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The Leinster pair bidding to become most decorated in European history

By Kim Ekin
Jonathan Sexton of Leinster shakes hands with teammate Scott Penny after their side's victory in the United Rugby Championship match between Leinster and Munster at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. (Photo By Harry Murphy/Sportsfile via Getty Images)

Leinster are seeking their add a fifth Heineken Champions Cup star and to join Stade Toulousain as the most successful club in the tournament’s history this weekend in Marseille. Remarkably the men in blue boast a pair of veterans that are also bidding for their fifth Champions Cup title as players.

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In the extremely likely event that they are selected in the matchday 23, and if Leinster ulitimately lift the trophy, Johnny Sexton and Cian Healy will become the most decorated players in the tournament’s history by each claiming a fifth winner’s medal.

To date, six players have won on four occasions: Cédric Heymans (CA Brive/Stade Toulousain), Fréderic Michalak (Stade Toulousain/RC Toulon) and the Leinster quartet of Sexton, Healy, Isa Nacewa and Devin Toner.

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Sexton and Healy will break new ground, having been present at Leinster’s first trophy lift back in 2009, when the province bested Leicester Tigers in Murrayfield.

As many as 17 of Leinster’s tournament squad are already Heineken Champions Cup winners having been selected in the matchday squad for a final: Jack Conan, Seán Cronin, Tadgh Furlong, Jamison Gibson-Park, Cian Healy, Robbie Henshaw, Dave Kearney, Jordan Larmour, Luke McGrath, Rory O’Loughlin, Andrew Porter, Garry Ringrose, Rhys Ruddock, James Ryan, Jonathan Sexton, Devin Toner and James Tracy, according to stats released by the EPCR.

Henshaw, if selected, will make his 50th tournament appearance in the final.

Sexton has scored the most points of any player in Heineken Champions Cup finals with 68 from five appearances. His total of 28 in Leinster’s dramatic win against Northampton Saints in 2011 has only been surpassed by Diego Dominguez’s metronomic 30 points in Stade Francais Paris’ losing final against Leicester Tigers in 2001.

Standing in his way is his old foe and friend, Ronan O’Gara. The pair locked horns for years on either side of the Leinster-Munster divide and wrestled for the Ireland number ten jersey. It was a fight that Sexton, nine years O’Gara’s junior, would inevitably win.

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O’Gara famously had Heineken Cup success with Munster Rugby in 2006 and 2008 and he now could become the second person to win the title as both player and head coach, emulating his opposite number on Saturday, Leo Cullen, who is the only person to have the achieved the feat so far.

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As the Corkman’s club attempts to win its first EPCR title, four members of the Stade Rochelais tournament squad have already tasted European success. Will Skelton was a Heineken Champions Cup winner with Saracens in 2018, while Jonathan Danty, Jules Plisson and Jérémy Sinzelle were Challenge Cup winners with Stade Francais Paris in 2017.

Stade Rochelais are bidding to become the 13th club to be crowned champions of Europe since the tournament’s inception in 1995. If they triumph on Saturday evening, they will be the fourth French club after Stade Toulousain, CA Brive and RC Toulon, to lift the trophy.

While Leinster might be favourites for the title, it is they who owe La Rochelle one, having lost 32 – 23 in last year’s semi-final. The French side were too big and too powerful that day and Leinster used the defeat to motivate a tweak in their approach this season.

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The impressive Grégory Alldritt of Stade Rochelais, who has been shortlisted for the European Player of the Year award, leads this season’s statistics in three categories: carries (113), metres (731) and offloads (15).

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Victor Vito, who hangs up his boots at the end of the season, had Super Rugby success with the Hurricanes in 2016 and could become the 12th player to do the Heineken Champions Cup and Super Rugby double if Stade Rochelais win.

Players from eight different countries – Argentina, Australia, Fiji, France, Ireland, New Zealand, Samoa and South Africa – are likely to feature in the final.

Stats – EPCR

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Jon 1 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

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j
john 4 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

15 Go to comments
A
Adrian 6 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

15 Go to comments
T
Trevor 9 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

21 Go to comments
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