Despite many teams such as Leicester, Leinster, and Saracens falling short, La Rochelle is striving to mirror Toulon’s feat of securing three consecutive Champions Cup victories. It proves to be no easy task for La Rochelle though.
From two seasons back, their journey to victory saw them beat Racing during the home quarter-final and semi-final in the unbiased region of Lens. They progressed to defeat Leinster in Marseille. They proceeded to the final in the next season, tracing a homebound path, facing off against Leinster once again in Dublin. This memorable match had seen them recover from a disadvantageous 17-0 and 23-6 down.
Presently, in order to replicate their past win in an away semi-final against Northampton or the Bulls, La Rochelle must first overcome Leinster once again in Aviva. This follows their comeback win over the Stormers in Cape Town last Saturday.
Ronan O’Gara, the competition’s highest scorer, is aiming to follow Mark McCall’s footsteps as the second Irish individual to win this tournament thrice as a coach. Spending a week in Cork’s elevated atmosphere has invigorated him and his team as they aim for another victory.
O’Gara expressed his keenness to continue pushing for success, adding, “We’re setting our sights higher, and while respectful of other teams’ ambitions, we believe we have further heights to reach.” His and his club’s choice of going from Cape Town to Cork might have unsettled Leinster slightly, but it served their logistical purposes. O’Gara hopes such strategies optimise his team’s performance this season.
The prior preparation had posited that if we successfully navigated the Stormers match, making a trip to La Rochelle wouldn’t be logical, as it would take us a total of six hours to get there from the Paris airport, either via train or bus. This would entail twelve hours of travel in the same week, resulting in the loss of a crucial training day. Winning against Leinster after just one day of training was unimaginable.
Our strategy was therefore formulated to give us the optimum preparation conditions. Although our week wasn’t very intensive, our stay at Fota was extremely comfortable. Despite the dreary weather, the locals in Con were wonderful and the location was fantastic. There was also opportunity for socialisation with the inhabitants of Cork, which was surprisingly rewarding. Having the opportunity to realise our significance to the local people was a personally satisfying experience. Aside from this, the team had a productive week,” O’Gara further elaborated. He then continued to highlight disruptions caused by the World Cup and the Six Nations, after which La Rochelle had squared off against Oyannax and the Stormers.
He admitted that, “We were not as organised as we would have liked. However, we’re hopeful that by capturing the exhilaration of setting foot in an awe-inspiring, packed stadium on a top-quality pitch, we can shortcut a few steps. It’s about recapturing the glorious memories from last May.”
Leinster and La Rochelle only introduced themselves to each other in the semi-finals three campaigns ago. Despite this, O’Gara is of the opinion that a fifth encounter in as many seasons neither alters the dynamic nor the intensity of this upcoming encounter.
His justification was, “No, it is an astounding spectacle and it has contributed immensely to the competition. The matches are balanced on a knife’s edge. The Covid game at home for us was probably one of our best performances and there was a gulf of 20 points until Leinster managed a late consolation score,” as he reminisces the highly impressive 32-23 victory at an uninhabited Stade Deflandre three years ago. It seemed as though he’d consistently been reminding his squad about that victorious day.
Our target is to enhance our rugby performance. I am convinced that our problem does not lie with our attitude but rather, we need to improve our overall rugby skills.”
“Within our team, we possess abundant threats both on and off the ball. As a coach, this evokes enthusiasm within me. It affords an overall notion of the game tactics while also presenting myriad options. The interesting challenge here is whether our team can make the correct choices in crucial moments. Given the extreme stress levels prevalent in the club game, observing whether our strategies materialise is a thrilling prospect for me.”
14 members of Leinster’s match-day line-up, including nine starters, contributed to Ireland’s 38-17 victory against France in Marseille for the Six Nations opening night. O’Gara readily acknowledged this was a beneficial factor for Leinster, though he did have his quirks about the level of influence it brought.
“Yes, standout performances instil confidence in players. It’s undeniable that Ireland’s triumph over France was an exceptional show. They outmatched the French in every aspect of the match and made them look rather foolish. Undoubtedly, this was a statement-making game, however, it doesn’t draw much of a correlation.” he supplemented, “From where I stand, no, for we aspire to be on par, if not superior to the French team.
“My team’s objective should be to be on a par with any test team because we have the finest international and French players.”
Returning to his beloved city after four days heightened O’Gara’s spirits. Especially the experience of returning to the Aviva Stadium, a place filled with his playing and coaching memories. He seemed particularly enthused about evaluating their team’s performance in the upcoming match.
“I’m eager to witness our backs’ performance tomorrow as we haven’t truly been at our best. It’s refreshing that we aren’t playing against Oyonnax, Pau, Castres, or Toulon, our French competitors.”
“We need to be in the game, and the pitch will ensure we do that. It’s a top-notch turf and, given favourable conditions, the game will be enjoyable.”
As evening settled in the Aviva, O’Gara greeted the night cheerfully, “Right? It’s night time”, he declared, grinning, “Yep, see you tomorrow. Ta!”
Clearly, O’Gara is keen and ready for the game, as expected.
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