'We saw Neymar' - O'Gara hits out at Stade overreaction as La Rochelle lose sixth in a row

Top 14 round-up: Confidence crisis deepens for Corkman's charges after slow start costs them dearly. “What are we waiting for? I'm losing sleep over it," O'Gara said 

TOUGH TIMES: Ronan O'Gara, head coach of Stade Rochelais. Pic: David Rogers/Getty Images)

A sixth defeat in a row in all competitions – their fourth on the bounce in the Top 14 – saw Ronan O’Gara’s La Rochelle slip deeper into a severe confidence crisis, as they succumbed to a 22-17 loss at Stade Francais who came into the match at the foot of the table.

A frustrated O’Gara accused the hosts’ flanker Romain Briatte of over-reacting to a clear-out at a ruck from Will Skelton that got the Australian sent off 20 minutes in, leaving La Rochelle to play an hour with 14.

“There’s a balance to be struck between aggressiveness, intelligence and the act of clearing [a ruck],” he said. “Unfortunately, today we were at Parc des Princes and we saw Neymar. A player doing that – it was interesting, the reaction.” Stade’s Sekou Macalou also saw red, for a croc roll, in a dismal first half dominated by the boot of Zack Henry – who landed four of his five penalties and converted Samuel Ezeala’s try before the break – and the whistle of referee Jeremy Rozier.

La Rochelle could barely string a pass together for the first hour – but rediscovered something that looked, in the right light, like attacking mojo, in the final quarter, scoring twice and being held-up over the tryline twice more to head back to the Atlantic coast with a losing bonus.

“We were very strong for [the last] 20 minutes, but too weak for [the first] 60. We lack confidence,” O’Gara said. “It was a mental battle at the start of the match, and we gave our opponents too many easy solutions. We're too undisciplined.” 

The fightback was enough to give O’Gara a hint of infuritation-tinted hope. “What are we waiting for? The game starts in the first minute! I'm losing sleep over it, but that’s for the long term, if there is a long term. I hope so.

“My goal is to win a Brennus. It's completely crazy to say that today, but with the right player selection..." 

It’s not entirely out of the question. Despite their current malaise, the Rochelais remain two points off the play-off places, and five points adrift of fourth-placed Bayonne, who host Clermont on Sunday.

But their fall-off has been rapid. They have picked up only six league points in 2025, four of those on January 4 in a narrow victory over a Toulouse squad so young some of them had barely started shaving, and only 16 in the past 11 games.

“There are eight games left – and if we win all eight, we qualify,” hooker Pierre Bourgarit, recalled to the French squad this week two matches after his return to action following a lengthy injury lay-off, insisted.

But both clubs had been in full-on crisis mode this week. Stade Francais, who parted company with head coach Karim Ghezal at the end of September, are close to agreeing departure terms with sporting director Laurent Labit after less than two years at the club, according to L’Equipe.

Labit had stepped back from first-team affairs at the beginning of the week following a series of meetings between players and staff, leaving the club’s immediate future in the hands of Paul Gustard.

La Rochelle president Vincent Merling is not one to rush into senior staff changes: O’Gara, who has been in the top job since 2021, is the club’s third head coach since 2011 – but there were closed-door crisis meetings at the club’s Macif Park training ground early this week. Unlike Stade, La Rochelle chose not to change coaches mid-season. For now, at least.

Vannes, who had climbed above Stade last week courtesy of their third Top 14 win in a row, slipped back down to the ‘red lantern’ spot, as they shipped nine tries in a 66-21 loss at Toulouse.

A second-half fightback was not quite enough to prevent Castres succumbing to defeat for the first time in 2025, and the first time under the management of Xavier Sadourny, as they lost 21-17 against Montpellier, in a match played at Beziers because the pitch at the Herault side’s GGL Stadium home is unfit to play.

Two late tries were also not enough for third-place Toulon, as they lost 27-20 at Lyon, a result that saw the home side climb provisionally into the top six.

Racing’s commando coach Patrice Collazo said his side had ‘gone backwards 10 steps’ as they lost 29-47 at home to Pau. Joe Simmonds’ boot was the clear difference between the two sides who shared eight tries equally.

Bordeaux’s teenage winger Jon Echegaray – in just his second senior start – scored the fastest try in Top 14 history, touching down with 10 seconds on the clock at Perpignan to set the visitors on the road to a fifth win on the road this season. A second-half fightback was never going to be enough, as Franck Azema’s side lost 17-29.

Two sides with the play-offs very much in sight meet on Sunday, as Bayonne put their unbeaten home record on the line against a Clermont side looking to break a three-match losing streak.