O'Gara and La Rochelle raid Racing for crucial road win — but it comes at a heavy cost

Top 14 round-up: The Irishman's crew pulled off a high-stakes Sunday night triumph in Paris but lost three more to injury during bruising 26-24 win

PARIS MATCH: Stade Rochelais' Head Coach Ronan O'Gara. Pic: INPHO/Billy Stickland

Ronan O’Gara’s La Rochelle remain in the hunt for the Top 14’s post-season play-offs after a high-stakes 26-24 win over top six-chasing rivals Racing 92.

They finish the 23rd weekend of the long season in eighth, three points behind their Sunday-night hosts, and five off Bordeaux, in sixth.

But the Rochelais’ third domestic win on the bounce, their fifth on the road this season, came at high cost. After Paul Boudehent and Pierre Bourgarit withdrew in the week leading up to the match with injuries picked up on the training ground, they lost Dillyn Leyds and Ulupano Seuteni to walk-off injuries in the first-half in Nanterre, while Matthias Haddad-Victor — who had recently returned to action after a lengthy spell on the sidelines with a brain injury — was stretchered off early in the second period after landing on his head following a crunching tackle.

La Rochelle had set a punishing pace. Knowing they couldn’t compete with Racing in the power stakes, they opted to go round rather than try to go through them. Time after time, they got the ball out wide quickly, and sought to profit from gaps in the hosts’ stretched defence.

It worked twice in the first half. Nolann Le Garrec was on the Antoine Dupont-patented inside line to benefit from some neat interplay in the 5m channel between Oscar Jegou and Leyds in the 16th minute.

And Jegou was in the right place at the right time when centre Semi Lagivala busted a hole down the flank shortly after the half-hour.

Between La Rochelle’s double, Racing hooker Jannick Tarrit had the ball in his hand as a lineout maul roared to the line at the end of the first quarter. There was the two sides’ difference in gameplan style, right there: Racing all bristling directness; La Rochelle reviving O’Gara’s KBA — Keep Ball Alive — of old in a swirl of offloading movement.

The direct approach handed Racing the lead for the first time with 13 minutes to play. Selestino Ravutaumada acrobatically collected a kick pass from Antoine Gibert and rolled over the tryline after a devastating break down the middle of the pitch got the home side to within 5m of the line.

But Le Garrec slotted a 74th-minute penalty — taking his personal tally to 18 on the night and 69 in the last three matches — to push the visitors back into the lead again. It was enough as Ugo Seunes fired an after-the-hooter drop goal attempt wide of the posts, consigning Racing to their first home defeat of the season.

On Saturday, Bordeaux had roared back from 38-19 down on the hour to win 40-38 and condemn Bayonne to another home defeat.

Justo Riccardo scored four of Montpellier’s nine tries as they condemned Montauban to a long-anticipated drop with a 59-7 bonus-point win.

Fifth-place Clermont swept promotion-relegation play-off outfit Perpignan aside, picking up a try-scoring bonus as they won 45-15 at Stade Marcel Michelin.

Stade Francais claimed a bonus-point 59-17 win over Lyon at Stade Jean Bouin, while Pau dropped to third after finding it surprisingly difficult to put away Castres at Stade du Hameau. Two late penalties helped the home side to a 27-15 win.

Toulon lost 51-27 to Toulouse in front of nearly 67,000 fans at a sold-out Orange Velodrome in Marseille.

Dupont, who has faced serious questions over his form and fitness since his return from a second ACL injury, was in impressive form as the visitors set a new Top 14 points record of 912 with three games to play.