Billy Vunipola faces a race against time to save his season after being carried off here as Saracens were dumped out of Europe by the Demolition Man.
The England number eight left Stade Marcel Deflandre on crutches with a serious knee injury suffered early in this heavyweight Champions Cup quarter-final clash.
“I’ve never seen Billy carried off before,” Saracens boss Mark McCall admitted. “It’s a huge worry. It doesn’t look good.”
Vunipola had been back to near his best form and pressing for a World Cup recall after missing England’s dismal Six Nations campaign.
His absence was immediately felt as Fijian breakdown king Levani Botia took charge for La Rochelle to claim a semi-final against Exeter, in Bordeaux on April 28.
Saracens came to the home of the champions with good intentions but without Vunipola lacked the firepower to trouble Ronan O’Gara’s black and yellow juggernaut.
Even at full tilt the runaway Premiership leaders were strangers to the gain line and without their chief ball carrier spent too much of the afternoon fighting fires.
Perhaps they would have fared better a week ago, before unfancied Gloucester turned up and gave the home side the fright of their lives.
Forewarned was forearmed and La Rochelle were waiting for English rugby’s three-time winners, who were either knocked back in the collision or turned over by Botia.
Not for nothing is the 34-year old, who alternates between centre and flanker, known as the Demolition Man.
Four or five times he singlehandedly won turnovers, killing what little momentum Saracens had been able to create, as La Rochelle raced 16-3 clear at half-time.
He then went on the attack, latching onto a pass on halfway and tearing through the visitors’ defence to put Tawera Kerr-Barlow in for his second try of the game.
“He’s a phenomenally instinctive player,” said the scrum-half. “He really saved our skin today.”
So prized was his contribution by the 16,000 sell-out crowd that when he was subbed off on the hour they stood as one and roared his name.
It is unlikely to have been a coincidence that Saracens scored their only try a couple of minutes later through Eroni Mawi.
Nor that they came closer to further eating into the deficit as first Ben Earl, then Maro Itoje, were held up over the line.
“There’s a race to win that breakdown which Botia won today,” sighed McCall. “It was a lesson in how precise and accurate you need to be to play one of the top teams in Europe."
The contest ended on a controversial note when Tom Wolstencroft escaped with a sin binning for knocking out Will Skeleton with his arm in an attempted clear out.
Given how little England fullback Freddie Steward did to earn his red card in Ireland, rugby is no nearer to providing clarity as to what is and is not acceptable.
LA ROCHELLE - Tries: Kerr-Barlow 2. Con: Hastoy. Pens: Hastoy 4.
SARACENS - Try: Mawi. Con: Farrell. Pen: Farrell.
