O'Gara's La Rochelle renaissance continues with gritty road win in Bordeaux

Top 14 round-up: After 105 days without a win, the Corkman toasts two in a week after a 21-10 triumph that's knocked Bègles' confidence ahead of a huge European date 

MOVING ON UP: La Rochelle's Irish coach Ronan O'Gara (C) runs during the warm up ahead of the French Top14 rugby union match between Union Bordeaux-Begles (UBB) and Stade Rochelais (La Rochelle) at the Chaban-Delmas Stadium in Bordeaux, south-western France, on April 26, 2025. Pic: ROMAIN PERROCHEAU/AFP via Getty Images)

Wins, it turns out, are like buses. Ronan O’Gara’s La Rochelle waited 105 days for one. A second arrived a week afterwards, this one a remarkable, hard-way 21-10 victory over Bordeaux at a sold-out Stade Chaban Delmas on Saturday night.

It was a confidence smack of a result to the home side ahead of next weekend’s Champions Cup semi-final against Toulouse up the road at the Matmut Atlantique. Especially after events in the Pink City a few hours earlier.