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Leinster v La Rochelle – 2022 Champions Cup Final
La Rochelle, beaten finalists in last season’s Champions Cup against Toulouse, have another opportunity on Saturday to win their maiden title and I’m of the opinion that they could go really close to this realisation.
Betting Angle – 2022 Champions Cup Final
La Rochelle started the season a little below par but seem to have hit their straps at the right time.
They currently lie 4th on the Top 14 table and have shown a steady improvement as the Champions Cup has progressed.
Praise must be given to Ronan O’Gara, whose coaching career is still in its infancy, but has taken huge strides this season. He’s developed a very tight squad and coupled this with a no-nonsense approach to discipline.
La Rochelle may not be blessed with high quality players as in the Toulouse and Racing squads but make up for this in a collective effort. Having said that Pierre Bourbarit, Gregory Alldritt, Wiaan Leibenberg and Remi Picquette in the pack and several excellent backs with the likes of Raymond Rhule, Jonathan Danty and Dillyn Leyds would enhance any team.
Leinster are no strangers to the final and have won 4 from 5 outings. Looking at figures like that, you realise what an achievement it will be for La Rochelle if they were to provide the upset here.
Leo Cullen has an excellent squad to choose from and depth in positions unlike so many other clubs. In short, he is spoilt for choice which may, in an ironic way, come back to bite him, though to be fair he is probably quite comfortable with his matchday 23.
Leinster have proved time and again what a quality side they and with 13 Ireland internationals they always have that added advantage of consistency amongst their players and game structure.
Wayne Barnes has been given the whistle and we are in for a warm day in Marseille with temperatures peaking at 30 degrees .
Patchy’s Pick – 2022 Champions Cup Final
These two sides have met just the once and it was in the semi finals of last year’s Champions Cup where La Rochelle had the luxury of playing at home, beating Leinster 32-23 in a surprisingly high scoring match .
It was left to the La Rochelle forwards to pave the way for that victory and I feel it’ll have to be a rinse and repeat effort here if they are to have a chance of victory.
Leinster are a ruthless side but on occasion can be disrupted. La Rochelle will need to slow the speed of ball without being penalised un-necessarily.
You’ve probably guessed it by now but I feel La Rochelle have the arsenal to match Leinster on the day and therefore the plus 10.5 points on the handicap is worth a solid 5 Units.
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2022 Champions Cup Final Preview by Patchy O’Connell
