Top 14: Ronan O'Gara's La Rochelle rookies come up short in Montpellier

Opener could have been over as a contest by half time but Ihaia West missed two kickable penalties while Quentin Lespiaucq and Judicael Cancoriet conspired to mess up a gift-wrapped try-scoring chance

TRY: La Rochelle's French wing Nathan Bollengier dives over for his first Top 14 try in Montpellier

La Rochelle’s teenage winger Nathan Bollengier scored three minutes into his Top 14 debut and came within inches of grabbing a second as Ronan O’Gara’s side kicked off their 2023-24 Top 14 campaign with a 26-15 defeat at Montpellier.

It was the home side’s first opening day win in six seasons.

With numerous players away on World Cup duty, the Rochelais fielded a very different-looking side - one, deliberately, featuring several academy players - for their opening weekend trip to the GGL.

A cagey, error-ridden first half in sweltering conditions - the temperature was still 33C when the game kicked off at 9.05pm on Sunday and was still around 30C at the final whistle - was little to write home about. La Rochelle missed their dangerous big runners; Richard Cockerill’s Montpellier were still plagued by the self-doubts of their dismal season as Top 14 champions.

The match could have been over as a contest by halftime, if the Rochelais had been more clinical. As it was, Ihaia West missed two kickable penalties, while Quentin Lespiaucq and Judicael Cancoriet conspired to mess up a gift-wrapped try-scoring chance.

Theirs weren’t the only errors, and Montpellier - more confident in the second half - made them pay. Georgian hooker Vano Karkadze crashed over early in the second half to take the home side into the lead for the first time since the 13th minute, and the combined boots of Louis Carbonel and Leo Coly did the rest, despite Bollengier’s 63rd-minute score.

The Stuart Lancaster-era at Racing 92 began with a 23-18 win over Yannick Bru’s Bordeaux at La Defense Arena. But it started badly, when second row Boris Palu was sent off for a savage and unnecessary croc roll on Jefferson Poirot in the fourth minute.

Nolan Le Garrec scored both Racing’s tries, converted both and added two penalties in a personal haul of 20 points.

Lyon, another side under new management, with Fabien Gengenbacher taking charge following the sacking of Xavier Garbajosa at the end of last season, head the table with 25 rounds of the season to go.

Two tries in the closing 10 minutes gifted them a try-scoring bonus as they beat Toulon 27-15 at Stade Gerland in a match delayed for two hours to avoid the worst of the soaring temperatures in France, as a ‘heat dome’ settled over the country.

An on-the-hooter penalty from new signing Pierre Popelin saw Castres escape with a 24-23 victory over Pau at Stade Pierre Fabre.

Promoted ProD2 champions Oyonnax posted an early warning that they do not plan to be a pushover side, especially at home, with a 36-27 win over an undisciplined Clermont at Stade Charles Mathon.

Early indications suggest, however, that Franck Azema’s Perpignan are in for a long season, after they went down 29-7 at home to inter-regnum side Stade Francais. Former England defence coach Paul Gustard is in temporary charge of day-to-day first-team affairs, as the club waits for the post-World Cup arrival of Laurent Labit and Karim Ghezal from the France coaching set-up.

And Bayonne - entering what is supposed to be a difficult second season back in the top flight - opened their campaign with an impressive 26-7 win over Toulouse’s temporary rag-tag army of players on short-term World Cup joker contracts and academy hopefuls.