Leinster rounded off an emphatic 40-13 victory over La Rochelle in the quarter-finals of the Champions Cup, thereby outmaneuvering the reigning champions, La Rochelle. The relentless exertions from travel had a significant impact on back-to-back champion, Ronan O’Gara’s side, a testament to Leinster’s superiority, who were a brutally dominant force in their respective field of play.
Leinster’s victory guarantees their spot in the semi-finals, which will be hosted at Croke Park in three week’s time. They will face off against the winner of the quarter-final match between Northampton and the Bulls, with a probable rematch of the 2011 final against Northampton set for May 4th. Despite the memory of La Rochelle’s stunning past performance overshadowing the excitement, the appearance of Jacques Nienaber and Joe McCarthy has instilled a newfound tenacity into Leinster’s gameplay.
Their sheer dominance was such that they could afford to rest Caelan Doris, a key player, for the last 10 minutes of the match. Fourteen weeks into Nienaber’s tenure, the noticeable increase in line speed, counter-rucking, energy, amongst other factors, has already infused an inimitable energy into the squad and their game. Their supporters were also noticeably ignited.
Notwithstanding, their offensive prowess remained undisrupted, securing a five to one victory margin which left no space for dispute. Significant contributions from the likes of Ross Byrne (15-point haul), Dan Sheehan, McCarthy, Doris, Robbie Henshaw, and others ensured a well-rounded performance overall. The variety and intensity of their attack proved to be a daunting challenge to La Rochelle. The loss of Hugo Keenan was easily overlooked due to an impressive performance from Ciarán Frawley. Their substitute bench also proved their worth, adding to the overall success of the match.
The gusty wind, which seemed to benefit Leinster initially, offered another exciting showdown between two of the current heavyweights in European rugby, despite its harmful influence. The wind played havoc with some of Leinster’s early game tactics and passes, but Byrne expertly accounted for it, securely kicking three superb first-half penalties from around 46 metres.
From the get-go, Leinster showed dominance in counter-rucking, setting a bold precedence with their aggressive tackles and line speed. The enthusiastic crowd was fully on board as they progressively found an attacking rhythm, credit to the strong gameplay from Sheehan, McCarthy, and Henshaw.
They constantly sought to spread the La Rochelle defence, using concise passes and abounding running lines to reel in the French’s team defence, giving Jamie Osborne an opportunity to crosskick towards Lowe. The loose ball was retrieved, and the pressure intensified as Leinster upped their game. Thanks to Jordan Larmour’s agility, Ryan Baird and Sheehan’s persistent effort, followed by Doris’s timely pull-back and Byrne’s rapid handoff to Lowe, Leinster secured a try which Lowe successfully converted.
The first half was largely characterized by Leinster’s performance, and an ingeniously quick and innovative try was added when Lowe and Frawley teamed up. McCarthy did his part by carrying and offloading to Lowe who then passed to Gibson-Park, who scored a try amidst minimal touchline space; the review confirmed the absence of a forward pass.
Byrne then nailed an impressive conversion from the touchline. However, La Rochelle managed to maintain close proximity through penalties against Doris, adjudged twice for violating rugby norms by the keen-eyed Karl Dickson, following Antoine Hastoy’s restarts. La Rochelle reliably scored threes each time.
Dickson then penalised Leinster consecutively on four occasions, prompting a La Rochelle offensive that culminated in Louis Penverne scoring at the third opportunity in the first-half overtime’s fourth minute. Hastoy’s successful conversion resulted in a score of 23-13, a point at which it felt like a disturbingly predictable narrative.
Following the interval, Leinster re-entered the field with fierce energy; Doris led the pack, engaging in a series of forceful tackles with Sheehan, Osborne and others lending their efforts before the cunning strategy unfolded. Doris, with ball in hand after a solid run, passed it on to Byrne. Byrne then precisely executed a move, allowing Tadhg Furlong to skillfully redirect the ball which was then grasped by Henshaw and Larmour, narrowly evading the oncoming defence. This enabled Lowe to strike at Baird. Shoving through Hastoy to score a try, this move revealed the hidden prowess of the agile flanker. Byrne added the extras again.
All of this took place following a serious delay as Tawera Kerr-Barlow received medical attention after a collision with Larmour’s knee. His substitution was brought about by aerial assistance, with Teddy Iribaren filling his shoes. Another substitute was seen with Ihaia West coming into the field for Dillyn Leyds, who had been experiencing neck trouble.
With a comfortable 30-13 lead brightening their day, and the growing support of the Boys in Blue reverberating across the stadium, Leinster shifted into high gear. The fresh energy brought in by the pack including Josh van der Flier seemed to accelerate Leinster’s dominance over an increasingly fatigued Les Maritimes.
The more La Rochelle scrambled to recover, the more Leinster thrived off their tight defensive policy. Frawley snapped into action to tackle Thomas whilst Baird took down Jack Nowell, leading to Gibson-Park securing a penalty. Van der Flier also added his fresh energy to the offence, elegantly accepting a delayed pass from Byrne.
Even though eventually stopped just short of the goal, Byrne utilized a play of advantage for Lowe to find Sheehan on the periphery and both passes hit the ground. The result was far from Leinster’s smoothest try but it was an inevitable score at this point and was jubilantly received.
Byrne’s conversion then struck the post, his only error before Gibson-Park cleverly retrieved and launched a counter-attack following a risky chip by Thomas into space. Adding to it, after Larmour secured a Gibson-Park box kick, Henshaw kicked cross-field into the open space, with Lowe racing to secure ball possession and concluded the move emphatically.
Following an initial surge of energy with Molly Molone, Leinster’s Bomb Squad successfully neutralised a pivotal play from La Rochelle. Young Joe was the stand-out player, gaining possession of the ball to a roaring crowd, delighted by the turnover and subsequent showmanship.
Van der Flier managed to break free after picking up a slightly long throw, Osborne followed with a kick downfield and Frawley led the chase to tackle Thomas.
This was the conclusive win that everybody was seeking. Both team and spectators are firmly embracing this new era for Leinster.
The scoring sequence was as follows – At 8 minutes, Byrne achieved a penalty making it 3-0; At 17 minutes, Lowe scored a try which was converted by Byrne, pushing the score to 10-0; At 20 minutes, Hastoy achieved a penalty, bringing the score to 10-3; At 29 minutes, Hastoy scored another penalty, making it 13-6; At 32 minutes, Byrne scored a penalty making the score 16-6; At 38 minutes, Gibson-Park scored a try, converted by Byrne pushing the score to 23-6; At 40 (+4) minutes, Penverne scored a try, which Hastoy converted, bringing the half-time score to 23-13; At 43 minutes, Baird scored a try, converted by Byrne, making the score 30-13; At 56 minutes, Sheehan scored a try, making the score 35-13; At 61 minutes, Lowe scored a try, making the final score 40-13.
The Leinster team included Ciarán Frawley, Jordan Larmour, Robbie Henshaw, Jamie Osborne, James Lowe, Ross Byrne, Jamison Gibson-Park, Andrew Porter, Dan Sheehan, Tadhg Furlong, Joe McCarthy, Jason Jenkins, Ryan Baird, Will Connors, and captain Caelan Doris. The replacements included Josh van der Flier who took over from Connors at 49 minutes, Ross Molony who replaced Jenkins at 51 minutes, Rónan Kelleher who came on for Sheehan, Michael Milne who replaced Porter, Michael Ala’alatoa who took over from Furlong (all these changes occurred at the 58th minute); H Byrne came on for R Byrne at the 63rd minute, Jack Conan substituted Doris at the 72nd minute, and Luke McGrath replaced Gibson-Park at the 73rd minute.
The LA Rochelle rugby team included Dillyn Leyds, Jack Nowell, UJ Seuteni, Jonathan Danty, and Teddy Thomas as part of their lineup. Other starters involved Antoine Hastoy and Tawera Kerr-Barlow, with Louis Penverne, Tolu Latu, Uini Atonio, Ultan Dillane, Will Skelton, Judicael Cancoriet, Levani Botia, and Captain Grégory Alldritt also taking part.
During the match, there were several changes made. Ihaia West was substituted for Leyds during half-time, and about 15 minutes later, Teddy Iribaren came on for Kerr-Barlow. Quentin Lespiaucq was brought in for Latu, Alexandre Kaddouri replaced Penverne and Joel Sclavi took over for Atonio, all at the 53rd minute mark. Paul Boudehent and Yoan Tanga were drafted in for Cancoriet and Botia, respectively, at the 63rd minute, followed by Thomas Lavault for Skelton three minutes later. Karl Dickson, from the RFU, was the referee.