Champions Cup: La Rochelle 14 Leinster 16
It’s said that attacks win matches and defences win trophies, but while the latter remains to be seen there’s no doubt that Leinster’s masterly, self-drilled defence won them the latest instalment of this extraordinary modern-day European rivalry.
On a gorgeous if cold day in this beautiful city on the French west coast, Stade Deflandre’s 101st successive capacity crowd rocked and throbbed until the final whistle.
This was another compellingly taut and tight contest of almost suffocating tension and intensity which never let up and came down to countless tiny moments and margins. Two wonderfully competitive and wound-up teams were each led brilliantly from the front by their spiritual leaders, Gregory Aldritt and the outstanding Caelan Doris.
Leinster were far from perfect but this third successive win over their one-time bêtes noires will have given them enormous satisfaction. Though injury-hit, La Rochelle rose to the occasion with their best performance of the season and threw everything at Leinster.
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But Leinster made 147 tackles to 99 by La Rochelle, Doris (28) and Josh van der Flier (21) leading the defensive effort which was exceptional to a man, and fittingly they won with one last defiant defensive set of 20 phases.
Unsurprisingly, with a whiff of cordite in the air from Leinster’s double win last season, Ronan O’Gara’s team were wound up from the start and fired out of the blocks. Antoine Hastoy drew first blood with a 40-metre penalty after Leinster pushed up offside. Uini Atonio enveloped Jordie Barrett to keep home energy bubbling, as was the case when the powerful Paul Boudehent bumped through Robbie Henshaw’s defence.
La Rochelle were also finding space on the edges, where Jamie Osborne recovered to intercept an offload by Hastoy before Brice Dulin misjudged and fly-hacked a high ball and Boudehent gathered offside for Sam Prendergast to level from 40 metres.
But the momentum remained with the home side. After Tawera Kerr-Barlow had charged down an attempted spiral clearance by Prendergast, Barrett could not gather a Dulin chip, the Leinster fullback did corner-flag a grubber by Kerr-Barlow but conceded a five-metre scrum when dragged over the line by Dillyn Leyds, albeit Barrett was initially tackled on the ground.
This led to a scrum penalty and a five-metre lineout, before Cian Healy was pinged for not rolling. It also led to two fine defensive sets by Leinster, featuring an important read by Jimmy O’Brien to tackle Dulin before Jamison Gibson-Park sharply nabbed Kerr-Barlow.
The pressure remained, thanks to an unexceptional kick by Prendergast and a lineout steal, and Hastoy restored then lead after Henshaw couldn’t roll away.
Leinster began to find some attacking rhythm after Ryan Baird made a trademark gallop from Doris’s deft pass before Gibson-Park overcooked a crosskick to Osborne.
Even so, with their first attacking lineout 35 metres out, Leinster struck. Henshaw steamed on to a long throw by Rónan Kelleher and a few phases later Prendergast went blind to Baird who passed deftly inside for Osborne to gather and swivel before releasing Joe McCarthy for a clear run to the line.
Prendergast converted and it might well have been a double whammy after a Hastoy intercept try was rightly over-ruled after he gathered a blatant knock forward by Jack Nowell, who leapt to flap the ball down two-handed. It looked worthy of a yellow card but Nika Amashukeli somehow adjudged it an attempt to catch the ball.
In any event, Alldritt manufactured a vital steal from the long throw to McCarthy to limit Leinster’s interval lead to 10-6.
Early into the second half Leinster brought on Rabah Slimani, RG Snyman and Jack Conan, and Slimani made an immediate scrum impact. The home crowd were in full French pantomime mode when howling with derision after Jules Favre clearly played the ball on the ground after the tackle, believing that Van der Flier had knocked on. Prendergast calmly slotted the 45-metre penalty to make it a two-score lead.
Hastoy struck the post with an eminently kickable penalty but Oscar Jegou forced a knock-on by Barrett with a forceful follow-up tackle, leading to a close-range penalty which the La Rochelle outhalf could not miss.
Cometh the hour, Leinster turned to Ross Byrne for the final quarter while an injury to O’Brien forced a reshuffle, with Ciarán Frawley coming on at fullback, Barrett reverting to centre and Garry Ringrose on the wing.
The latter continued to throw himself into tackles but after Osborne kicked the ball dead from his own 10-metre line after a wonderful steal by Doris, the Leinster defence was outflanked when Hastoy crosskicked perfectly for the touchline hugging Leyds. The South African winger had the presence of mind to gather and grubber before being tackled into touch by the covering Osborne to score.
Byrne missed a tricky but kickable 40-metre penalty and Barrett was wide from longer range, while Hastoy twice kicked out on the full before attempting a penalty from inside halfway in a dramatic finale.
The ball fell short, but rebounded from the upright and La Rochelle followed up to force one final attacking scrum. After Aldritt charged off the base, Van der Flier flew off the line and extended himself fully to charge down a close-range drop goal attempt by Hastoy.
Cue another huge defensive set fully two and a half minutes beyond the 80 with thunderous tackles to drive La Rochelle back before Hastoy passed forward. The travelling blue hordes roared in an otherwise deflated Deflandre.
Some game.
SCORING SEQUENCE – 4 mins: Hastoy pen, 3-0; 11: Prendergast pen, 3-3; 26: Hastoy pen, 6-3; 30: McCarthy try, Prendergast con, 6-10; (half-time 6-10); 50: Prendergast pen 6-13; 55: Prendergast pen 6-16; 60: Hastoy pen, 9-16; 66: Leyds try 14-16.
LA ROCHELLE: Brice Dulin; Jack Nowell, UJ Seuteni, Jules Favre, Dillyn Leyds; Antoine Hastoy, Tawera Kerr-Barlow; Reda Wardi, Quentin Lespiaucq, Uini Atonio; Thomas Lavault, Kane Douglas; Paul Boudehent, Oscar Jegou, Grégory Alldritt (capt).
Replacements: Georges-Henri Colombe for Atonio (33 mins); Alexandre Kaddouri for Wardi (39); Ultan Dillane for Lavault (h-t); Lavault for Douglas (45); Judicael Cancoriet for Lavault (47); Levani Botia for Favre (55); Matthias Haddad for Concoriet (64); Nikoloz Sutidze for Lespiaucq, Hoani Bosmorin for Dulin (both 77).
LEINSTER: Jordie Barrett; Jamie Osborne, Garry Ringrose, Robbie Henshaw, Jimmy O’Brien; Sam Prendergast, Jamison Gibson-Park; Cian Healy, Rónan Kelleher, Tadhg Furlong; Joe McCarthy, James Ryan; Ryan Baird, Josh van der Flier, Caelan Doris (capt).
Replacements: Andrew Porter for Healy (20 mins); Rabah Slimani for Furlong, RG Snyman for McCarthy, Jack Conan for Baird (all 47); Ross Byrne for Prendergast, Ciarán Frawley for Henshaw (both 61), Luke McGrath for Gibson-Park (71), Gus McCarthy for Kelleher (72).
Referee: Nika Amashukeli (Geo)
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