Title holders, Ronan O’Gara’s team almost did not exist in Ireland on Saturday. There is only one French club left in the running, Stade Toulouse.
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They could not play the role of executioner forever. The Stade Rochelais players were beaten, and largely, by Leinster in the quarter-finals of the Champions Cup (40-13), Saturday April 13. Even if the Irish club had already sent a signal by winning in the groups, the revenge was incomplete. The bitterness of the two defeats in the final against La Rochelle, especially that of the previous edition, by one point and at home, was still very present.
Determined not to give Ronan O’Gara’s protégés any chance, the Leinstermen dominated the match head and shoulders, with five tries scored and a 27-point victory that looked like a correction. It’s simple, the Maritimes have never suffered such a big defeat in the Champions Cup. The dream of a third consecutive coronation in the most prestigious European competition is gone.
The James Lowe Show
At the heart of a season far from perfect, where qualification for the final phase was clinched, La Rochelle did not approach this trip to the Aviva Stadium in the role of the hyper-favorite. On the other hand, no one imagined that the title holder would be incapable of being regularly dangerous. Louis Keziah Penverne’s try in added time of the first period will go down in history. If he gave the impression of putting the Rochelais back in the match, they suffered a scathing 17-0 after returning from the locker room, and lost Tawera Kerr-Barlow to injury (43rd). The latter was evacuated on a stretcher, neck brace around his neck, hit following poor placement of his head during an attempted tackle.
Opposite, Leinster converted their three penalties and James Lowe delighted. The one who hurt the Blues during the last Six Nations Tournament scored the first (17th) and last (61st) tries of the match. On a nice inspiration, it was he who offered the second to Jamison Gibson-Park (39th). If they repeat such a performance in the next round, the Leinster players will have reason to believe in a third consecutive final and, why not, a first coronation since 2018.
