Racing shocks Toulouse in thriller, La Rochelle thrash Montpellier

WEEKEND WRAP: Castres winger Remy Baget said on Saturday there was “a lot of emotion” in a 29-34 defeat against Bordeaux-Begles on Saturday as the visitors returned to French Top 14 action following the tragic death of Fijian Josaia Raisuqe whilst Racing 92 upset champions Toulouse.

Raisuqe, who turned 30 in July, was killed on May 8 after being hit by a train while driving to training and his mother and father were present at Stade Chaban-Delmas to watch the game.

Following the match, players from both sides came together for an emotional on-field rendition of the gospel song “We Shall Overcome” – synonymous with Fijian rugby with Raisuqe’s mum in tears.

Raisuqe’s teammate and compatriot Leone Nakarawa was also overcome by emotion as the whole stadium rose to applaud the singing.

“With all we’ve experienced, we were going to play a game with a lot of emotion,” Baget said.

“On top of the pressure of the match, the result and everything, tears were expected,” he added.

“We managed to control the emotions within the squad because we could have broken down.”

The hosts, who are preparing for next weekend’s Champions Cup Final against Northampton, stay second in the table with two rounds of the season to play.

Castres are fifth and strengthened their claim for a place in the play-offs with a bonus point thanks to Jeremy Fernandez’s late penalty.

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Pre-game, Bordeaux-Begles fans unfurled a banner saying ‘Rest in Peace Josaia’, illustrating the impact the Olympic silver medallist’s death has had on the sport in France.

The away side, five-time French champions, started the game the better, racing into a 14-0 lead after 17 minutes which included a superb finish from Uruguay scrumhalf Santiago Arata.

The No.9 celebrated his try by looking up to the sky in reference to the passing of Raisuqe, who had become a popular member of the Castres squad since his arrival in 2021.

The home team took control of the fixture before half-time however, scoring five tries to make it 29-14.

The pick of them came just before the half-hour mark from flyhalf Matthieu Jalibert, who also set up halfback partner Maxime Lucu seven minutes earlier.

Castres came back into the match thanks to two second half touchdowns but were unable to find the crucial try late on.

O’Gara suspension

Raisuqe’s first club in France, 12th-placed Stade Francais moved a point out of the relegation play-off spot with a 31-30 win over Lyon thanks to a 79th-minute penalty from English flyhalf Zack Henry.

Bottom-side Vannes suffered a 38-32 loss at Bayonne and Perpignan dropped into 13th place with a 31-13 loss away to Clermont.

Later, Racing 92 stunned champions and league leaders Toulouse 37-35 as France scrumhalf Nolann Le Garrec scored 22 points for the Parisians.

On Sunday, Ronan O’Gara’s La Rochelle ran in five tries in a 47-18 demolition of Montpellier to tighten their grip on a Top 14 play-off spot as Antoine Hastoy added 22 points with an assured kicking display.

Jack Nowell, Thierry Paiva, Levani Botia, Dillyn Leyds and Brice Dulin all touched down as La Rochelle secured a bonus point and fourth successive win, climbing up to fifth with two rounds of the regular season remaining.

Flyhalf Hastoy converted each try and slotted over three penalties as well as a drop goal for Ronan O’Gara’s side.

Mael Moustin scored a try for Montpellier, who also had a penalty try awarded when Thomas Lavault was sin-binned, but the visitors saw their play-off prospects compromised as they finished the weekend in eighth place.

Last week, O’Gara refused to leave the team bus for the start of the win at Vannes in protest against his ban for his behaviour towards a match official in January’s loss at Toulon.

Image credit @GettyImages