O'Gara turns to teen starlet Boujo for Bordeaux crunch with Galthie watching closely

Top 14 round-up: Nolann Le Garrec failed to recover in time from a hamstring injury that has sidelined him since the beginning of October.

BORDEAUX ON DECK: La Rochelle's Irish head coach Ronan O'Gara. Pic: XAVIER LEOTY / AFP via Getty Images

Teenage scrum-half Valentin Bouju is set for his fourth start of the season on Sunday evening when Ronan O’Gara’s La Rochelle host Bordeaux at Stade Marcel Deflandre after Nolann Le Garrec failed to recover in time from a hamstring injury that has sidelined him since the beginning of October.

Second row Salmaan Moerat will start for the first time for his new club alongside reluctant engine room partner Paul Boudehent, covering an injury shortfall at lock.

Simeli Daunivucu returns to the hosts’ starting line-up after being rested for the emotional Champions Cup match against Lions. He will partner Semi Lagivala in midfield, who is looking to string together some matches after featuring for the first time last weekend.

Carlu Sadie and Adam Coleman return to injury-hit Bordeaux’s starting line-up, with fly-half Hugo Reus starting his second match of the season as one of nine changes from the side that drew at Gloucester.

Elsewhere, Bordeaux manager Yannick Bru has turned to the club’s academy. second row Adam Zapedowski and flanker Romain Gardrat both start – and centre Louis Favrau could see his first professional minutes off the bench.

Sunday’s match is one France manager Fabien Galthie will watch closely – and nervously given his injury-shortened options – with Boudehent, Gregory Alldritt, Oscar Jegou, Antoine Hastoy and Karl Sorin all in La Rochelle’s 23, while Bordeaux feature Maxime Lucu, Nicolas Depoortere, Louis Bielle-Biarrey, Marko Gazzotti and Cameron Woki. Le Garrec, too, is expected at Marcoussis on Monday, despite missing Sunday’s match.

On Saturday, Francisco Gorrissen crashed over in the 79th minute as Vannes came from 16-6 down at halftime to condemn Clermont to their fourth defeat in as many matches in a 27-26 thriller at Stade de la Rabine.

Clermont were spared dropping to 13th in the table by season-long outcast side Racing 92, who were unable to convert a handful of late chances against Montpellier at their latest temporary home in Le Mans to finish on the wrong end of a 20-17 scoreline.

Lyon broke their own four-match losing streak, as they held on to win a momentum-swinging encounter against Bayonne at Stade Jean Dauger 31-27.

Teddy Thomas overtook Alivereti Raka as the leading still-active try-scorer in the Top 14 when he touched down for the 82nd time in the French championship as Toulouse marched into a 38-7 lead in the first hour of their match against Perpignan at Stade Ernest Wallon.

The stage was set for a bravura finish – and so it proved. But it was the visitors who provided it, scoring four unanswered tries in the final quarter to pull the score back to 38-33.

Eleven tries at Ernest Wallon, just two an hour down the new and nearly open A69 at Stade Pierre Fabre, as Castres won a dour arm-wrestle against Stade Francais 16-8. The result handed the home side a much-needed and welcome four points, and saw them climb out of the bottom two, but even purists would struggle to find much to enjoy.

Pierre Mignoni’s shock resignation as director of rugby at Toulon in early October appears to have had its desired effect. Since his departure after the 28-0 loss against Montpellier, the Var side have won three matches on the bounce. Melvyn Jaminet scored a first-half hat-trick as they made light work of Pau, winning 41-20 at Stade Mayol.