Leo Cullen maintained that Leinster would rise again but admitted the players were gutted after letting slip leads of 17-0 and 23-7 in losing their third Champions Cup final in the last five seasons since their fourth triumph in 2018.
“The dressing-room now is pretty gutted as you can imagine because it means so much for the players and everyone who worked so hard to get to this point.
“It was so, so close wasn’t it? Unbelievably close. You start the game really well with lots of really positive things in the first-half but the flipside of that is the second-half – even though we come up with some good turnovers at our end of the field, we didn’t exit that well.
[ Leinster left to rue one that got away as La Rochelle break their hearts againOpens in new window ]
“It just means we’re feeding La Rochelle possession and territory, it’s tight margins. They managed to get over the try-line at the end of the game this time last year and we’re in that situation this year and we can’t get over the line.
“It’s come down to the closest of margins in the end, unfortunately on both sides we haven’t been good enough to do it. For our guys, we have to stay at it and keep believing that they’ll get there.
“For now, that’s it. This season is done, our group changes now so that’s the way it happens at the end of every season; so we’ve some players who will move on.
“We’ll celebrate their time in the next little while, then we’ll go again.
“Unbelievably tight game, tightest of margins. There’s things that guys will look back on with regret, similar to last year. Unfortunately it’s just not to be today. The big thing is not to lose heart, we were up against a very good team.”
“It’s so close and that’s why it’s so upsetting today but I’ve a lot of faith in some of the young guys that are coming through, the leaders and the quality of people, and they’ll be back. You’ve just got to keep putting yourself in that position time and time again.
“Some day, we will get over the line and it will be a special day.”
Cullen admitted that James Ryan had been a huge loss after playing so well in the first half-hour but that teams have to deal with such things to win tournaments.
As Ryan left, Ross Byrne made it 23-7, and Garry Ringrose assumed the captaincy. Asked why Byrne did not attempt what was an admittedly difficult penalty at goal from 50 metres or so inside the last ten minutes (Byrne tested what had become a significant breeze behind La Rochelle), Ringrose said: “It’s always an option there and I’d have 100 per cent trust in his feeling on the spot and we’ve seen him in big games get kicks from there so I trust his gut on that and we backed ourselves with the decisions we make.”
Ronan O’Gara lauded the character of his team after completing the biggest comeback in a final since Leinster beat Northampton in 2011.
“It was incredibly good because we were on the ropes big time obviously. We were being steamrolled by a very impressive team.
“I knew Goody [Andrew Goodman, the Leinster assistant coach] would have a special one or two up his sleeve, but I didn’t quite expect it after whatever 45 seconds, so it was a great play they opened their batting with. It was 7-0 within six minutes and then 12-0 and within 11 minutes it’s 17-0 so you’re not long away from getting hosed, which obviously wasn’t the plan coming here.
“So, we’ve a very interesting culture in our team. It’s changed a lot. The boys really care. I think it was easy to jump ship today. They did the opposite. It was a 23-man effort.
“They dug in. They showed serious resolve and I think we’re worthy champions.’
Asked what a second Champions Cup in succession as head coach of La Rochelle meant to him, O’Gara said: “I haven’t really thought about it because it never really became an issue.
“We scored and then Antoine [Hastoy] kicked a pressure conversion, which is a belting kick but I think there were still eight minutes left. It’s a long time in rugby with a one-score game.
“Leinster bombarded our line and I can’t wait to watch the video of how we kept them out. It’s very unfortunate for Michael Ala’alatoa. You’ve got to come in at that pace to shift bodies. Unfortunately, he just got his angle wrong and it’s a head collision and it’s a red card. It’s very disappointing for him because he’s a good guy.
“That was a huge moment for us but you saw the huge composure from us.
“It’s spectacular for this group. They showed a lot of character.”
There was a degree of ill-feeling after the game from the La Rochelle captain Grégory Alldritt arising from a perceived prematch sleight toward him from Ryan at the prematch coin coss.
“From the toss, already, we were not respected,” claimed Alldritt. “He didn’t look me in the eye when he shook my hand. And that should not be done. There are a lot of values in our club. Going to 17-7, it was a whole different game. At 23-14, the dynamic was for us.”
O’Gara added: ‘Yeah, I got word of it down on the pitch. Obviously, I have a close relationship with my captain – a bizarre action when they were going for the toss. Normally you engage eyes and no eyes were engaged. Greg was disappointed and let down.”
O’Gara also said: “Obviously Leinster were the home team in terms of accommodation for the families, post-match gigs.
“I think we’re in Lansdowne. We couldn’t get a room in this place. It’s disappointing on that front, but we’ve got to accept that we’re seen as the little time, but that’s about to change.”
However, it was not a Leinster home game, and apparently La Rochelle were offered a room for 100 people in the Aviva after the game but wanted one for 300 people.
Much ado about very little perhaps on the day that was in it.
