There was never much doubt over the outcome, whatever the chaos in the air, whatever the vagaries of the home team’s form. English champions at home to a side renowned, even by the standards of the French, for their travel sickness is a fixture that should not require a shaman to divine.
So it turned out. Northampton emerge from the floodlit, swirling rainstorm with the full complement of points, six tries and the successful reintegration of Alex Mitchell into their starting lineup. It would be misleading to describe this as a return to their champion form of last season, just as it would be unfair to describe Castres as waving them through obligingly, but this was virtually the definition of a job done with the minimum of fuss.
