Ronan O'Gara's La Rochelle roar back from 13-point deficit to claim Bordeaux Begles scalp

Montpellier owner Mohed Altrad confirmed he had hired former FFR President Bernard Laporte to be his new director of rugby. 

ROARING COMEBACK: Pierre Bourgarit scored two tries as Ronan O’Gara’s La Rochelle roared back from 21-8 down after 54 minutes to beat Bordeaux 25-21 at Stade Marcel Michelin. Pic: David Rogers/Getty Images

French international hooker Pierre Bourgarit scored two tries as Ronan O’Gara’s La Rochelle roared back from 21-8 down after 54 minutes to beat Bordeaux 25-21 at Stade Marcel Michelin.

A fifth defeat in seven – and a second loss in three at home – seemed inevitable for La Rochelle when Damian Penaud, fed by a crossfield kick from Matthieu Jalibert, opened his Bordeaux try account on his first start for the club 14 minutes into the second half.

It was the visitors second try in seven minutes, and Penaud was involved in both of them. He had skirted with the touchline while at full chat, but still managed to get an inside pass away to 20-year-old centre Nicolas Depoortère, who rounded last defender Teddy Thomas to score under the posts.

That one-two try-scoring punch shocked a dormant La Rochelle into life. UJ Seuteni went over from the restart, and replacement fly-half Hugo Reus – their match-winning hero last week against Bayonne – landed a tricky conversion.

Hooker Pierre Bourgarit, who played 77 minutes, had scored the game’s opening try half an hour into a thoroughly forgettable first period, mauled over by French team-mate Uini Atonio – recently persuaded to delay his international retirement by Fabien Galthie – following a 5m lineout.

And he would get shoved over for his second in the 67th minute, as La Rochelle ripped the lead back. Reus converted, and added a penalty to give the hosts a four-point cushion that allowed them to keep Bordeaux at arm’s length for the remainder of the match.

Montpellier owner Mohed Altrad acted quickly after his side slipped to the foot of the table following a 23-16 loss at fellow strugglers Perpignan on Saturday - their sixth defeat in a row.

By mid-morning on Sunday, Altrad confirmed he had hired former FFR President Bernard Laporte - with whom he has a long and well-reported history - to be his new director of rugby. Hours later, manager Richard Cockerill was relieved of his duties after just seven matches, as was head coach Jean-Baptiste Elissalde. Patrice Collazo, sacked as coach of ProD2 side Brive last week, will head up a hastily assembled new-look coaching set-up, working with Vincent Etcheto, Christian Labit and Antoine Battut.

Scrum-half Nolan Le Garrec put on an ‘international-standard’ performance as Racing 92 won a rain-sodden arm-wrestle of a derby against Stade Francais at Stade Jean Bouin, according to head coach Stuart Lancaster.

The 21-year-old, “had one of the best matches I have seen him play,” the former Leinster coach said after his side’s 13-9 win, their eighth in a row on their Parisian rivals’ home turf.

In the week it was confirmed France captain Antoine Dupont will miss the 2024 Six Nations as he switches focus to the sevens game ahead of the Paris Olympics, Le Garrec wasted no time making an early case for Fabien Galthie’s consideration as a replacement with a composed performance in difficult conditions.

Le Garrec was busy around the many rucks on a day that favoured close-quarter, forward-heavy rugby, took charge of the exits and had the upper-hand over his opposite number, veteran Rory Kockott, all match, even as Racing’s pack was backpedalling in the scrums.

Alun Wyn Jones brought down the curtain on a remarkable career by captaining Toulon to a thrilling 30-27 win at Clermont. He left the pitch to a standing ovation with 14 minutes left, but came back on as an injury replacement as Toulon weathered a 30-phase clock-in-the-red assault on their line, after taking the lead via a Jiuta Wainiqolo try in the 78th minute.

Another veteran, All Black Owen Franks, also called time on his career at the end of a short-term World Cup contract with Toulouse. Unlike Jones, his last match ended in defeat, 31-23 at the conclusion of a frenetic six-try derby at Castres.

Bayonne had the worst attack in the Top 14 coming into this weekend, having managed only score seven tries in the first six matches of the season. But they went some way to correcting their stuttering start with ball in hand, crossing four times in 80 minutes in front of a joyous packed house at Stade Jean Dauger to end Pau’s five-match winning streak with a 35-16 victory.

Oyonnax climbed to 10th in the table with a 38-20 win over Lyon at Stade Charles Mathon. “It’s not disappointment, it’s anger,” Lyon’s international scrum-half Baptiste Couilloud told Canal Plus immediately afterwards. “[We were] not worthy of the jersey.”