Leinster player ratings vs La Rochelle | Champions Cup final
Leinster player ratings: A nail-biting Heineken Champions Cup final that went down to the wire in Marseille was dramatically tipped the way of La Rochelle with a converted try to leave the French club first-time winners of the trophy and deny Leinster their much-desired fifth star. The Irish province were huge pre-match favourites against an opposition that was minus two World Cup-winning All Blacks in the injured Victor Vito and Tawera Kerr-Barlow.
They led for most of the contest but inaccuracies rendered them unusually tryless and left them dependent on penalty points kicked from the tee. They kicked seven from seven, six coming from skipper Johnny Sexton before he trudged off.
But those points weren’t enough to enable them to steer clear of the tremendous gallop that La Rochelle generated in the final quarter despite the handicap of a cheap yellow card for Thomas Lavault. So powerful was their riposte that they turned a 10-18 deficit into a 24-21 win that was sealed by Arthur Retiere touching down with 78:48 on the clock.
It was an outcome that will fill Leinster with regret as the swashbuckling performance they produced in Dublin in the semi-final to dethrone defending champions Toulouse was washed away at Stade Velodrome.
Their envied attack was blunted and their defence was undone by an opposition that scored three well-taken tries, the last an incredible score after an intoxicating final ten minutes was played out deep inside the Leinster half.
Quick feet of Raymond Rhule! ?
In off the wing, beating the last defender to open La Rochelle's account in the @ChampionsCup final.#HeinekenChampionsCup pic.twitter.com/y2dN0ocA4j
— Rugby on BT Sport (@btsportrugby) May 28, 2022
Retiere, their sub scrum-half, slipped on the carry but it proved to his advantage as he was able to acrobatically wriggle the ball to the line under his outstretched arm despite the attentions of Garry Ringrose. Here are the Leinster player ratings:
15. Hugo Keenan – 5.5
This Rolls-Royce of a player has rarely come under the type of pressure he was forced to endure by a well-oiled La Rochelle. He was left grasping at the air for the opening Raymond Rhule try and continued to have loads of traffic directed his way, culminating in the no-release penalty concession that ignited the opposition surge at the hour mark.
14. Jimmy O’Brien – 6
One of just two Leinster starters yet to be capped at Test level by Ireland, he had numerous good moments in the biggest game of his career, some nice breaks and some decent covering including tackling Gregory Alldritt into touch on one occasion. However, he was directly at fault for the opening Rochelle try, stepping in and allowing the offload to get away to create the hole that was exploited.
13. Garry Ringrose – 6.5
Started brightly with his carry forcing the infringement that allowed Sexton to open the scoring and he went on to have some other encouraging involvements on both sides of the ball. Executed one try-saving tackle in what was set to be a heroic last stand but cruelly became the player who couldn’t prevent Retiere from scoring the decisive try.
12. Robbie Henshaw – 7
Tried to lead the charge when he could but the Rochelle defence was unforgiving with Jonathan Danty his direct opponent. Gutsy effort.
11. James Lowe – 5.5
Took 45 minutes for him to contribute in attack, winning a lineout when he kicked a loose ball at a covering defender. Did some good aerial work near the end but this was a contest where the French sidelined him.
"Hats off to La Rochelle, they put us under a lot of pressure"
"We allowed them too much access on our end, especially in the second half"
Leinster were just over a minute away from being crowned champions.
Heartbreak for Leo Cullen's men in Marseille ?#HeinekenChampionsCup pic.twitter.com/npFHzKkfVg
— Rugby on BT Sport (@btsportrugby) May 28, 2022
10. Johnny Sexton – 6.5
Provided cup final leadership, for the most part, kicking all six of his penalty attempts to have Leinster 18-10 up despite the team not collectively playing well. However, he suffered a first-half foot injury in friendly fire from James Ryan and constantly has Danty running down his channel before his day dramatically unravelled when he was caught in possession on gathering Brice Dulin’s missed drop goal and tossing Keenan a trouble-making pass that was a momentum changer.
9. Jamison Gibson-Park – 7
His slick pass had been the talk of the tournament but there was no silver service provided by his pack on this occasion. That said, he kicked well and long and his tremendous energy was illustrated by the intelligence he exhibited when shutting down a late first-half attack where Rochelle seemed certain to score. Was the player who was later tripped for the yellow card but that sin-binning wasn’t the game’s decisive moment.
1. Andrew Porter – 6.5
Tough going and he emptied the tank during his 63 minutes. Normally of great nuisance value at the breakdown but that eminence didn’t materialise here.
2. Ronan Kelleher – No rating
Sadly gone after just 14 and a half minutes with a hand problem evident in a wildly crooked lineout throw and then when quickly standing up at a scrum that was penalised.
3. Tadhg Furlong – 6.5
Shrugged off injury concerns by trucking it for 63 minutes. Couldn’t do anything to prevent an offload in the lead-up to the opening try but demonstrated his worth in his specialist department when winning a pressure-relieving scrum on 38 minutes five metres from his line on a Rochelle put-in.
4. Ross Molony – 7
His determined contribution was best illustrated by how two lineout fetches set in train mauls that he led to win some early penalties, a tactic that worked again early in the second half when James Ryan was the catcher. Great engine to go 77 minutes in his coming-of-age season.
Johnny Sexton ? Ronan O'Gara
Respect between two legends of the sport.#HeinekenChampionsCup pic.twitter.com/nDnqSJAYpD
— Rugby on BT Sport (@btsportrugby) May 28, 2022
5. James Ryan – 7
His voracious work rate was encapsulated by the number of times he was the player spotted on the ground waiting for the opposition scrum-half to play the ball away after he had effected a tackle or contested a breakdown. Tried his hardest to keep the yellow wall at bay and nearly succeeded.
6. Caelan Doris – 5.5
A disappointing outing by his extraordinarily high standards. Struggled for notice but showed class when tidying up the scramble situation that eventually led to the penalty on the stroke of half-time for a 12-7 lead. Rochelle had his number, though. He was penalised for three points after a carry in his 22 at the start of the second half and would likely have been yellow carded for a bind change at the maul had Pierre Bourgarit not scored on 60 minutes.
7. Josh van der Flier – 6.5
Has been tremendous all season but the post-game announcement that he had been voted the European player of the year wouldn’t have amused him in the aftermath of an afternoon where his red-capped exploits weren’t as dominant as previously. A moment on 56 minutes highlighted the difficulty, trying to nibble at a Will Skelton carry that went to ground only for him to go off his feet and fall out of the contest.
8. Jack Conan – 6.5
Demonstrated safe hands in the early stages but then missed a lineout catch on 21 minutes. Hard yards were the story of his day but that agonisingly wasn’t enough to get his team over the line.
Replacements:
16. Dan Sheehan (for Kelleher, 15); 22. Ross Byrne (for Sexton, 62); 17. Cian Healy (for Porter), 18. Michael Ala’alatoa (for Furlong, both 63); 20. Rhys Ruddock (for Doris, 67); 21. Luke McGrath (for Gibson-Park, 76); 19. Joe McCarthy (for Moloney, 77).
The Leinster bench didn’t have the composure to see the victory home. Aside from one lineout overthrow, Sheehan fitted in well after his early introduction and one offload near the interval was exceptional. Byrne did kick his team’s seventh penalty for 21-17 on 65 minutes but two fumbles, one that went back and the second that was a knock-on, showed how nervous he was replacing Sexton in a nerve-shredding situation not helped by Ala’alatoa giving up a ruck penalty during that result-defining pressure period at the end.
Comments on RugbyPass
Jake White talks more sense than anything I've read in the last 5 years. Hope someone's listening.
9 Go to commentsThe Springboks tried going down the road of only picking home-based players and it was an unmitigated disaster in 2016 and 2017. Picking overseas-based players has been one of the main reason the Boks have done so well since 2018, not only because of the quality Rassie could call on, but because of the knowledge and experience those players brought into camp from England, France and Japan. With some of the big names playing abroad it also gave younger players in SA the chance to break through at franchise level. Would we have seen the emergence of a Ruan Nortje if RG and Lood were still at the Bulls? Not so sure. I understand why Jake would want to block players leaving since his job depends on good results but it’s an approach that would take Bok rugby back to the bad old days and no South African wants to see that.
9 Go to commentsExeter were thumped by 38 points. And they only had to hop on a train.
35 Go to commentsI am De Groot.
1 Go to commentsHad hoped you might write an article on this game, Nick. It’s a good one. Things have not gone as smoothly for ROG since beating Leinster last year at the Aviva in the CC final. LAR had the Top 14 Final won till Raymond Rhule missed a simple tackle on the excellent Ntamack, and Toulouse reaped the rewards of just staying in the fight till the death. Then the disruption of the RWC this season. LAR have not handled that well, but they were not alone, and we saw Pau heading the Top 14 table at one stage early season. I would think one of the reasons for the poor showing would have to be that the younger players coming through, and the more mature amongst the group outside the top 25/30, are not as strong as would be hoped for. I note that Romain Sazy retired at the end of last season. He had been with LAR since 2010, and was thus one of their foundation players when they were promoted to Top 14. Records show he ended up with 336 games played with LAR. That is some experience, some rock in the team. He has been replaced for the most part by Ultan Dillane. At 30, Dillane is not young, but given the chances, he may be a fair enough replacement for Sazy. But that won’be for more than a few years. I honestly know little of the pathways into the LAR setup from within France. I did read somewhere a couple of years ago that on the way up to Top 14, the club very successfully picked up players from the academies of other French teams who were not offered places by those teams. These guys were often great signings…can’t find the article right now, so can’t name any….but the Tadgh Beirne type players. So all in all, it will be interesting to see where the replacements for all the older players come from. Only Lleyd’s and Rhule from SA currently, both backs. So maybe a few SA forwards ?? By contrast, Leinster have a pretty clear line of good players coming through in the majority of positions. Props maybe a weak spot ? And they are very fleet footed and shrewd in appointing very good coaches. Or maybe it is also true that very good coaches do very well in the Leinster setup. So, Nick, I would fully concurr that “On the evidence of Saturday’s semi-final between the two clubs, the rebuild in the Bay of Biscay is going to take longer than it is on the east coast of Ireland”
11 Go to commentsWhat was the excuse for the other knockout blowouts then? Does the result not prove the Saints were just so much better? Wise call to put your eggs in one basket when you’ve got 2 comps simultaneously finishing.
35 Go to commentsReally hope Kuruvoli and his partner rock the Canes.
1 Go to commentsI wonder what impact Samson has had on their attack, as the team seems less prone to trundle it up the middle, take the tackle and then trundle it up again. I lost faith in the coach last year as the Rebelss looked like a 2nd/3rd rate South African team. I also disliked Gordon standing back, often ignored as the forward battle went on and on. Maybe its our Aussie way of not getting off our A***’s until the enemy is at the gate.
86 Go to commentsThanks for the write up. Great to see the Rebs winning, I am a little interested in how they will go against the remaining kiwi teams, I think they’ve only played Hurricanes and Highlanders but how great to see these players performing!! I also see Parling has a job beyond June 30! A good move by RA? Also how do you fix the Rebels previously scratchy defence?
86 Go to commentsbe smart - go black
13 Go to commentsNext week the Crusaders hopefully have Scott Barrett back. Will be great to have the captain back. Hopefully he will be the All Black captain as well.
12 Go to commentsExciting place to be for the young fella. I expected he was French Polynesian when I saw him included in the France 6N squad (after seeing him in NZs), and therefor be strong grounds we might loose him to rugby down here. Good, in that he is good enough to warrant such a profile, and from a journalism’s fan interaction aspect, to finally get a back ground story on the fella. Hope he has settled into NZ OK and that at least one rugby country will fit with him to help his development, which, if so, he should surely continue for a few years, and then that he can experience France to it’s fullest with a bit more maturity and less reliance on family than you would have at his current age. A good 3 or 4 years before he would be ready for International duty if he wanted to wait. Of course he already sounds good enough to accept a call up, and to cap himself, in the more immediate future (he’d have to be very very good in the case of the ABs), and he’ll get a great taste of that being with the Canes who have a bunch who are just a few years further into their career and looking likely Internationals themselves.
13 Go to commentsI remember towards the end of the original broadcasting deal for Super rugby with Newscorp that there was talk about the competition expanding to improve negotiations for more money - more content, more cash. Professional rugby was still in its infancy then and I held an opposing view that if Super rugby was a truly valuable competition then it should attract more broadcasters to bid for the rights, thereby increasing the value without needing to add more teams and games. Unfortunately since the game turned professional, the tension between club, talent and country has only grown further. I would argue we’re already at a point in time where the present is the future. The only international competitions that matter are 6N, RC and RWC. The inter-hemisphere tours are only developmental for those competitions. The games that increasingly matter more to fans, sponsors and broadcasters are between the clubs. Particularly for European fans, there are multiple competitions to follow your teams fortunes every week. SA is not Europe but competes in a single continental competition, so the travel component will always be an impediment. It was worse in the bloated days of Super rugby when teams traversed between four continents - Africa, America, Asia and Australia. The percentage of players who represent their country is less than 5% of the professional player base, so the sense of sacrifice isn’t as strong a motivation for the rest who are more focused on playing professional rugby and earning as much from their body as they can. Rugby like cricket created the conundrum it’s constantly fighting a losing battle with.
9 Go to commentsOh wow… “But as La Rochelle proved in winning in Cape Town this season, a cross-continental away assignment need not spell the end of days.” La Rochelle actually proved quite the opposite. After traveling to Cape town and back they (back-to-back and current champs) got mercilessly thumped the next week. If travel is not the reason, why else would a full-strength powerhouse like La Rochelle get dumped on their @r$e$ one week later?
35 Go to commentsYou know he can land a winning conversion after the full time siren is up. (Even if it takes two attempts.)
5 Go to commentsA very insightful article from Jake. I would love to know how South African’s feel about their move to Europe. Do you prefer playing in Europe or want to go back to Super Rugby?
9 Go to commentspure fire
1 Go to commentsA very well thought out summary of all the relevant complications…agree with your ”refer the Cricket Test versus 20/20 comparison”. More also definitely doesn't necessarily mean better!
9 Go to commentsMust be something when you are only 19 y.o and both NZ and France want you. Btw he wasn’t the only new caledonian in french U20 as Robin Couly also lived in Noumea until 17. Hope he’s successful wherever he chooses to play.
13 Go to comments“Several key players in the Stade Rochelais squad are in their thirties” South Africans are going to hate the implications of that comment!
11 Go to comments