Chris Gabriel made a strong impression in his first appearance of the season during a match against Clermont, his former club, and should be retained on the bench for the upcoming game against Toulouse. This would help compensate for the absence of Tom Staniforth, who is recovering from a minor ankle injury. The match, which is part of the 5th round of the competition, will be affected by the numerous absences from Stade Toulousain, with 22 players currently unavailable due to injuries, as reported by the press. On the Tarnais side, the number of injuries is lower, but several key players are still unavailable for the match against the reigning French champions. Tom Staniforth will not be present for this game, as he is recovering from his injury. Other notable absences for Castres include Vuate Karawalevu, who is also recovering from a minor injury, and Dalton Papali'i, who was injured during pre-season but has recently returned to training. Alex Burin is sidelined with a calf injury, and Febyan Tukino is still in recovery after an injury sustained in a previous match against Toulon. To replace Tom Staniforth, who is an international French second row player, Castres is likely to field Florian Vanverberghe in the starting lineup. However, Chris Gabriel is expected to make his first appearance on the Pierre-Fabre pitch against Stade Toulousain. This decision seems to please the Tarnais manager, Xavier Sadourny, who has known Gabriel from his time at Clermont. Sadourny noted that Gabriel had the physical and athletic potential but lacked the specific skills required for the position, such as touch and scrum work. He believes that Gabriel has improved significantly since moving to Pro D2 in Nevers, where he gained more experience and now appears more complete as a player. Gabriel's performance against Clermont was impressive, as he played 35 minutes and exerted his strength, weighing around 130 kg, on the Auvergne defense. He made notable contributions, including recovering the ball in rucks and making an offload behind a pack of forwards. His performance was promising, and there is optimism about how he will perform in the upcoming match against Toulouse.