Toulouse torture for O'Gara as Dupont helps pile 60 points on sorry La Rochelle 

Top 14 round-up: Even with an experimental line-up the crushing nine-try defeat was surely not the way the Irish coach wanted to sign off for 2025

SOIXANTE ROUGH: La Rochelle's Irish coach Ronan O'Gara looks on during the French Top14 rugby union match between Stade Toulousain Rugby (Toulouse) and Stade Rochelais (La Rochelle) at the Ernest-Wallon stadium in Toulouse. Pic: Valentine CHAPUIS / AFP via Getty Images

Ronan O’Gara’s La Rochelle slumped to a crushing nine-try 60-14 defeat against Toulouse in front of a full-house at Stadium Toulouse in the final Top 14 match of 2025.

A rejuvenated Antoine Dupont, on his second start since his return from an ACL injury in March, scored two in three first-half minutes and made one of Toulouse’s five tries before the break, as they roared back to the top of the table at the end of the year.

His crossfield kick shortly before he was replaced, job very much done, gifted Teddy Thomas the first of a personal double against his old club to take Toulouse to 50 points just before the hour.

Matches against Toulouse bookended 2025 for O’Gara’s men. It's fair to say that neither went well.

On January 4, an after-the-hooter Antoine Hastoy penalty spared their blushes against a heavily rotated and near-embryonic Toulouse squad.

This time, it was O’Gara who, by injury and necessity, experimented, handing first Top 14 starts to scrum-half Nolhann Couillaud and flanker Kirill Fraindt, and bringing Hastoy straight back into the starting line-up following a three-match suspension.

It had started reasonably well. Davit Niniashvili opened the scoring after six minutes, collecting the ball after a smart break from young centre Simeli Daunivucu, who this week signed a contract extension.

But that early try — and replacement Nolann Le Garrec’s opportunist score with 14 minutes left — was as good as it got for the visitors, who spent the rest of the match unsuccessfully chasing Toulousain shadows.

Earlier on Sunday, Pau’s young guns survived Montpellier’s concerted last-quarter triple-try fightback in a nine-try thriller, claiming the four points with a 35-33 win, after going 32-14 ahead in the 62nd minute.

Argentinian fly-half Tomas Albornoz wasted no time endearing himself to Toulon fans on his first outing at Stade Mayol following his early arrival from Treviso, playing a key role off the bench as they recovered from a nervous start to beat Perpignan 31-16.

Australian tighthead prop Taniela Tupou made an instant impact for new side Racing 92 on Saturday, scoring twice in 11 minutes on debut after coming on as a second-half replacement, as Patrice Collazo’s side scored nine to Montauban’s one in a 61-16 thumping at La Defense Arena.

An aggressive 34-19 win over Bordeaux at Stade Marcel Michelin ensured Clermont remain in touch at the back of the playoff-chasing peloton — three points separates them, in 11th, from third-placed Stade Francais — and eased some of the simmering pressure on coach Christophe Urios.

Four second-half touchdowns handed Castres a 36-22 win over Lyon at Stade Pierre Fabre to leave the visitors firmly stuck in 12th, eight points adrift of Clermont, but 16 ahead of 13th-placed Montauban.

Bayonne made it 21 Top 14 wins in a row at home in dramatic fashion at the end of an eight-try encounter against Stade Francais at Stade Jean Dauger. Joris Segonds converted Lucas Paulos’ clock-in-the-red try to win it 35-34.