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Munster are the clear favourites for their Champions Cup R16 clash against La Rochelle this Saturday. The men in red may only have a 50% win rate in the URC this season, but their troubles are nothing compared to what club legend Ronan O’Gara is currently facing on the Atlantic coast.
La Rochelle have not won a TOP14 game since round 14 back on the 4th of January – a stuttering home victory against a Toulouse C team that saw them need an 81st minute kick from Antoine Hastoy to avoid a humiliating defeat. It is the longest winless run of any side currently in France’s top flight.
If we check the TOP14’s excellent stats page, we see that La Rochelle rank 13th for points scored, 14th for penalties won and bottom half for almost everything else. They currently sit 10th in the table with 8 wins from 20, 6 of which came in the first 10 rounds. They are 30 points off top spot and just 10 points off bottom. Their results this season include hammerings at the hands of Toulon, Lyon and Bayonne, and they suffered an all-time TOP14 shock defeat at home to league newbies Vannes in December. L’Equpie have run an article calling them relegation contenders.
All this despite having access to players such as Gregory Alldritt and Paul Boudehent, who were cornerstones of France’s recent Six Nations title win. Their 1st choice backline is now made up almost exclusively of 30+ year olds such as Jonathan Danty and Dylan Leyds whilst the world class Levani Botia is also now showing his age. Small wonder, then, that the club has been on an expensive recruitment drive that has seen them sign Georgian super-star Davit Niniashvili and France scrum-half Nolan Le Garrec for next season.
The question is: will O’Gara be the one to coach them? The native Munsterman is linked to every vacant (or half vacant) job in test rugby and has made no secret of his desire to step up. Meanwhile, he is fast approaching double figures for stadium bans thanks to his refereeing rants. The coach is under pressure and #ROGOut has started to appear on fan forums.
La Rochelle built their reputation as a European superpower with back to back title lifts in 2022 and 2023. Their two finals against Leinster, where they staged 2nd half comebacks to take the crown, have engrained them into the Irish rugby psyche as a team to be feared. However, the fact is, they are no longer that team – as show by an under-performing Benetton side rolling them over in round 4.
Munster are not the underdogs they would like to think themselves; they must capitalise. They will never have a better chance.
