Ronan O'Gara laments red cards which cost La Rochelle dearly in Top 14 semi-final

La Rochelle head coach Ronan O'Gara. Photo by Sam Barnes/Sportsfile

Red cards should sway matches, Ronan O’Gara insisted after seeing his La Rochelle side reduced to 13 for the final quarter of their 39-23 Top 14 semi-final loss against defending champions Toulouse.

“We should have stayed at fifteen,” he said. “It’s a bad habit we have to break. Without those red cards, we could have won.” 

Toulouse fullback Thomas Ramos had earlier suggested the same, telling broadcaster Canal Plus, “Maybe tonight, without those two red cards, we would have lost the match.” 

The semi-final had been nicely poised at the end of the first half. Tries for hooker Tolu Latu and captain Gregory Alldritt bookended a high-intensity opening period that ended advantage La Rochelle on the scoreboard, after Toulouse had scored twice in eight mid-period minutes while Jack Nowell was on a yellow card.

The Rochelais went into the break 20-15 in front. But those second-half red cards for props Uini Atonio, for a dangerous challenge on Thibaud Flament in the 43rd minute, and Reda Wardi, for a headbutt on replacement hooker Julian Marchand just after the hour, brought their challenge to a shuddering halt.

Reda Wardi’s red card after head butting Julien Marchand…

Moment of madness.#TOP14 pic.twitter.com/tGY3Cl22On

— Tight Five Rugby (@TightFive_Rugby) June 21, 2024

“Reda’s red is red. He cracked and there’s no place for that on a rugby pitch,” O’Gara said. “As for Uini’s red, I thought there was some mitigation, because [Flament] ducked into contact. But the best thing would have been to tackle him at the ankles.” 

O’Gara was, ‘disappointed for the fans’ after what had been a promising first-half performance. “When you get two red cards, you go home,” he said. “At half-time, we had sowed doubt in their minds. With the ball we had, we scored easily enough. The plan was the right one – but a match doesn’t last 40 minutes.” 

Two tries in five minutes between Atonio’s red and Wardi’s marching orders gave Toulouse the advantage – but La Rochelle were back to within six points shortly after going down to 13 courtesy of an Antoine Hastoy penalty. Matthis Lebel’s 80th-minute score put something of a flattering gloss on the scoreline for the champions.

Uini Atonio feat Thibaud Flament, óleo sobre lienzo... pic.twitter.com/NCFN0LKCPY

— Javier Señarís Senra (@RutgerBlume) June 21, 2024

Despite the double reds against his side, O’Gara was not about to evangelise in favour of 20-minute cards, however. “I’m 47 and I’m old school,” he said. “A red card should have a big influence in a match. If we’d tackled low all evening, we wouldn’t be having this debate.

“Now, I'm going to try to train them a little better. I'm still proud of the group, no one gave up. I’m just disappointed with the result. The outcome? I don’t know, I’m empty – I need time to think.” 

His opposite number, Ugo Mola admitted a below-par Toulouse had struggled to break free of La Rochelle, even with their second-half numerical advantage. “We knew the match was going to be very tense. We were very poor at the breakdown.

“Even at 13 against 15, we gave them hope. At half-time, we had the impression that we were looking for rhythm and ‘our’ rugby. We made it difficult for ourselves. We won a tough match, but we have work to do [before Friday’s final in Marseille].”