Second half dominance sees La Rochelle outplay Zebre 32-12

La Rochelle 32-12 Zebre, Stade Marcel Deflandre
Scorecard

La Rochelle have kept their one foot on the quarter-final berth in the ongoing European Challenge Cup after they went on to beat Zebre 32-12 at Stade Marcel Deflandre on Friday.

Bristol Bears do have a chance to beat La Rochelle in the table as they have back to back games with Enisei-STM but still with 20 points from five games they are likely to be assured of one of the three best runners-up spot to make it to the top eight while Zebre continue to be at second in the table with 14 points.

Ihaia West got La Rochelle to a promising start with back to back penalties in the 12th and 14th minutes but Zebre were the confident team heading into the break with Gabriele Di Giulio (29') and Maxime Mbanda (39') crossing over. Guglielmo Palazzani
kicked the conversion on the second occasion as they visitors had a six point lead at the end of the first half.

The home side finally came into the groove in the second half as player of the match Dany Priso touched down in the 46th minute that was improved by West as they seized the lead.

Any chance of the Italian side making a comeback was put off as Arthur Retiere (53'), Lepani Botia Veivuke (58') and Hikairo Forbes (80') scored tries to complete a 32-12 victory for La Rochelle.