Opposition view: Saints are 'not a top team', says La Rochelle boss O'Gara

La Rochelle secured a bonus-point 31-13 win from their trip to Northampton, scoring five tries in the process as they marched into the Heineken Champions Cup knockout stages with a 100 per cent record.

But O'Gara was far from delighted with his side's display at the Gardens, which was a far cry from the French team’s 46-12 demolition of Saints at Stade Marcel Deflandre in December.

"I thought we were very, very mixed," O'Gara said.

"We will be good when we're accurate. We were missing an awful lot of accuracy today.

"The sub-conscious of the French mindset is fascinating. How can you bring these guys to that consistent performance without a fear factor?

"We didn't have a fear factor today because we demolished Northampton on our patch, and that stays in the players' heads.

"We're trying to tell the players that they (Saints) have a rich history in the competition, which they have, but they're not a top side and they're struggling at the minute. We struggled as well today."

Saints were hit by two red cards during the game at the Gardens as Fraser Dingwall was dismissed just before the break and Lukhan Salakaia-Loto was sent off in the final seconds of the match.

But Phil Dowson's side fought hard throughout, scoring a fine try through replacement scrum-half Tom James.

"We were brought into an arm wrestle against 14 players, and credit to Northampton for that," O'Gara said.

"Before that, we had opportunities to rip them apart and be ruthless.

"We accelerated a little bit in the second half, and we have the cattle to do that because our player profiles are very interesting even with two of the most powerful players in Europe, Jonathan Danty and Will Skelton, missing.

"They will certainly add to this team, but you can't wait for it, and we need to have better standards.

"My job isn't to put on a show, my job is to rip Northampton apart as best as we can today. When you look at it, at times we weren't on point."