Back 
1
La Rochelle set up another French showdown in Champions Cup quarter-finals
By PA
Ihaia West scored 16 points as La Rochelle booked a Heineken Champions Cup quarter-final showdown with Montpellier after a hard-fought victory over 14-man Bordeaux-Begles.
ADVERTISEMENT
The fly-half scored a first-half try and kicked four conversions and a penalty as Ronan O’Gara’s much-changed side, who took an 18-point lead into the second leg, triumphed 31-23 against a dogged Bordeaux outfit who fought to the final whistle despite having number eight Maama Vaipulu sent off early on.
A 62-36 aggregate win means Montpellier will travel to the Stade Marcel Deflandre in the last eight.
The visitors took a 3-0 led courtesy of Maxime Lucu’s 15th-minute penalty, but it was soon cancelled out by West after the La Rochelle pack flexed its muscles at the set-piece.
Bordeaux were reduced to 14 with just 27 minutes one when referee Wayne Barnes sent off Vaipulu for a senseless shoulder charge on centre Jonathan Danty, but Lucu restored their advantage with a second kick to give his side a 6-3 half-time lead.
However, West carved his way through the visitors’ defence within two minutes of the restart to touch down for the game’s first try before adding to conversion to make it 10-6, and obliged once again after number eight Greg Alldritt had crossed.
Nineteen-year-old centre Gatien Masse’s converted 53rd-minute try gave the 14 men hope, but it was extinguished almost immediately when Danty powered his way through before putting in scrum-half Tawera Kerr-Barlow.
ADVERTISEMENT
Replacement Levani Botia claimed La Rochelle’s fourth try with 12 minutes remaining after Mateo Garcia had kicked a third penalty for the visitors as they cruised to victory despite Jules Plisson’s late yellow card and a consolation try from winger Federico Mori.
Comments
Join free and tell us what you really think!
Join Free
Latest Comments
Ultimately it is the entire NZR board who should be sacked. Foster wants to be the ABs coach, you can't blame him for that. NZR appointed him in what was a terrible process for actually finding the right candidate, more of a coronation based on the false assumption of "continuity" - it was clear from the BIL tour in 2017 which direction the ABs were heading, continuing that seemed crazy by they decided to do it anyway. They then reappointed him before he had faced a true test before the NH tour of 2021 which was a disaster. They could have sacked him then. They could have sacked him after the Ireland series where it was clear the ABs were well of the pace. They could have done it after the tests in SA which despite being 1-1 were not in the least bit convincing. Basically they have backed the guy every year, but now in the lead up to the world cup they have decided he's definitely not the right guy, yet he remains the coach.
Go to comments"taking the land they felt had been stolen from them during the colonial era" the land had been stolen, and the requisitions were entirely justified. I'm very sorry that Negri's family were hurt but this article is basically just propaganda for apartheid.
Go to comments