Clermont lead the early season Top 14 table. The top of the table has been unsteady in the early days. Toulon’s struggles continue to mount, and Racing 92 are fighting to find their stride. Last season’s leaders at the end of the regular season find themselves back on top. This success has been due in large part to the success of winger Noa Nakaitaci.
Top 14 Try Scoring leader Noa Nakaitaci looking to continue his early-season success for Clermont
Noa Nakaitaci has performed well during his five seasons with Clermont scoring 23 tries before the start of this season. He is already on track to advance well beyond that with five tries in six games this season. His speed will be an advantage against a Castres team that average one yellow card per game this season. When the man advantage comes, which is likely to happen, his outside edge will give Clermont a large margin to work with.
Présentation du @CastresRugby en chiffres… avant la rencontre #ASMCO du samedi 1er octobre à 14h45 au Michelin https://t.co/l3Mk5MKCyD pic.twitter.com/JTp7dwbFof
— ASM Rugby (@ASMOfficiel) September 27, 2016
Castres defense stifling over the first six games
Noa Nakaitaci’s skill set will be essential against a Castres team that has allowed the fewest tries of any team in the Top 14. Nakaitaci alone has scored more than Castres has allowed (5-3). In addition to the low volume of tries allowed, Castres are second in the Top 14 in scoring allowed behind Montpellier. Last week against Racing 92, Castres missed only six tackles over the course of the entire game. Even though they have one of the highest rates of yellow cards received, it is the inevitable result of a powerful aggressive defense. Castres will need to rely on fly half Ben Urdipaletta’s kicking skills to find success in the coming battle. Urdipaletta ranks fourth amongst kickers this season with 45 points. The only item for Castres that keeps them from being a top four team is their low try scoring. Scoring only one try more than your top flight defense has allowed does not make for a successful season no matter how successful your kicker is.
Clermont have proven themselves in the early stages of this season. A solid performance by Noa Nakaitaci and the edge of the home stadium will help them find the win.
All statistics courtesy of Statbunker
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