said in a statement. 'It is with a heavy heart that we learned of the death this morning in a road accident of our player Josaia Raisuqe. The entire CO family is devastated by this terrible news. Advertisement 'He was a wonderful team-mate who was much appreciated by everyone.' Castres' match against Clermont Auvergne, originally scheduled for Saturday, has been postponed. 'We are in a state of shock following Josaia's sudden death,' said club president Pierre-Yves Revol. 'He was a radiant young man, both on and off the pitch, and a pillar of the Fijian community that we have at the Club and to which we are very attached.' Raisuqe, a winger, had been at Castres since 2021. The club play in the Top 14, the highest level of French domestic rugby, and finished as runners-up in 2022 after losing in the final to Montpellier. Raisuqe was part of the squad that took silver at last summer's Paris Olympics in the seven-a-side format. Fiji topped Group C and defeated Ireland and Australia in the quarter-finals and semi-finals respectively before losing to France in the gold medal match. (Valentine Chapuis/AFP via Getty Images)
The Independent
12-04-2025
- Sport
- The Independent
Northampton's growing list of Lions contenders sparkle in Castres thrashing
Given that Castres' last visit to the Franklin's Gardens ended in a 38-8 defeat before Christmas, you'd be forgiven for putting a broader, more red-tinged spin on Saturday night's Investec Champions Cup quarter-final. Northampton, after all, are laden with British and Irish Lions hopefuls; Fin Smith, Tommy Freeman, and Alex Mitchell chief among them. Dare we add 20-year-old Henry Pollock to that list? Or even full-back George Furbank, playing in his first game since breaking his arm back in December? Saturday night featured a Castres line-up which closer resembled a first choice XV than that cold winter evening. All Black Jack Goodhue was in the centres, while scrumhalf Jeremy Fernandez's work off the tee temporarily kept his side in the contest. Round two of this fixture was initially a much tighter affair before Saints pulled away in the second half, 51-16 the final margin. A more competitive contest, featuring niggle and yellow cards aplenty, may well stand to those being considered by Lions boss Andy Farrell. Anyone watching his Ireland side in recent years knows the English coach values how players respond to adversity more than anything else. The initial plaudits go to Furbank, arguably the man with the most to do after missing the Six Nations. An injury to George Hendy saw the England full-back, right arm heavily bandaged, summoned from the bench after just four minutes. His first touch was to take a deft pass from Smith and break into the 22. On seven minutes, his sensational one-handed offload, thrown just before being tackled into touch, sent Freeman in for the opening score. This after the Saints wing had already burned past a defender in the build-up. Furbank added a second assist when his grubber was finished off by hooker Curtis Langdon. He had a third try involvement with a score of his own just after half-time, a powerful finish from close range beginning Saints' march out of sight. Not that the final result came easily. In a tetchy first half, Smith was hit hard on multiple occasions. Such was the late nature of his handling, beautifully drawing in defenders, the collisions were legal. Just. The local crowd was understandably protective of their young fly half. They grew even more vocal when Josh Kemeny thought he had scored. A last-ditch tackle shunted him into touch, but it was high. Bizarrely, Castres avoided a card and penalty try, referee Andrea Piardi deciding to award just a penalty. Home frustration grew when it looked like Pollock had combined with Kemeny to pull off a try-saving tackle close to the Northampton line. Fernandez grounded the ball after the superb recovery. Despite home cries of a knock-on while looking at the big screen, the score stood. Castres trailed just 15-10 after 25 minutes. Eventually, Piardi began to agree with some of the ire aimed at the visitors by those on the terraces. Castres' dominance of the defensive breakdown yielded three first half turnovers, but their belligerence eventually saw penalties swing the other way. Multiple infringements resulted in Leone Nakarawa being sent to the bin. Alex Coles scored off a clever maul play from the resulting lineout. Fernandez notched a penalty either side of half-time to mitigate against the card damage, but Saints ultimately found a way of breaking the visiting resistance. Furbank's score was followed by the now customary pair of Pollock highlight reels. Twice he ran off the shoulder of a jinking Mitchell, twice he scored under the posts. One celebration featured an NFL-style spike of the ball. The other was a basketball shot towards the crowd. Call it youthful exuberance if you like, but this 20-year-old is certainly enjoying his rugby. What he did not enjoy was a dangerous clearout of which he was the target. That collision and the subsequent melee saw Remy Baget and Lois Guerois-Galisson binned for Castres. Northampton's Temo Mayanavanua suffered the same fate for retaliating. Northampton's reward for this victory is a semi-final date in Dublin with Leinster, the second time in as many years they've met the Irish side. Given the dour nature of their Premiership title defence, Europe presents the Saints' last hope at silverware. Last year, they gave Leinster a scare. This time around, the Irish province seems to be a different beast, their swarming, Jacques Nienaber-led defence nilling Harlequins and Glasgow in back-to-back knockout matches. The bookies will tell you a Northampton appearance in May's final is unlikely. Yet the individual battles will be worth the price of admission alone. Injury-permitting, Furbank should start opposite Hugo Keenan. Freeman and James Lowe, favoured Lions starters, will be running down the same wing. Pollock and Josh van der Flier should both wear seven on the day, while Smith will have his own personal battle with Sam Prendergast. Mitchell - named player of the match tonight - will square off against Jamison Gibson-Park. Such Lions permutations the weekend before Farrell - who lives just around the corner from the Aviva Stadium - names his touring party? Go on then.
