17:56 – The Irish are on fire, Kerr-Barlow takes a yellow (12-0)
The Irish tide continues to fall and it is obviously not going to stop since the Rochelais scrum-half is warned of a yellow card because he was not 10 meters away when the game resumed.
17:55 – The La Rochelle reaction (12-0)
The Maritimes finally return to this Leinster – La Rochelle and deliver a good sequence.
17:53 – Ross Byrne hits the post (12-0)
Ross Byrne fails to convert O’Brien’s try and finds the post. La Rochelle are 12 points behind after 7 minutes of play.
17:51 – Leinster is already taking the break! (12-0)
But what a start for Leinster – La Rochelle from the Irish who wander in the opposing defense. Winger O’Brien concludes on his right side.
17:49 – What a touch found! (7-0)
Lowe finds an absolutely exceptional touch on a millimeter kick. What a start to the final from the Leinstermen pushed by the Aviva Stadium.
17:48 – Byrne converts (7-0)
The test is transformed without problem by the striker Ross Byrne. The Irish are ideally embarking on this Leinster – La Rochelle.
17:46 – Leinster already scored a try (5-0)
Amazing ! After not even 40 seconds of play, the Irish are already opening the scoring after a combination from a touch. Sheehan flattens after Conan’s shift.
17:46 – And off we go to Dublin! (0-0)
Jaco Peyper kicks off this final of the Champions Cup 2023 Leinster – La Rochelle! The Rochelais are defending their title in this competition while the Irish are aiming for a fifth crown in a duel that promises to be epic.
17:42 – The players will soon enter the pitch
There is a very nice atmosphere at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin for this Leinster – La Rochelle just a stone’s throw from the kick-off of this Champions Cup 2023 final.
17:35 – An already historic afternoon
This Leinster – La Rochelle is already full of records and others could fall this Saturday on the occasion of this final of the Champions Cup 2023. Stade Rochelais won against Exeter in the semi-finals achieving the best series of victories in the history of the competition with 15 wins in a row but also qualified for their third final in a row in this European Cup as Toulon did between 2013 and 2015. For their part, the Irish can match Stade Toulousain by winning a fifth Champions Cup.
17:28 – Two teams that shone offensively in the semi-finals
Leinster and La Rochelle made a strong impression in the semi-finals of the competition by winning with more than 40 points scored in both cases. The Irish beat Stade Toulousain 41-22 while the Rochelais corrected Exeter 47-28. The defenses are warned and will have to be solid this Saturday.
17:21 – A remake of last year’s final
This Leinster – La Rochelle brings back good memories to the Maritimes who won a year ago at the same stage of the competition against the same team. Indeed, Stade Rochelais had won the Champions Cup final in 2022 with a three-point lead against Leinstermen (24-21) thanks to a converted try at the last minute.
17:13 – A battle of markers
This Leinster – La Rochelle also allows to attend the long-awaited duel between the two best scorers of the Champions Cup this season. Josh Van der Flier scored 6 tries against 5 for Tawera Kerr-Barlow.
17:06 – Tawera Kerr-Barlow relies on experience
The La Rochelle scrum-half spoke before this Leinster – La Rochelle and relies heavily on the experience of his team: “There is a certain temperament to have to play well in the final. Often, it is not the team that has the most talent, it is the team that has the most temperament and is able to stay calm and play the best rugby. We are lucky to have been able to play a few finals and to acquire experience.”
16:59 – The Leinster manager expects a big duel
On the occasion of this Leinster – La Rochelle, the Leinstermen coach detected the strengths in the presence of the French before this final and necessarily expects the respondent: “The Rochelais are competitive with or without the ball. Defensively, they are very strong. They will be aggressive in duels, competitive in attack. They have the ability, due to the power of their forwards, to play a tighter game but also a game with width, because they have power and speed in their three-quarter line.”
16:52 – Team compositions
Here is the reminder of the two team compositions of this final of the Champions Cup Leinster – La Rochelle. The starting XV of the Irish with two changes compared to the semi-final against Stade Toulousain: Keenan – O’Brien, Ringrose, Henshaw, Lowe – (o) R. Byrne, (m) Gibson-Park – van der Flier , Conan, Doris – J. Ryan (cap.), Molony – Furlong, Sheehan, Porter.
Here is the XV of the Maritimes without Jonathan Danty still not recovered from his rib injury: Dulin; Leyds, Seuteni, Danty, Rhule; (o) Hastoy, (m) Kerr-Barlow; Botia, Alldritt (cap.), Pa. Boudehent; Skelton, Sazy; Atonio, Bourgarit, Wardi.
4:45 p.m. – Hello everyone
Hello everyone and welcome to the Internet user’s site to follow live commentary on this Leinster – La Rochelle, final of the Champions Cup 2023.