By Nick Said
DUBLIN (Reuters) – There will be a sense of deja vu around Dublin when Leinster take on defending champions La Rochelle in a repeat of last year’s European Champions Cup final at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday, though this year the Irish side has home advantage.
La Rochelle claimed their maiden title in the continent’s elite club competition when they edged Leinster 24-21 in a thrilling decider 12 months ago, a match that was played in the French city of Marseille.
Leinster can match Toulouse’s record haul of five trophy wins in the competition this season but must do without injured flyhalf Johnny Sexton and back row Will Connors. Their absence is offset, to an extent, by the return to fitness of Ireland international wing James Lowe and flanker Scott Penny.
Ross Byrne has stood in well for Sexton in recent weeks, but this will be a huge test of his ability to command a game from the number 10 jersey.
Coach Leo Cullen rested a number of players for last weekend’s surprise United Rugby Championship semi-final defeat to Munster, a gamble he felt he had to take.
“We knew we were taking a bit of a risk,” Cullen told reporters. “We can’t dwell on it. They (La Rochelle) will be desperate to retain their trophy so it’s two teams going hard at it again.
“Hopefully it will be a great occasion. That’s what we have to look forward to now.”
If Leinster prop Cian Healy is involved he could become the first player in history to win the Champions Cup five times.
La Rochelle may have their own Irish luck in the form of coach Ronan O’Gara, the scourge of Leinster on many occasions as both a player and now a coach. His side also beat the Dublin-based team in the 2021 Champions Cup semi-finals, as well as last year’s final.
“We’re expecting the best version of Leinster and the best version of them is a formidable task,” O’Gara said. “We know how difficult it is going to be, but we want to test ourselves against the best.
“We talk all the time about stifling or stopping Leinster, but stopping La Rochelle is also a subject. Our last defeat (in the Champions Cup) was almost two years ago.”
Glasgow Warriors and Toulon will contest the decider in Europe’s Challenge Cup at the same venue on Friday.
Toulon have been to four previous finals in the competition and lost them all, including last year. Glasgow are the second Scottish side to feature in the decider and the first since Edinburgh were defeated by Gloucester in 2014-15.
(Reporting by Nick Said; Editing by Toby Davis)
