Taylor Paris will play against Canada tomorrow after being named in the Castres Olympique side for the preseason friendly at the Stade de la Balmette in Lacaune, France. The Canadian international will suit up on the right wing for the first half of the match, with Castres naming lineups for both halves.
It’s a welcome return to action for Paris, who was rested by Canada coach Kingsley Jones for the June tests after a frustrating season with Castres that saw him play only five first team matches during the 2017-18 season. The 26-test veteran will be keen to secure a starting role with the side ahead of November’s World Cup Repechage qualifiers.
As expected Castres will field numerous international stars against Canada. The Top 14 champions will be led by Uruguayan lock Rodrigo Capó Ortega and former Pumas flyhalf Benjamín Urdapilleta in the first half with six French internationals named along with former South Africa Sevens star Robert Ebersohn.
The second half will offer little relief with Tongan international trio Paea Fa’anunu, Ma’ama Vaipulu, and Steve Mafi all set to feature. French internationals Christophe Samson and Scott Spedding are the only players named in the run-on side for each half.
Kickoff is set for 6pm local time, noon Eastern.
CASTRES OLYMPIQUE – 1st HALF
1 Tudor Stroe, 2 Kevin Firmin, 3 Daniel Kötze, 4 Christophe Samson, 5 Rodrigo Capó Ortega, 6 Baptiste Delaporte, 7 Anthony Jelonch, 8 Alex Tulou, 9 Rory Kockott, 10 Benjamín Urdapilleta, 11 Julien Caminati, 12 Yann David, 13 Robert Ebersohn, 14 Taylor Paris, 15 Scott Spedding
CASTRES OLYMPIQUE – 2nd HALF
1 Antoine Tichit, 2 Marc-Antoine Rallier, 3 Paea Fa’anunu, 4 Christophe Samson, 5 Victor Moreaux, 6 Yannick Caballero, 7 Camille Gerondeau, 8 Ma’ama Vaipulu, 9 Ludovic Radosavljevic, 10 Yohan Le Bourhis, 11 Martin Laveau, 12 Florian Vialelle, 13 Thomas Combezou, 14 Armand Batlle, 15 Scott Spedding
Replacements: Tapu Falatea, Marc Clerc, Steve Mafi, Yohan Domenech, Luca Tharin