Leinster Rugby vs Stade Rochelais
Heineken Champions Cup final
Stade Velodrome, Marseilles
Saturday, 28th May 2022, 17:45 (16:45 Irish time)

Live: BT Sport, Virgin Media 2, Channel 4

"Hear about Helenowski and Brown? They got into a helluva scrap with six Mexicans at some bar. Helenowski lost six pints of blood. Brown's in a coma."

"I heard Helenowski lost an eye and they're reading Brown the last rites".

"What?? I have the report right here. They're home with bruises and muscle pulls."

In the last couple of weeks Leinster fans might have been reminded of the above lines from "L.A. Confidential". Leinster's personal bogeyman Will Skelton has haunted them over the last couple of years. In the 2019 final he proved a difference maker for Saracens and in last year's semi-final against La Rochelle he was massive again in more ways than one. But it seemed that Leinster wouldn't have to face their "big bad" when news broke of a calf injury a few weeks back.

"Skelton out for four weeks!"

"Skelton out for the season!"

"Skelton to never walk again!!!"

Okay that last one wasn't real but it did seem clear that Skelton was highly doubtful for the final at least. Leinster fans who checked last week's La Rochelle team sheet on Friday afternoon for their crucial tie against Stade Francais saw no sign of Big Bad Willie. It was to everyone's surprise then as Leinster fans basked smugly in the aftermath of beating Munster with a second string team that Skelton was a last minute addition to the bench and he played for 14 minutes at the end of the match. So was Ronan O'Gara channeling his best GAA coach and playing silly buggers with the team sheet to put a screw in Leinster's head? Either way Leo Cullen wasn't phased as he observed dryly "Will Skelton came back from his season-ending injury, which was interesting!".

Skelton is named to start and in a way, it might not be the worst thing for Leinster as they get to face their bogeyman and hopefully come through it on the right side this time. Because the last three European defeats have not just hurt Leinster's pride, they've made them question whether they're a team who can really compete at the top table. In all three defeats the media narrative was the same: "Leinster can play all the pretty rugby they want but when they come up against a bigger pack, they just can't cope. It's not their fault, it's just physics." Leinster always bristled at this reductive reasoning and they were right to. If the biggest team will always win, then how come South Africa hasn't won every World Cup? New Zealand have rarely matched the Springboks for pure size, but for decades beat them with speed, skill and using their power in the smartest way. The same attributes are the bedrocks of Leinster's gameplan this season.

After Leinster's sensational performance in the semi-final crushing of Toulouse, most of the media in Ireland, Britain and even France designated them champions in waiting. This was exacerbated even further when La Rochelle struggled to get past Racing 92 in the second semi-final, an error-ridden slog of a game. The bookies are also predicting a thirteen point win for Leinster. Ronan O'Gara will have all his players hoovering up every opinion writing them off for extra motivation. In truth La Rochelle are entitled to be annoyed, especially when you consider they beat Leinster comfortably in last season's semi-final.

Regardless of how fit Skelton is, La Rochelle still have plenty of match winners in their line-up. Number eight and skipper Gregory Alldritt is possibly the best back row in Europe at the moment and is the only La Rochelle nominee for European player of the season. He makes loads of big carries, tackles strongly and wins his fair share of turnovers too. He's flanked by Wiaan Liebenberg and Matthias Haddad with the superb Victor Vito a huge loss to an ankle injury. Thomas Lavault gets the nod to partner Skelton in the second row. Another huge man Uini Atonio is named at tighthead and he'll be coming after Andrew Porter in the scrum. Loosehead prop Dany Priso isn't as big but he's excellent in the loose as is hooker Pierre Bourgarit.

After breaking his hand in the semi-final Tawera Kerr Barlow is replaced at scrum-half by Thomas Berjon. He's partnered by Ihaia West who's place-kicking can be poor at times, but he nailed most of his kicks in last season's semi-final. Jeremy Sinzelle and another huge man Jonathan Danty, who's had a career revival since moving from Stade Francais, are the centres. Two South African wingers Dillyn Leyds and Raymond Rhule make up the back three with the fit again Brice Dulin at full back. There is decent quality on the bench in the likes of Facundo Bosch, Reda Wardi, Romain Sazy and Arthur Retiere but the name to look out for is Levani Botia, another massively powerful player who will be looking to atone for the red card he got in last year's final.

For Leinster the main talk since the semi-final has been the fitness of two key players Tadhg Furlong and James Lowe. But both are named to start in an unchanged match-day squad from the semi-final. It's a little tough on players like Jordan Larmour and Ryan Baird who both excelled in last week's win over Munster but Leo Cullen has gone with the squad that's served them well for most of the campaign.

So how is the final going to go? Well there are a number of factors to consider. First there's the weather, it's due to be in the high twenties on Saturday evening in Marseilles which La Rochelle will obviously be more used to. Secondly there's the referee Wayne Barnes. Bizarrely some rate this guy as a great referee despite the endless "matey" chat and second guessing of virtually every decision with the TMO. But if we recall the final in 2018, it wasn't just the weather that made it an awful game. Barnes let the Racing forwards roll from the tackle into the path of the scrum-half so they could slow down the ball. A repeat performance could be a massive help to La Rochelle as it will be crucial to their gameplan to slow down Leinster's ruck speed which is the quickest in the tournament.

Lastly there's the difference in Leinster personnel from last year's semi-final. Obviously Johnny Sexton wasn't there last year and Caelan Doris was also missing but the key difference this time could be Jamison Gibson-Park. His emergence this season from a decent back-up to the form scrum-half in Europe has been amazing to watch. While last year there was still a debate between him and Luke McGrath as to who should start, that debate is long since over. In fact McGrath will be nervously looking over his shoulder at the excellent performance of Cormac Foley last week. Gibson-Park has now become the key man for both Leinster and now Ireland in implementing the high speed gameplan that has been so successful.

So overall, while it will be tougher than some are predicting, Leinster should have enough to win and put that fifth star on the jersey.

Team Lineups

	Leinster Rugby		Stade Rochelais
Teams	Hugo Keenan	15	Brice Dulin
	Jimmy O'Brien	14	Dillyn Leyds
	Garry Ringrose	13	Jeremy Sinzelle
	Robbie Henshaw	12	Jonathan Danty
	James Lowe	11	Raymond Rhule
	Johnny Sexton (C)	10	Ihaia West
	Jamison Gibson-Park	9	Thomas Berjon
	Andrew Porter	1	Dany Priso
	Ronan Kelleher	2	Pierre Bourgarit
	Tadhg Furlong	3	Uini Atonio
	Ross Molony	4	Thomas Lavault
	James Ryan	5	Will Skelton
	Caelan Doris	6	Wiaan Liebenberg
	Josh van der Flier	7	Matthias Haddad
	Jack Conan	8	Gregory Alldritt (C)
Replacements	Dan Sheehan	16	Facundo Bosch
	Cian Healy	17	Reda Wardi
	Michael Ala'alatoa	18	Joel Sclavi
	Joe McCarthy	19	Romain Sazy
	Rhys Ruddock	20	Remi Bourdeau
	Luke McGrath	21	Arthur Retiere
	Ross Byrne	22	Levani Botia
	Ciaran Frawley	23	Jules Favre
Not Considered due to Injury	Will Connors, Dave Kearney, James Tracy, Tommy O'Brien
Officials	Referee: Wayne Barnes (England), Assistant Referees: Matthew Carley (England), Christophe Ridley (England), TMO: Tom Foley (England)

by Jim O'Connor, © 2022-05-27