“You look at the final in Dublin and not many Test teams can do what they did in 11 minutes.”
Leinster and La Rochelle dished up another Champions Cup classic yesterday at the Stade Marcel Deflandre.
A all-time defensive effort in the final few minutes from the visiting side gave them a 16-14 win in the pool-stage clash.
It added another chapter to this fully-fledged rivalry, which has served up multiple crackers since 2021, when the French side beat Leinster in the Champions Cup semi-final. They followed that up with wins in the next two finals, including a one-point victory at the Aviva Stadium in 2023.
While Leinster did get a degree of revenge with two wins over their foes in last year’s tournament, they still seek that elusive fifth title.
Here’s the move that sent Big Joe over the line! #SRvLEI #NeverLessThanEverything pic.twitter.com/x0gVyffAPa
— Leinster Rugby (@leinsterrugby) January 12, 2025
Much has been said about downturn in Leinster’s attacking prowess since the departure of coach Stuart Lancaster in 2023. But while the Blues are not as slick with ball in hand, their defence is arguably the best in Europe under the guidance of the World Cup winning Jacques Nienaber.
In his post-match interview, La Rochelle head coach Ronan O’Gara had an interesting take when comparing the Leinster of 2023 to the current side.
The Irish legend said: “I think they’re definitely harder to play against, but are they better? We’ll see in May.
“You look at the final in Dublin (in 2023) and not many Test teams can do what they did in 11 minutes. We didn’t do much wrong and we’re 17-0 down.
“Plus they’ve Dan Sheehan to come back who I think is one of the world’s best players. Speed kills and he kills teams on his own.
“Congratulations to Leinster, they’re better, but I hope we get another crack off them this season because our boys can do better and will do better.
“Some teams that play them might feel that they are beaten already. For us that wouldn’t be the case.
“We analyse them and go through what the facts are and they have been scoring less points but they have been giving up less points.
“As a coach, the biggest thing I am disappointed with tonight is the seven points we gave up for the try. Maybe they had one or two other attacking moments but the try is too soft and we don’t deserve to win any game when you give up a try like that. That’s my frustration tonight.
“Home advantage is big too, we’ve got to be really disappointed with losing at home.
“It’s not a crushing defeat, but it’s still a big defeat.”
