La Rochelle give Ronan O'Gara plenty to smile about in seven-try rout

The Maritimes, with O’Gara in the stands as he begins his 10-week touchline suspension, were on top from first minute to last to win their third game in five.

La Rochelle Ronan O'Gara watches from the stands as his side register an easy win over Castres

RONAN O’Gara will have had little to complain about as his La Rochelle side returned to Top 14 action following the international break with a thumping seven-try 53-7 win over Castres at Stade Marcel Deflandre.

It was a walk in the Stade for the hosts, who scored their first try after just two minutes, a second in the 10th minute, two more in the first 40, and a fifth seven minutes into the second half. Two more Rochelais’ tries followed before an overwhelmed Castres finally broke their duck less than two minutes from the merciful release of the final whistle.

La Rochelle, with O’Gara in the stands as he begins his 10-week touchline suspension, were on top from first minute to last to win their third game in five. For the visitors, it was a miserable afternoon - more humiliating than their 62-3 loss against the same opponents at the same ground in October 2020 when their squad had been badly hit by Covid, and they fielded only 22 players, including several from the academy. There was, at least, some mitigation then.

Elsewhere, Montpellier picked up a try-scoring bonus as they beat Bayonne 35-14 at the GGL Stadium, despite playing 75 minutes with 14 players after Florian Verhaeghe was sent off early on for a dangerous ruck entry.

Bordeaux and Christophe Urios parted company during the international window, after a 33-7 humiliation at Pau in early November. Former Bayonne manager Yannick Bru, currently working as a consultant in South Africa, is expected to join the club in time for the 2023/24 campaign. Their inter-regnum, with Frederic Charrier in interim charge, ended in a 23-20 loss at Perpignan.

Another managerless side, Brive, are already in deep trouble at the foot of the table, five points adrift of 13th-placed Perpignan. They lost 22-6 at Pau, who climbed to a provisional eighth in the table with their third win in a row.

The first leg of the second annual Trophée Christophe Dominici between Stade Francais and Toulon - which kicked off days after the second anniversary of the international winger’s death - was a frenetic, error-ridden mess of a match. Such games can be wildly entertaining. This was a notable exception, until Toulon prop Beka Gigashvili flopped over the line after 57 minutes. Facundo Isa added a second 11 minutes later, as Toulon won 17-12 on the road to maintain a loose grip on the perspex prize.

On Sunday, Racing 92 host Clermont at La Defense Arena, while Lyon entertain Toulouse at Stade Gerland.