Ronan O'Gara's La Rochelle bounce back with impressive win over Stade Francais

Teddy Thomas starred while backrow Oscar Jegou returned to action to score a try. 

SATURDAY NIGHT LIGHTS: La Rochelle head coach Ronan O'Gara gestures during the French Top14 match against Stade Francais at The Marcel-Deflandre Stadium . Pic: XAVIER LEOTY/AFP via Getty Images)

Teddy Thomas’s renaissance as an outside centre to watch continued as Ronan O’Gara’s La Rochelle headed into the international break with a 35-18 win over Stade Francais at Stade Marcel Deflandre to put the misery of last weekend’s nilling at Montpellier behind them.

Thomas scored his fifth try in his fourth career outing at 13 – all of them this season – flirting dangerously with the touchline in the 32nd minute of an opening period dominated by the two sides’ defences.

His score apart, the first half was something of a midfield arm-wrestle, with neither side able to break down the others’ organised lines, and with the boot playing a major role.

The visitors’ Louis Carbonel kept his side in the hunt, kicking a perfect six from six.

But the last of his 18 points off the tee were scored in the 48th minute, as the hosts – with released France stars Jonathan Danty and Antoine Hastoy in their ranks – turned the control up to near-total.

Hooker Tolu Latu added the Rochelais’ second try early in the second period, coming up with the ball from the back of a maul following a 5m lineout – while Thomas could not hang on to Ihaia West’s well-judged chip ahead with half an hour left in a more typical central position.

Backrow Oscar Jegou stretched over for the home side’s third on the hour, his try confirmed following a lengthy discussion between referee and TMO, as La Rochelle pulled away.

Will Skelton ran in their fourth nine minutes from time to secure the bonus point, despite late pressure from the visitors, who had Joe Marchant knock on over the line three minutes from time, to miss out on a defensive bonus.

Earlier Clermont, who were made to look very ordinary at Stade Francais last weekend, responded with a thunderous 32-27 win over a heavily rotated Bordeaux.

The victory would have been more convincing but for two tries – both converted by Joey Carbery – for the visitors in the closing six minutes.

Carbery, returning from a fractured hand to play just his second game for the visitors following his summer switch from Munster, kicked five from five – including a tricky conversion after the hooter – to ensure Bordeaux had a losing bonus to celebrate on the near-four hour drive home.

Jeremy Davidson’s Castres, meanwhile, took the lead against Montpellier for the first time in the 84th minute of a spicy match at Stade Pierre Fabre, courtesy of captain Mathieu Babillot’s short-range smuggler’s try. It stole a 30-26 win after they had been 20-3 down after half an hour, and 23-13 in arrears at the break; 26-16 behind after 69 minutes, and with the visitors winning what looked like a match-winning lineout in the closing seconds, with the score still 26-23 in their favour.

Stuart Lancaster’s Racing 92 picked up their second away win of the season, scoring four tries in the second half at Pau to win 33-23, after being 13-6 behind at the break.

Italian scrum-half Stephen Varney’s debut off the bench for Vannes following his early season move from English Premiership side Gloucester ended in a 32-13 defeat at Perpignan. The promoted side remain rooted to the foot of the table, with a worrying gap threatening to open up to the rest of the league Baptiste Serin, recalled to the France squad following Nolan Le Garrec’s training ground injury, and Charles Ollivon – released back to his club this weekend – both impressed as Toulon put last weekend’s 50-point loss at Toulouse in the rearview mirror, beating Lyon 21-10 at Stade Mayol.

Ex-England backrow Jack Willis captains a Toulouse side shorn of many of its French internationals – but still featuring call-ups Josh Brennan, Anthony Jelonch and Matthis Lebel – in Sunday night’s big game at Bayonne. The hosts fight jeu de Toulousain with experience – Maxime Machenaud and Camille Lopez start at nine and 10, while the Top 14’s leading try scorer this season Sireli Maqala starts at 13, outside Manu Tuilagi.