'Are the players fighting for me? ... No' — O'Gara questions La Rochelle future after Racing loss

Top 14 roundup: Fifth defeat in a row has Irish coach doubting his position: 'It’s a real option if the message is not getting through that it might be better without me'

ASKING HARD QUESTIONS: La Rochelle head coach Ronan O'Gara gestures during the French Top14 rugby union match between La Rochelle and Toulouse at the Marcel-Deflandre Stadium. Picture: Xavier Leoty/AFP

Ronan O’Gara questioned his La Rochelle future after struggling Racing 92 condemned the two-time Champions Cup winners to a fifth defeat in a row in all competitions – and sparked crisis talk at Stade Marcel Deflandre.

After last weekend’s heavy defeat at Lyon saw them slip out of the play-off places for the first time since the second weekend of the season, O’Gara said: “We’ll react, that’s for sure. We’ll show our supporters that they can count on us.” The whistles from the home crowd as the players went in 10-0 down at halftime, en route to a 21-26 loss, clearly indicated the supporters aren’t convinced. They weren’t the only ones. O’Gara admitted afterwards: “It’s a crisis, we have to accept it. We had an unacceptable first half for a Top 14 team, after the defeat in Lyon.