O'Gara gets giant boost from returning Alldritt as La Rochelle roast Toulouse

Top 14 round-up: After three-straight defeats, Corkman's side head into New Year on a high but third red card in recent weeks spoils comprehensive win

BOUNCING BACK: La Rochelle's Irish coach Ronan O'Gara is seen ahead of the French Top14 rugby union match between Stade Rochelais (La Rochelle) and Stade Toulousain Rugby (Toulouse) at The Marcel-Deflandre Stadium in La Rochelle, western France on December 30, 2023. Pic: XAVIER LEOTY / AFP

Gregory Alldritt made an early return from his extended post-World Cup sabbatical as Ronan O’Gara’s La Rochelle beat a heavily rotated Toulouse 29-8 in a long-awaited rerun of last season’s Top 14 final.

But a second-half red for Thomas Lavault – La Rochelle’s third red in recent weeks – for a dangerous clear-out leaves O’Gara with more selection issues as the defending champions head into the second block of Champions Cup matches.

Alldritt had been due to return to club action next month for the first time since the defeat in last June’s showpiece match, but the form and injury crisis at Stade Marcel Deflandre prompted him to cut short his break.

Toulouse, meanwhile, chose to rest several players, including Antoine Dupont, Thomas Ramos, Cyril Baille, and in-form centre pairing of Pierre-Louis Barassi and Pita Ahki. The France number eight came on in the 53rd minute – with the score already 29-3 in the hosts’ favour, having watched from the bench, as La Rochelle weathered an early, ferocious Toulouse storm, before settling into a match-winning rhythm.

A penalty try, as a maul was brought down on the line on 14 minutes, was the breaking point. Levani Botia and teenage winger Nathan Bollengier then scored in a two-minute spell just before half-time – the 19-year-old intercepting a pass and running in from 30m with the clock in the red at the end of the first half.

Dillyn Leyds added La Rochelle’s fourth 11 minutes into the second half, as they ended a three-match losing streak in emphatic, bonus-point style. Both he and Botia were denied later scores as the hosts dominated proceedings and headed into the New Year with a desperately needed victory, after three defeats on the bounce.

Darren Sweetnam opened the scoring for promoted Oyonnax as they again proved that they aren’t planning to give up Top 14 status without a fight by beating high-flying Pau – for whom All Black legend Sam Whitelock made his delayed debut – 34-13 at Stade Charles Mathon.

Bordeaux showed off their attacking depth as they won an eight-try blink-and-you’ll-miss-something thriller at Clermont 40-35, despite resting Damian Penaud, Matthieu Jalibert, and Louis Bielle-Biarrey for the trip to Stade Marcel Michelin.

Madosh Tambwe scored his third and fourth tries of the season in the first 25 minutes of just his fifth match of the current campaign, as the visitors raced into a 20-7 lead. The winger is out of contract at the end of the season – and a number of clubs are watching with great interest.

Six minutes into the second half, Clermont had dragged themselves to within a point at 22-23, and took the lead for the first time in the match just after the hour. Bordeaux went ahead again when Maxime Lucu converted Jefferson Poirot’s 72nd-minute try.

An Anthony Belleau penalty in the 77th minute looked to have won it for the hosts – but Pete Samu gathered the restart, and burst clear to score the softest of dramatic late 40m run-in tries to record Bordeaux’s sixth win in a row in all competitions.

Stuart Lancaster’s Racing 92 seemed odds-on to end Bayonne’s 23-month unbeaten run at Stade Jean Dauger in the early minutes of the second half, after Henry Arundell scored his fifth Top 14 try of the season and Nolan Le Garrec his sixth. But the Basque side had other ideas, coming back from 20-7 down to win 27-23 thanks to Remy Baget’s late touchdown.

Leicester Fainga’anuku opened his Top 14 try account with a short-range flopover from the back of a ruck as Toulon beat Stade Francais 19-5 to maintain their unbeaten home run this season, and take the early advantage in the annual two-leg Trophee Christophe Dominici challenge between the two sides.

Lyon survived a nervy encounter of the strugglers’ kind against bottom-of-the-table Montpellier, winning 20-18 thanks to a penalty try and a moment of evasive brilliance from David Niniashvili midway through the first half.

Castres host Perpignan in the final Top 14 match of 2023 at Stade Pierre Fabre on Sunday afternoon.