Ronan O’Gara admitted that La Rochelle’s shock 38-21 defeat to Pau in the Top 14 was ‘rock bottom' for him and his side.
Despite having players away with the French national team for the November internationals, but still had the likes of Bryce Dulin, Teddy Thomas, and Will Skelton to call upon.
La Rochelle would have been big favourites against a Pau side that only had two victories before Saturday’s game and would be hoping to avoid relegation this season.
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However, they completely outplayed Ronan O’Gara’s La Rochelle side to claim the shock result of the weekend over the reigning European champions.
The result leaves La Rochelle still in third in the table, level on points with Toulon, but 11 behind top of the table Toulouse.
#TOP14 - L'image de la J9 : L'exploit
Essai inspiré d'un incroyable succès 😮La @SectionPaloise a fait tomber la forteresse rochelaise ! 🏰24 ans après leur dernière victoire à Marcel-Deflandre les Béarnais ont également mis fin à 9 mois d'invincibilité 🛑 pic.twitter.com/aCZejPUUsL— TOP 14 Rugby (@top14rugby) October 29, 2022
Speaking after the defeat, Ronan O’Gara didn’t hold back in his assessment of his side.
“We were humiliated by the better team. We have a lot of work to do. It is hyper-frustrating for the public. My stomach hurts for the fans, they will be disgusted, with good reason.
It’s a big slap in the face - we must react quickly. We've hit rock bottom, it's a black day for me. Good managers don't make the same mistake twice, but we put our values in the trash tonight.”
The former Ireland fly-half will hope is side can get back on track when they face Brive next weekend, as they aim to close the gap on the top two in the table.
O’Gara has achieved huge success everywhere he has gone in his managerial career, and it has been no different at La Rochelle.
Last year’s Champions Cup final victory over Leinster was their first major trophy under the former Munster fly-half, and is unlikely to be the last, with O’Gara and La Rochelle improving as each day goes on.
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