O'Gara's La Rochelle revive Top 14 play-off bid with Bordeaux rout

Bordeaux’s Irish attack coach Noel McNamara thought the scoreline was "harsh" on his heavily rotated side

Nolann Le Garrec scored two tries for La Rochelle against Bordeaux. Pic: Seb Daly/Sportsfile

France scrum-half Nolann Le Garrec scored twice as Ronan O’Gara’s La Rochelle eased to a 45-15 bonus-point win over a rotated Bordeaux at Stade Marcel Michelin on the Top 14’s ‘Fan Days’ derby weekend.

Le Garrec touched down in each half, with the returning Gregory Alldritt and Semi Lagivala scoring in the first 40, joined on the scoreboard by Dillyn Leyds and Thomas Berjon in the second.

The nine, who joined the club last summer at the vanguard of what promises to be an increasingly rapid squad rebuild, believes the result gives the two-time Champions Cup winners an outside chance of qualifying for the play-offs — an apparent late-season revival that came at the same time as last season, and against the same opponents.

“We were really looking forward to playing in front of our home crowd, and we could count on the return of quite a few players who were full of energy,” he told journalists following La Rochelle’s first match on home soil in almost a month.

“The momentum has been building for the past week or two… If we can maintain this level of play, we’ll be able to compete.” 

O’Gara was able to field his favoured all-French international backrow of Alldritt, Paul Boudehent and Oscar Jegou for the first time this season.

And the latter echoed his scrum-half’s post-match analysis. “This match definitely gets us back in the game,” he said. “It’s a bit late, but it lets us believe, and that’s the most important thing.” 

The manager’s revised target for the season is a top-eight finish, to guarantee Champions Cup rugby next season. But Jegou said the players want more.

“The staff want to ensure that we get something, and we need to set achievable goals. But the players want something special — we don’t want to go on holiday too early.

“A lot of players, including key members, are leaving. It’s incredibly important, and even though we’ve reacted a bit late, we all felt we were doing it for our teammates. We’re going to fight until the end and try for something special.” 

Bordeaux’s Irish attack coach Noel McNamara preferred to look to the positives for an almost unrecognisable visiting side, with multiple key players rested for silverware challenges ahead.

“In terms of the players’ commitment on the field, the score is harsh,” he said. “But we lacked precision and discipline. That’s part of the learning process — figuring out how we can do better.

“We saw the leadership of [captain] Gaetan Barlot and Hugo Reus this week — that’s encouraging, just like [22-year-old backrow] Romain Gardrat’s performance.#

“We’ve got a big match next Saturday against Montpellier at Chaban. It’s the best preparation for the Champions Cup semi-final against Bath.” 

Hollie Davidson became the first female referee of a Top 14 match when she took charge of Clermont’s 41-23 bonus-point win that consolidated their place in the top six.

Tries in the last two minutes for French internationals Theo Attissogbe and Emilien Gailleton — an end-to-end spectacular — handed Pau a try-scoring bonus as they won 54-22 at Bayonne. The Basque side have not won at home in 2026.

Gabin Villiere, who has been the subject of transfer rumours in recent weeks, scored in the sixth minute of Toulon’s strangely workmanlike 47-22 win over basement side Montauban at Stade Sapiac. But he had to leave the pitch in the 19th minute with a serious knee injury.

Montauban, meanwhile, crashed through the 1,000 points conceded barrier. They have shipped 1,016 in 21 matches — just 85 less than Agen’s unwanted record of 1,101, with five matches to play.

Montpellier climbed to a provisional third place with a 42-31 win over Perpignan at the Septeo Stadium.

And Toulouse, angry after their Champions Cup quarter-final exit at Bordeaux, took out their frustrations on hosts Castres, winning a hard-fought and intense derby 42-25 to all-but end the home side’s faint hopes of reaching the play-offs. Top eight will be their primary target now.

A near full-bore Racing 92 host a heavily rotated Stade Francais at La Defense Arena for the final match of the Top 14’s ‘Fan Days’ weekend on Sunday night — the first French domestic top-flight match to feature live drone footage.