Top 14: Dulin parks World Cup woe to star in La Rochelle rebound

Ronan O’Gara’s side bounced back from opening-day defeat at Montpellier with a win over Lyon.

La Rochelle's French full-back Brice Dulin (C) fights for the ball with Lyon's French hooker Yanis Charcosset (L) during the French Top14 rugby union match between Stade Rochelais and Lyon at Raymond-Kopa stadium in Angers, on August 26, 2023.  (Photo by LOIC VENANCE/AFP via Getty Images)

France World Cup squad reject Brice Dulin made an immediate return to the La Rochelle fold and got the scoreboard rolling as Ronan O’Gara’s side bounced back from opening-day defeat at Montpellier with a four-tries-to-two 35-14 win over Lyon.

Ongoing work at Stade Marcel Deflandre meant the match was moved two hours and nearly 200km up the A87 in western France to the 20,000-capacity Stade Raymond Kopa, in Angers.

The ‘home’ faithful were not put off by the additional travel, selling out a ground that more regularly hosts Ligue 2 football.

And they were treated to a bravura display from the youngsters in the squad, filling in for bigger-name players, who were well supported by a liberal shake of experienced stars.

Sporting bleu-blanc-rouge in a nod to the French national squad, busy preparing for a certain tournament in the Landes department, under-20 world champions Hugo Reus and Oscar Jegou, and 21-year-old hooker Billy Pollard gave the fans plenty to cheer about.

Reus, given the nod for the 10 shirt over Ihaia West, ran the first-half impressively and kicked 11 points before he was replaced early in the second half. Pollard, on a short-term World Cup joker contract, crashed over from close range to score on his club debut.

And flanker Jegou was exactly where flankers should be, doing exactly what flankers should do when Jack Nowell broke clear early in the second half. A penalty try completed the scoring.

Ex-Leinster coach Stuart Lancaster tasted Top 14 defeat for the first time in his second match, as Racing 92 lost 19-17 at Pau, despite winning the try count three-one. The losing bonus point will be some comfort.

Madosh Tambwe and Mahamadou Diaby both scored as Bordeaux raced to a 20-6 halftime lead against Castres at Stade Chaban Delmas, as they dominated territory, possession and the set-piece. But Yannick Bru’s increasingly frustrated side struggled to build on that foundation, winning 25-23, as Castres fought their way back into the game.

Oyonnax deserved better than having to make the long return trip to the Jura with nothing after giving Stade Francais a scare in Paris. But, a converted 75m chargedown try and a last-minute drop goal gave the capital side the four points a 28-18 win.

Summer signing Joris Jurand scored two of Clermont’s five tries as they beat Perpignan 38-14.

A livewire, point-to-prove performance from another France World Cup reject, scrum-half Baptiste Serin, helped Toulon win a hard-fought encounter against Bayonne 19-14.

World Cup-weakened defending champions Toulouse, beaten at Bayonne in the curtain-raising match of the new season, return to the familiar surroundings of Stade Ernest Wallon on Sunday for their first home match of the campaign, against a confident Montpellier, who got the better of O’Gara’s young guns at the GGL last Sunday.