With a different way of winning, Ronan O'Gara eyes late run to Top 14 play offs

La Rochelle win their fourth game in five to continue a late season surge. 'If we hadn’t won here, our dream of winning the Brennus would have been over' reckoned ROG

GOOD JOB: La Rochelle head coach Ronan O'Gara congratulates his rookie Russian flanker Kirill Fraindt after victory over Racing 92 at the Paris La Defense Arena. Pic: Geoffroy van der Hasselt, Getty Images.

Sunday night’s tight 24-26 win at Racing 92 improved La Rochelle’s Top 14 expectations enough for manager Ronan O’Gara to publicly speculate about a post-season run for the Bouclier de Brennus.

In recent weeks, one player after another has raised the prospect of qualifying for the play-off phase during media interviews. Last week, French international backrow Oscar Jegou said he thought La Rochelle could be ‘unstoppable’ if they reached the post-season knockout phase.