Revived La Rochelle trounce Top 14 leaders Toulouse / Photo: XAVIER LEOTY - AFP
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Revived La Rochelle trounce Top 14 leaders Toulouse
La Rochelle kept alive their chances of a Top 14 playoff spot as they beat Toulouse 38-10 on Sunday, a defeat that prevented the reigning champions from clinching a top-two finish.
La Rochelle's fourth straight victory lifts them to eighth in the table but closes the gap on sixth-placed Clermont, in the last playoff spot, to four points.
Toulouse top the table and lead Montpellier by eight points and Pau by nine. The top two go straight through to the playoff semi-finals, the next four teams play a qualifying round.
Tries by lock Charles Kante Samba, No. 8 Gregory Alldritt and flanker Oscar Jegou put La Rochelle 21 points up at half-time.
Jack Willis hit back but replacements Andy Timo and Adrien Seguret responded with tries for La Rochelle.
"We dug deep, we played like men," Jegou told French television.
"We knew we couldn't afford to make any mistakes today. We got off to a great start. We knew they had the potential to come back, but we hung on. We worked like dogs, and it feels good after this terrible season."
In the next round, La Rochelle visit relegated Montauban who have won once all season while conceding more than 1207 points in their 24 games.
That game comes after the Top 14 takes a one-week break for the European finals in Bilbao.
One French club, Montpellier, face Ulster in Challenge Cup final on Friday and another, reigning European champions Bordeaux-Begles, face Leinster in the Champions Cup final the next day.
With an eye to that final, Bordeaux-Begles head coach Yannick Bru on Saturday named a weakened starting lineup against lowly Perpignan.
Star winger Louis Bielle-Biarrey came off the bench at half-time and scored two tries and set up another to secure a 37-32 home win that meant Bordeaux-Begles ended the weekend in fifth.
"We're trying to compete in both competitions," captain Maxime Lucu, who also started on the bench, told Canal Plus. "We have to grow up a bit and play well in both halves and we didn't manage that.
A.Rodriguezv--AMWN