Ronan O'Gara's La Rochelle season in tatters after catastrophic triple whammy

La Rochelle’s season suffered a major blow on Saturday as three key players were injured during the 26-15 Top 14 defeat to Bayonne, leaving all three facing the prospect of season-ending layoffs.

Fijian back-row Levani Botia was the first to depart, forced off after half an hour with a calf problem after trying unsuccessfully to continue.

Minutes later, giant Wallabies lock Will Skelton had to be helped leave the field by medical staff following an ankle injury in a tackle. There are fears that his Achilles tendon is gone and images of him later seen on crutches have added to the concerns.

According to La Rochelle’s backs coach it didn’t look good, adding further concern given Skelton’s injury issues earlier in the season. It’s also potentially a blow for the Wallabies, who would have likely deployed Skelton in this summer’s inaugural Nations Championship.

The night worsened in stoppage time when fullback Davit Niniashvili twisted his ankle heavily while attempting a late break.

He also required assistance to leave the pitch, and his absence is also expected to be significant.

The defeat came despite Bayonne playing the entire second half with fourteen men after a 39th-minute red card for Rodrigo Bruni, and briefly with thirteen.

La Rochelle were unable to take advantage due to their own discipline problems, receiving three yellow cards, two of which came after the break.

La Rochelle held a 15-13 lead on the hour mark thanks to a try from Judicael Cancoriet, but they conceded twice in quick succession, with Cheikh Tiberghien scoring in the 66th and 68th minutes.

The result ended any realistic hope of climbing back towards the Top 14’s top six.

The team now face Newcastle Falcons in the Challenge Cup on April 4th.

“We have two weeks of European competition ahead of us, we’ll see the extent of the damage and we’ll have to get back to work,” said Antoine Hastoy after the match. “If it doesn’t pay off at the end of the season, it will pay off later. We still have a lot of work to do, as we saw tonight.”