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Sweet revenge: Leinster end La Rochelle’s bid for Champions Cup three-peat
Leinster emphatically ended La Rochelle’s bid for a hat-trick of Investec Champions Cup titles by beating them 40-13 at the Aviva Stadium.
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Ronan O’Gara’s team defeated Leinster in the last two finals by a combined margin of just four points.
But La Rochelle’s quest for silverware ended at the quarter-final stage this time around as Leinster marched on in pursuit of a record-equalling fifth tournament triumph.
Wing James Lowe (2), scrum-half Jamison Gibson-Park, flanker Ryan Baird and hooker Dan Sheehan scored tries, while fly-half Ross Byrne kicked three conversions and three penalties as Leinster never looked in danger of suffering another loss to their fierce rivals.
La Rochelle saw prop Louis Penverne go over for a try on the stroke of half-time, with Antoine Hastoy adding two penalties and a conversion.
But they were blown away during the second period, failing to score a point, as Leinster stormed into yet another Champions Cup semi-final.
Byrne opened the scoring with an eighth-minute penalty from 45 metres, and Leinster dominated the early exchanges, which was underlined when they scored their opening try just nine minutes later.
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The La Rochelle defence was stretched in all directions before Lowe touched down and Byrne converted, before Byrne and Hastoy kicked penalties and a second Hastoy three-pointer made it 13-6.
Another Byrne strike restored a 10-point lead before Leinster struck again following clever interplay between Lowe and Gibson-Park that ended with the scrum-half sprinting over unopposed.
Byrne’s conversion left Leinster in charge of the contest, but they were unable to close out the opening 40 minutes before their opponents dragged themselves back into contention.
Leinster infringed inside their 22 and La Rochelle’s powerful driving lineout game was graphically illustrated when Penverne touched down and Hastoy converted to make it 23-13 at the break.
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But La Rochelle were dealt a double blow early in the second period, conceding another try and seeing scrum-half Tawera Kerr-Barlow carried off.
Baird was the beneficiary of a poor attempted tackle from Hastoy – build-up play had included a superb pass from prop Tadhg Furlong – and Byrne converted after a lengthy delay while Kerr-Barlow received treatment before leaving the field.
La Rochelle knew they had to score next or there was no way back, but they conceded two tries in four minutes.
Sheehan claimed the first following flanker Josh van der Flier’s powerful surge, then Lowe added his second when he finished impressively after chasing a kick into space.
It was ruthless rugby from the home team and La Rochelle had no answer as they found themselves dominated in all departments.
Comments on RugbyPass
A distinct discomfort with the officiating they were probably selected from the local IRA narcos branch along with the commentators bloody fly tippers.
1 Go to commentsWow, never thought I would read that
1 Go to commentsExcellent match. Great to see Keenan and Ryan back for Leinster. Super result for Ulster. Season is turning around.
1 Go to comments“We need eight or nine new players, who are hard-wearing and durable and experienced Premiership performers”. So why are they scouting a retired fullback who himself admits that his “body is broken”?
1 Go to commentsBrumbies hand, knocked a Crusaders hand. Therefore, knock on in goal. Crusaders, goal line drop out should’ve been awarded. most likely after that 24 each at full time, so extra time would’ve been the right an entertaining outcome. Act Jim
1 Go to commentsSpeell cehck
1 Go to commentsColeman is gaawwwwnnn.
1 Go to commentsnext SA head coach?
3 Go to commentsGreat try by van Poortvliet.
1 Go to commentsThey have been cruelled by injuries but almost nobody (Sevu Reece and Fletcher Newell big exceptions) has played above himself which regularly happened before. Surely Scott Robertson had maintained the recruitment programme and it looks like a reasonable squad. Last in this competition will stall a lot of careers. Penny seems likeable. But it’s not enough even though this was better. We haven’t been good enough and it’s not helped by the “it’s been 15 years since… “etc “after nearly every match. Seems somehow a soft gifting of something once valuable. Kieran Read giving comments last week almost choked describing the easy surrender of possession by the forwards. I’d love to think that the senior players some of whom are back can show enough pride in the jersey to test the Blues next week.
3 Go to commentsWho will Joe select for the back three with so many in form candidates? Just hope he doesn’t get shafted like Dave Rennie and to a lesser extent Deans.
6 Go to commentsAlways reluctant to blame a coach when losses rack up, but Penney must go. The backline is dysfunctional and the coach must carry the can. No cohesion, no idea and in many cases, minimal skill. The trains out of Roma St depart faster than the ball from Crusaders’ set pieces. Wouldn’t be surprised if the forwards went on strike.
3 Go to commentsAdding to earlier comment. Cullen Grace has been playing great at no6. Lio-Willie , who was on fire a few weeks ago, had a bad game. I think Cullen should have been moved to 8 earlier, Dominic Gardiner on earlier. Feel for Quinten Strange , put in a big shift .
6 Go to commentsWe dominated the scrums Ben Curry was all over pitch again .Surely James Harper got to be one of best English tightheads
1 Go to commentsRoos is a better option at 6 than 8 for the boks. Needs to work on his windgat though.
1 Go to commentsThe Sharks’ 2nd team maybe?
1 Go to comments‘radical’
1 Go to commentsCome back to Christchurch Robbie, please!
1 Go to commentsI think there is zero chance Sam Cane will be selected for another Test. There is simply no point except sentimentality. Razor is not sentimental- ask Wyatt Crocket. Razor is a ruthless selector
5 Go to comments> It would be best described as an elegant solution to what was potentially going to be a significant problem for new All Blacks coach Scott Robertson. It is a problem the mad population of New Zealand will have to cope with more and more as All Blacks are able to continue their careers in NZ post RWCs. It will not be a problem for coaches, who are always going to start a campaign with the captain for the next WC in mind. > Cane, despite his warrior spirit, his undoubted commitment to every team he played for and unforgettable heroics against Ireland in last year’s World Cup quarter-final, was never unanimously admired or respected within New Zealand while he was in the role. Neither was McCaw, he was considered far too passive a captain and then out of form until his last world cup where everyone opinions changed, just like they would have if Cane had won the WC. > It was never easy to see where Cane, or even if, he would fit into Robertson’s squad given the new coach will want to be building a new-look team with 2027 in mind. > Cane will win his selections on merit and come the end of the year, he’ll sign off, he hopes, with 100 caps and maybe even, at last, universal public appreciation for what was a special career. No, he won’t. Those returning from Japan have already earned the right to retain their jersey, it’s in their contract. Cane would have been playing against England if he was ready, and found it very hard to keep his place. Perform, and they keep it however. Very easy to see where Cane could have fit, very hard to see how he could have accomplished it choosing this year as his sabbatical instead of 2025, and that’s how it played out (though I assume we now know what when NZR said they were allowing him to move his sabbatical forward and return to NZ next year, they had actually agreed to simply select him for the All Blacks from overseas, without any chance he was going to play in NZ again). With a mammoth season of 15 All Black games they might as well get some value out of his years contract, though even with him being of equal character to Richie, I don’t think they should guarantee him his 100 caps. That’s not what the All Blacks should be about. He absolutely has to play winning football.
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