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Recap: La Rochelle vs Sale Sharks | Heineken Champions Cup


La Rochelle vs Sale Sharks Live Match Centre
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Follow all the action from the Heineken Champions Cup match between La Rochelle and Sale Sharks at Stade Marcel Deflandre with live commentary, stats, scores, and more!

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Keep up to date with the latest score, stats and join the conversation from anywhere in the world in our Live Match Centre (click here).

This fixture is a rematch of last season’s Challenge Cup semi-final where the hosts narrowly came out on top before falling to Clermont in the final.

Jono Gibbes has decided to start 22-year-old Tevita Railevu for the first time. Sale, meanwhile, have made 15 changes to the matchday 23 that ran in six tries against Harlequins last weekend in the Gallagher Premiership. Prop Ross Harrison is one of only six players to keep his place in the starting line-up.

LA ROCHELLE: 15. Jeremy Sinzelle; 14. Tevita Railevu, 13. Geoffrey Doumayrou, 12. Levani Botia, 11. Arthur Retiere; 10. Ihaia West, 9. Tawera Kerr Barlow, 1. Reda Wardi, 2. Pierre Bourgarit, 3. Sila Puafisi, 4. Thomas Lavault, 5. Rémi Leroux, 6. Kevin Gourdon (capt), 7. Wiaan Liebenberg, 8. Gregory Alldritt. Reps: 16. Brendan Lebrun, 17. Mike Corbel, 18. Uini Atonio, 19. Lopeti Timani, 20. Zeno Kieft, 21. Thomas Berjon, 22. Brock James, 23. Kini Murimurivalu.

SALE SHARKS: 15. Luke James; 14. Thomas Roebuck, 13. Sam James (capt), 12. James Williams, 11. Marland Yarde; 10. AJ MacGinty, 9. Will Cliff; 1. Ross Harrison, 2. Rob Webber, 3. Jake Cooper-Woolley, 4. Matthew Postlewaite, 5. James Phillips, 6. Jean-Luc du Preez, 7. Ben Curry, 8. Dan du Preez. Reps: 16. Curtis Langdon, 17. Valery Morozov, 18. Callum Ford, 19. Sam Dugdale, 20. Cameron Neild, 21. Fergus Warr, 22. Joe Carpenter, 23. Chris Ashton.

WATCH: RugbyPass have made something truly special with the Barbarians rugby team – the release date is this Sunday, January 12

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Latest Long Reads

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The Gallagher Prem may have become the new Super Rugby - and attack is here to stay

England's top flight is favouring attack over defence en masse, and its statistics now align, extraordinarily, with the premier southern hemisphere tournament.

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Second-half Bledisloe capitulation lays bare Wallabies’ lack of bench depth

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Comments on RugbyPass

G
GK 24 minutes ago
Second-half Bledisloe capitulation lays bare Wallabies’ lack of bench depth

While we have great players on paper, are winning lineouts, and have had a few injuries, we need to change our style of play and coaching. For a start, copy the All Blacks and Springboks style and get rid of the laptops!

6 Go to comments
N
NoLongerARuck 37 minutes ago
The Gallagher Prem may have become the new Super Rugby - and attack is here to stay

The Sharks Stormers game was not tactical, it was simple rugby reduced to a Set Piece and kick fest with little actual rugby played. It featured some of the best backs in the world but they barely played and it was a really poor game that seemed like something from the late 1990s rather than a modern day match. This game had the potential to be the marquee rugby match in world rugby that day with some of the best players in the world on display but instead it was an ugly brawl.

The Northampton game was a poor advert for defence to say the least. Its a typical example of the lowly standards gripping the prem in terms of defence but its also an example of the slick handling and quick play being unfurled in the same league. Excellent skills based attack vs poor lethargic and ungainly defence leads to cricket scores. The other day India chased down more than 400 runs in just 42 overs against the West Indies for just the loss of 2 wickets. The Indian coach came out and criticised the pitch. He knew that wasnt a proper cricket game any more than we know this was not a proper rugby match and Bath should really be ashamed of their defence



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5 Go to comments
C
Cantab 39 minutes ago
Second-half Bledisloe capitulation lays bare Wallabies’ lack of bench depth

The unavoidable attrition rate of modern test rugby means all sides will lose players to injury. NZ has the depth to cope with this but Australia does not. Rugby in Australia is a minority sport and the best talent is siphoned off by the likes of League & Rules.

6 Go to comments
N
NoLongerARuck 45 minutes ago
The Gallagher Prem may have become the new Super Rugby - and attack is here to stay

Comparing these two games is like comparing rotten apples with rotten oranges. Both are unpalatable, inedible and likely to make you sick. If I wanted to watch fast athletes leaping over obstacles I would watch the 200m hurdles at an IAAF event because static hurdles are what the Bath defenders seemed like against the Northampton backs. Northampton unleashed just 80 rucks for 19 line breaks. Bath barely made them work for 71 points. It was embarrassing with simple moves overloading the defence leading to simple scores and lets not talk about the missed tackles. The Saints defence wasnt as forgiving but it still looked like flat straight road with just a few tricky corners. The Prem is the new Super Rugby in terms of scores but not in terms of grit and substance. It has none of that and when these teams hit the Champs cup they meet true grit in the form of the French.

As for the Stormers vs Sharks I was doing meal prep and between chopping onions I shed a tear for the rugby being played out there. It was dreary with few rucks being built and pens, kicks, scrums and mauls being the order of the day. I turned on the tv to watch SFM, Damian Willemse, Giant Andre and nippy Edwill to name but a few but I got some one-dimensional dros served up in a typically rubbish South African derby. 63 kicks, 30 lineouts, 22 pens, 31 turnovers and ball in play of probably 25mins. Just 230 passes and 120 rucks between both sides, it was one out rugby to say the least. Imagine being asked to just make 81 tackles in a match and you still concede 39 points and miss 21 of them for less than 75%. It shows you how little the Stormers played and how poorly the Sharks defended. If you werent convinced by how little the Stormers played by that stat just look at the rucks built, 45 only, its like they played one half of rugby but thats actually a whole games worth for them.



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5 Go to comments
K
Kalub 54 minutes ago
Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii reveals thoughts on Wallabies wing switch

He’s great one game and shocking the next.. it's a wonder he didn't get a yellow card against the ABs with 2 no arm shoulder charges on players without the ball.. too inconsistent and way too much hype around him

2 Go to comments
A
Alex 55 minutes ago
The Gallagher Prem may have become the new Super Rugby - and attack is here to stay

I think the scrum is in good shape. For me it’ll be the jump in intensity and defensive demands that could cause major issue for them. It puts Borthwick in the position that Graham Henry and the likes probable faced back in super rugby’s heyday.

5 Go to comments
H
HenryAU 1 hour ago
Second-half Bledisloe capitulation lays bare Wallabies’ lack of bench depth

Wallabies will be better but don’t think they have the fire power to overcome this AB team. With Ikitau out and no foreseeable improvement off the bench it will be a step too far. When pundits are calling for a return of Beale you are staring down the barrel.

The injuries sustained by the AB’s are well covered by ALB, Kirifi and Bell .. will be closer but AB’s by 10+



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U
Uther 1 hour ago
The Gallagher Prem may have become the new Super Rugby - and attack is here to stay

Prem is such an exciting competition with such fantastic games that it would be utterly stupid to look behind. I truly hope that by 2030, two new teams will be included and it will be perfect.

And if SB could stay out of all that touches the Prem, it will be great. He already ruined the England team not by the results but by the play style, it would be a disaster that he also ruined that great competition through its directives.



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d
dw 1 hour ago
How the All Blacks left ‘waarheid’ behind at the Garden of Eden

Not sure we have many other options of forwards who can pilfer with Hooper in England.ill say Wilson impressed me with his work on Saturday.

259 Go to comments
M
Mzilikazi 1 hour ago
How the All Blacks left ‘waarheid’ behind at the Garden of Eden

Thanks for the kind words at the end, NLAR.

I have been in and around this game for along time now, and have often felt very despondent about the team I have been involved with. First as player, then coach, and latterly(long time now) a looker on. I have felt there is no way the team can improve, can eat the particular opponent. I don’t feel that way about this WB team.



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259 Go to comments
d
dw 1 hour ago
How the All Blacks left ‘waarheid’ behind at the Garden of Eden

So if I'm buying into your amazing conspiracy…is Les actually a Tah/kiwi mole disguised as a Queenslander who is secretly bringing down Australian rugby?

You claim to be a rabid fan, are you actually part of the conspiracy too?



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259 Go to comments
M
Mzilikazi 1 hour ago
How the All Blacks left ‘waarheid’ behind at the Garden of Eden

I would say that one did count, GM, in that it stopped the AB’s from making more progress towards the WB goal line, with the defence struggling. The turnover at least allowed the defence to reset, even though the AB’s had the penalty. Can’t remember the other one.

259 Go to comments
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NoLongerARuck 1 hour ago
Second-half Bledisloe capitulation lays bare Wallabies’ lack of bench depth

When they went into the break at 17-14 there was hope that they could win but as soon as that thought creeped in so did another that we have seen this script before and so a tight game became a blowout thanks in part to the bench woes the Wallabies have. This match also highlighted the obvious mental block Australia have when playing in NZ which is present too in Super Rugby. It is a horrible record built up through decades of suffering. Australia didnt help themselves in this game too. Defence was poor and a lack of contest at breakdown and ponderous line speed meant they just couldnt stop the black waves of attack. It was relentless from the All Blacks who showed their physicality, skill and grit which they have been honing in Rugbys Greatest Rivarly. They were battle hardened and ready for this test.

Australia didnt get any of the outcomes which they wanted off the high balls as well with the normally reliable JAS struggling. JAS struggled with his tackling as well and Potter and Henry were effectively cannon fodder for best centre in the world Jordie and his mercurial teammate Tupaea. Mcreight was also played out the game completely. Wilson was fantastic and the best player on the park with 28 tackles and no misses, a true captains knock. The lineout also went well and they must repeat the dose this weekend. The Wallabies must do better this week at home in several areas. If they can win this one it could be the catalyst for great things to come. This is probably the biggest test of the year for the Wallabies and a true test of their credentials for the showpiece next year.



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P
PM 2 hours ago
Second-half Bledisloe capitulation lays bare Wallabies’ lack of bench depth

It's a real/genuine problem and has been for years. We just don't have that great depth, but there has been progress in the last few years. The ABs have heaps of injuries too of course. I don't think the bench quality getting exposed was inevitable though this week. Dave Rennie prepared his team well to keep making post-ruck metres, as other have pointed out. Les Kiss has been very good but he was out coached this time.

Other players who could maybe come in are Pete Samu, if he's healthy and, surprisingly, Kurtley Beale. I would prefer to see him wearing 22 or 23 next week than I would Declan Meredith, Corey Toole or Dylan Pietsch, though they have their strengths. A shame Jordan Petaia is injured. Bit of a wildcard but has heaps to offer.



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W
Wayneo 2 hours ago
The Gallagher Prem may have become the new Super Rugby - and attack is here to stay

I completely agree with Borthwick’s vision, but you have to feel for him—he’s stuck in an impossible compromise. He’d love the URC's trench warfare, but he's forced to settle for a Premiership that is just trying to survive financially.

That said, you have to question if the Prem is swinging too far to the extreme wanting 71-48 Super Rugby Pacific style games.



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5 Go to comments
C
CMcGuire57 2 hours ago
Second-half Bledisloe capitulation lays bare Wallabies’ lack of bench depth

Wallabies need to have JOC or Curtley Beale on the bench, at least one of these highly experienced no. 10 players to come on, stop the panic and organise both attack and defence in these big pressure periods. Les kept Suali at wing at Eden Park for his airial attack yet every kick off from 10s went too low and too far for him to have any chance of competing, didn’t seem to be much coordination of the box kicks with Suali or Jorgo either and would have been better to have held the ball for more phases, rather than give ball back to ABs, who attack from anywhere ???

6 Go to comments
N
NB 2 hours ago
How the All Blacks left ‘waarheid’ behind at the Garden of Eden

I don’t think McLeod coaches teh aerial contest so you will have to look for someone else to blame for that!

259 Go to comments
N
NB 2 hours ago
How the All Blacks left ‘waarheid’ behind at the Garden of Eden

Well you have Scotland and England away so it will be interesting as they present a contrast up front…

259 Go to comments
N
NB 2 hours ago
How the All Blacks left ‘waarheid’ behind at the Garden of Eden

Everyone knows that the Boks have the toughest first receiver D in the biz at this level, so you need to loosen them up a bit elsewhere to let off a bit of steam there!

259 Go to comments
N
NB 2 hours ago
How the All Blacks left ‘waarheid’ behind at the Garden of Eden

Little time to experiment before the RWC now, so he does have to get his ducks in some kind of order.

259 Go to comments
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