Bath Rugby will enter their 2025/26 Investec Champions Cup pool match against Castres Olympique on Friday night without England internationals Sam Underhill and Ollie Lawrence. Both players sustained knocks during Bath’s 33-26 Gallagher Premiership victory over Exeter Chiefs last Saturday and are ruled out for this crucial pool stage encounter in the south of France.
The flanker Underhill and centre Lawrence join an injury list that includes Charlie Ewels, Ewan Richards, Jaco Coetzee, Ciaran Donoghue, and Neil le Roux, limiting Bath’s options. The club has yet to provide an update on the expected recovery timelines for Underhill and Lawrence.
Pool 2 remains wide open, with all six teams having posted one win and one loss apiece after the opening rounds. With so much at stake, Bath head coach Johann van Graan has made some adjustments but retains much of the pack that secured victory against Exeter. The front row of Beno Obano, Tom Dunn, and Vilikesa Sela remains unchanged, as does the back row pairing of Ted Hill and man of the match Alfie Barbeary, with Miles Reid coming in to complete the forwards.
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In the tight five, Quinn Roux returns to start alongside Ross Molony in the second row. Ben Spencer will captain from scrum-half, partnering Finn Russell at fly-half. The backline sees Cameron Redpath continue at inside centre, with Max Ojomoh returning from a calf injury to start at outside centre (13). Will Muir, Henry Arundell, and Santi Carreras round out the backs.
On the bench, Bath have impact players including Francois van Wyk, Kepu Tuipulotu, and Thomas du Toit ready to make a difference, supported by replacements Josh Bayliss, Guy Pepper, Tom Carr-Smith, Will Butt, and Joe Cokanasiga.
The game kicks off at 8 pm UK time at the Stade Pierre-Fabre. Castres will field a strong side with Baptiste Delaporte leading as captain.
This match is pivotal in the tightly contested Pool 2, where every point counts as teams fight to progress to the knockout stages of Europe’s premier club rugby competition.