Ahead of this season’s Champions Cup final between Leinster and La Rochelle at the Aviva Stadium, we pick out five storylines to follow in Dublin on Saturday.
Rested bodies should make for an incredible game
Much has been said and written about Leinster’s decision to rotate on the scale they did for the United Rugby Championship semi-final against Munster, a match they narrowly lost. While not having anywhere near the same importance, La Rochelle‘s Top 14 game against Montpellier saw Ronan O’Gara do likewise in terms of team selection as they suffered a 42-31 loss on the road. That leaves them second in the league, two points behind Toulouse, with one regular season round left.
The importance of this Champions Cup clash is writ large then, if we didn’t know it already, and it is perhaps a signal of just how brutal and demanding, both physically and mentally, rugby has become that it seems teams believe they now cannot reach the same standard week after week. That’s a debate for another day.
But what the respective coaches’ decisions has done is offered spectators the chance to see two fully fit and fresh sets of players battle it out this weekend. There are no excuses for anyone to be a metre or millisecond short at the Aviva as both teams arrive at the peak of their powers, which makes for an epic game.
Can Leinster cope with La Rochelle physicality?
The likes of Uini Atonio, Will Skelton, Levani Botia, Gregory Alldritt and Jonathan Danty provide only part of La Rochelle’s muscle that has done for many an opponent in recent seasons, not least Leinster in last year’s Champions Cup final in Marseille. How Leinster negate and more importantly match that is vital.
Leo Cullen’s side has definitely improved as a physical unit in 2022/23, as the likes of James Ryan, Dan Sheehan and Caelan Doris have developed a great deal in just 12 months. To a man though, Leinster have to front up against this hulking La Rochelle outfit, or they risk suffering the same fate in successive campaigns.
Skelton in particular, is one player whose imposing game must be stifled, but the power threats are all over the field, with Danty’s return to fitness huge for La Rochelle. His centre partnership with an in-form UJ Seuteni going up against Robbie Henshaw and Garry Ringrose will be one of many gainline battles to watch.
Pressure on Leinster to end trophy-less run
This week’s final became that much more important after the Leinster loss last weekend in the same stage of the URC as last season, leaving the Champions Cup as the last resort for silverware.
The last time Leinster hoisted a trophy it was the final edition of the Pro14 in the 2020/2021 season, which is a very long time for a club of their stature in the global game.
Interestingly, over the last two seasons, the club has dominated for the most part, finishing top of the URC twice and going deep into the Champions Cup. However, they have failed to win the key games.
It has been said by the Leinster camp during this period that win streaks and dominance mean nothing if there is no silverware. For a club often argued to be the best the world has to offer, there is precious little to show of late.
Ultimately what it all boils down to is that the importance of this weekend’s clash cannot be understated for the Dublin men
La ROGchelle
While there is one Irish province in the Champions Cup final, Leinster are unlikely to get the backing from everyone in Irish Rugby.
‘ROGchelle’ was a trending topic last season as Munster fans threw their backing behind their legendary flyhalf in charge of La Rochelle.
We will likely see hoards of La Rochelle fans streaming into the Aviva Stadium on Saturday, and while many will have made the trip out from the coastal southwestern city, some will have made a second trip to Dublin from Cork and Limerick.
There is no love lost between O’Gara and Leinster, but getting support from his former team’s fans adds more zing to an already spicy matchup.
The La Rochelle boss has laid down the gauntlet several times ahead of the final and will be out to get another victory over his old enemy.
The bench can make all the difference
As mentioned, both teams will have fully fit and firing for the final after resting a host of players last weekend. However, as we have seen in the previous two encounters between the two outfits, there is little to separate them. This will undoubtedly be a 46-man battle rather than just the 15 starters going toe-to-toe.
Last season, livewire replacement Arthur Retiere scored the match-winning try, while La Rochelle rallied in a superb final quarter in the previous season’s semi-final scoring two quick tries to seal the win. This campaign is bound to be another tussle decided by the smallest of margins.
We are in for an attritional battle between two heavyweights; the ability to swing momentum will be crucial and something both benches can do. The timing of the substitutions can be just as important, and with two astute coaches in control, this promises to be an intriguing technical clash.
Both sides have some serious firepower coming off the bench, and one has to feel that the replacements that make the most significant impact will be on the winning side.
READ MORE: Champions Cup: Josh van der Flier using Stuart Lancaster and Johnny Sexton departures as extra motivation
The article Champions Cup: Five storylines to follow for the final including trophy pressure on Leinster appeared first on Planetrugby.com.
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