Relief for O'Gara as last-minute drama seals much-needed La Rochelle victory 

A week after O'Gara deadpanned 'something has to change, I hope it's not the coach', his struggling side dig deep and beat Bayonne for first win since August

WET AND WILD: La Rochelle's coach Ronan O'Gara stands on the pitch ahead of the French Top14 rugby union match between Stade Rochelais (La Rochelle) and Aviron Bayonnais (Bayonne) at the Marcel-Deflandre stadium in La Rochelle, western France on November 11, 2023. Pic: XAVIER LEOTY/AFP

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It was far from pretty, but Ronan O’Gara and the 82nd sell-out crowd in a row at Stade Marcel Michelin will no doubt take La Rochelle’s last-minute rain-soaked 18-15 win over Bayonne.

The hosts welcomed back eight of their 11 World Cup stars to the matchday squad, but it was France under-20 star Hugo Reus – who had come on for Antoine Hastoy a few minutes previously – who slotted the far-from-straightforward decisive penalty with seconds left on the clock.

A week after O’Gara had threatened, with bleak humour, “Something has to change quickly and I hope it's not the coach,” after defeat at Oyonnax, he named eight of his 11 internationals in the matchday squad, five of them in the starting line-up.

Gregory Alldritt is taking a pre-agreed extended break, and will not return until January, but UJ Seuteni, Jonathan Danty, Antoine Hastoy, Paul Boudehent, Levani Botia, Pierre Bourgarit, Uini Atonio and Joel Sclavi were all in the 23.

Most had only returned to group training this week, but the decision – and the need, given La Rochelle’s lowly league position – was taken to throw them straight back into match action.

Hastoy and veteran Camille Lopez had shared the points, with the two sides inseparable on the scoreboard as the clock ticked past the hour.

For a large part of the game, La Rochelle looked the most dangerous side. But, time and again, they lost possession at crucial moments and – as the clock ticked down – a draw seemed increasingly inevitable, until Reus landed his tricky, angled 40m penalty.

Earlier, a Toulouse side also restocked with internationals – with Antoine Dupont coming off the bench and Thomas Ramos starting at 10 – beat Perpignan 43-34 in a 10-try extravaganza at a sold-out Stade Ernest Wallon.

With Ramos pulling the strings, the defending champions raced into a 31-6 halftime lead, with Anthony Jelonch, Ange Capuozzo and Richie Arnold among the scorers.

Dupont came on early in the second half – to the delight of the sold-out crowd – as a replacement for Ramos, who had picked up a calf injury and was taken off as a precaution. Peato Mauvaka and Melvyn Jaminet crossed in the second half for Toulouse, but Perpignan won the second-half trycount four-two.

Santiago Arata scored his second try in three matches since his return to club action after the World Cup, as Castres beat Oyonnax 39-11 at Stade Pierre Fabre.

Toby Arnold’s final game for Lyon after 10 seasons, two ProD2 titles and a Challenge Cup winners’ medal ended in disappointment, as they lost 36-32 at home to Stade Francais. Despite sharing 68 points, the two sides managed just five tries between them, with Paddy Jackson and Zack Henry carving up the scoreboard off the tee.

Christophe Urios’s Clermont, meanwhile, ended a year-long wait for an away win, with a 20-17 success at struggling Montpellier. Richard Cockerill’s side have now lost five matches in a row, and are 13th, just two points ahead of bottom-of-the-table Perpignan.

At the other end of the standings, Pau – leaders for the past two weeks – recorded their fifth victory in a row, a 20-11 win over a Bordeaux side that featured new signing Damian Penaud for the first time.

Springbok captain Siya Kolisi was unveiled as a Racing 92 player this week – but fans will have to wait for his first outing in the ciel-et-blanc, pencilled in for the visit of La Rochelle to La Defense Arena on November 26. But England prodigy Henry Arundell is set to make his debut for Stuart Lancaster’s side against Toulon at Stade Mayol on Sunday.