La Rochelle back to winning ways against Brive

BRACED FOR IMPACT: La Rochelle's French prop Thierry Paiva (C) runs with the ball during the French Top14 rugby union match against Brive at Stadium Amedee-Domenech. Pic: Diarmid Courreges/AFP via Getty Images

After two defeats in as many matches, Ronan O’Gara’s La Rochelle returned to winning ways in their last Top 14 match before the international break - but they had to fight all the way for the points against bottom-of-the-table Brive.

The win moved La Rochelle to provisional second in the table, level with Stade Francais and Racing 92, and nine points behind leaders Toulouse.