A bold alarm bell for rugby fans: discipline chaos and a star coach’s mounting scrutiny dominated a wild weekend of action. Ronan O’Gara again found himself barred from the touchline after a red-card moment of dissent, this time coming an hour into La Rochelle’s perplexing 53-33 defeat to Pau, a game that exploded with 13 tries and relentless momentum.
Earlier, O’Gara had already drawn the ire of referee Jeremy Rozier by loudly challenging the decision to dismiss fly-half Antoine Hastoy just 34 seconds into the match. Rozier called O’Gara over and warned that any continued dissent would land him in the stands.
The red card stemmed from a high-risk exchange: Hastoy, leaping to meet an early high ball, swung his leg out at the advancing Pau winger Aaron Grandidier-Nkanang and caught him in the face. That incident set the tone for a game defined by aerial pressure and quick-fire scores at Stade du Hameau.
Shortly after O’Gara’s ejection, Dillyn Leyds crossed for La Rochelle’s fourth try, briefly closing the gap to one score. It was that kind of match: raucous, unyielding, and full of twists.
Pau’s coach Sebastien Piqueronies has built a young side that thrives on contesting the skies. They opened the scoring with a well-worked try after a bombardment of high balls: Grangeire Arfeuil outpaced Jack Nowell to convert a precise Desperes kick, with Fabien Brau-Boirie finishing off the move after Emilien Gailleton recovered the loose ball.
La Rochelle refused to wilt from the early disadvantage. Nowell made way for Ihaia West, who quickly set up UJ Seuteni for a score after sustained pressure from the visitors’ pack.
Arfeuil answered with another try, finishing a move prompted by Desperes’s boot and a clever one-two with Reece Hewat, before Jules Favre responded for La Rochelle following Leyds’s break.
As the half progressed, Argentinian hooker Julian Montoya touched down after a penalty to touch, tightening Pau’s grip, and Grandidier-Nkanang extended the lead after the restart.
France international tighthead Thomas Laclayat celebrated his first La Rochelle try after joining from Racing 92, thanks to a five-meter lineout error that turned into a successful score for the visitors' counterpart.
Pau’s replacement tighthead Aleksandre Kuntelia crossed for their third try to keep the game within reach with about 30 minutes to play. Then O’Gara was dismissed, Leyds crossed again for La Rochelle, and Pau’s Kante Samba earned a yellow card for pulling down a rapidly moving maul, temporarily reducing La Rochelle to 13 players.
With the extra man, Pau’s Beka Gorgadze struck again, and Brau-Boirie added a second, finishing a sequence by beating the ball into touch to secure a bonus-point try with 10 minutes remaining.
Favre then grabbed his second, restoring Pau’s bonus-shift momentum; La Rochelle’s pack pushed the referee’s patience; Dan Robson from Pau was held up over the line; Robson’s chip ahead bounced beyond everyone as the tryline beckoned; Kante Samba returned, and La Rochelle lock Thomas Lavault earned a yellow card. Replacement hooker Youri Delhommel finished the scoring by ensuring Pau’s try bonus was back in reach as time ran out.
Meanwhile, Antoine Dupont’s return to the Toulouse squad highlighted Racing 92’s 48-24 loss, tempered by the final appearance of center Pita Ahki, who will move to the Auckland Blues for the 2026 Super Rugby season.
Across other results, Castres outlasted La Rochelle 23-7 at home, Bayonne’s 22-20 win over Lyon came amid grim conditions in the southwest, and a controversial refereeing decision tipped Stade Français’ 36-32 thriller at Clermont in favor of the hosts after Lucas Tauzin’s decisive try—perceived by some as lacking a clear knock-on—wired the result to Clermont.
Lenni Nouchi starred as Montpellier overturned a deficit to beat Bordeaux 28-24 at the Septeo Stadium, and Toulon eased past Montauban 54-28.
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