After two one-sided semi-finals, the final of the Champions Cup is the crescendo that we've all been waiting for.
A rematch of last year. The one that keeps getting away from Leinster. The back-to-back title challenge for a small and well-supported town, La Rochelle.
Both sides will feel they have the edge going into it and it’s hard to see how it’s going to play out. Home advantage may be just enough familiarity to swing it in Leinster’s favour, and with their desperation to win a title, maybe their want and need will triumph on the day.
However, La Rochelle is a current powerhouse of European rugby. Their firepower is going to cause Leinster a lot of trouble, if they can keep their breakdown discipline.
Toulouse started in a spritely fashion against Leinster with fast ruck ball. The home side defended uncharacteristically, reversing into their try line area until Pita Ahki dotted down.
You wouldn’t usually see a try conceded so easily by Leinster, but the top end of Champions Cup rugby can make the extraordinary look ordinary at times. Thankfully for Leo Cullen, that discomfort was short lived.
It's the type of game that La Rochelle played for the whole day against Exeter. They regularly cross the gainline with pace and power and then just play the pace of the ruck in a less structured way.
Numerous times in their semi-final, the first player arriving at the ruck picked the ball and went forward in the softest channel around the ruck, meaning that the Exeter defence was always being moved and shifting backwards with no ability to slow the ball. When La Rochelle were in their flow, Exeter players were chasing shadows.
Going forward is always the easiest time to pick and offload and that’s what La Rochelle did. They played down the same channel after fighting through contact and Exeter backtracked or ran out of defensive cover for much of the La Rochelle attack.
If Leinster found that type of power, fast ball, and offloading game difficult to manage against Toulouse at times, they have another version of it coming their way when they face off against Ronan O' Gara’s battle hardened La Rochelle.
In saying that, Leinster have their own fast ruck ball to compete with. In the first 20 minutes of their semi-final, their average ruck speed was 1.7 seconds having won the gainline 53% of the time. Even when they failed to cross the gainline, they never went backwards in that twenty-minute spell. What a ridiculous attacking stat.
However, La Rochelle will have something to say about that fast attacking ball that Leinster frequently enjoy.
Pierre Bourgarit, Gregory Alldritt and Levani Botia are serious operators in the defensive ruck. If there’s one way to get at the Leinster game, it’s by disrupting their attacking breakdown.
And with Jonathan Danty returning to the midfield, Leinster will have to choose their path to front-foot ball wisely. They have a long list of intricate starter plays so I don’t doubt their ability to do that.
Toulouse attempted to disrupt Leinster through Willis and co but they couldn’t compete at the breakdown as well as La Rochelle might.
For La Rochelle to have success in this defensive disruption, they’ll need to get on the right side of the referee.
Their defensive assault on the breakdown can win the game but it can also concede penalties and put them under pressure.
Coupled with some Leinster ruthlessness and borderline legal rucking of their own, it’s an area of the game that will shape the result. How the referee interprets the actions of both teams and how they adapt to the calls on the day. The referee appointment will be eagerly awaited by both sides.
It took Leinster 30 minutes to concede their first penalty in a semi-final against another European powerhouse.
They also forced two yellow cards for Toulouse and rustled up 28 points within that 20-minute period.
La Rochelle will know that competing with 14 players or fewer against Leinster is likely not going to help your cause.
Leinster have shown that a yellow card against them is enough time to crank up the pressure and turn the game on its head. Jack Conan ran amok when Ramos left the field, it was a big turning point in the game and La Rochelle can ill-afford to play with less than 15 on the pitch.
Ross Byrne controlled the Leinster game perfectly in the semi-final. However, a final against the reigning champions will be a different challenge.
You’d question if Byrne will have the same influence as Sexton would have if the team is less dominant in contact. They might even have retreating rucks that they’ll have to restart from.
This will be his ultimate test and if he can guide Leinster through the challenge of La Rochelle in the final, then it might make the Johnny Sexton-shaped hole in Leinster future seem much smaller than it currently looks.
There’s plenty of knockout rugby left before the elite of European rugby face off.
It’s a nervous time for players and coaches, knowing that a final is on the horizon but there are vital games to play in the meantime.
Both coaches will attempt to manage their squads appropriately, so they can be at full strength in the final.
However, it only takes on awkward tackle, or one sprint in a training session to rule a key player out of contention for a couple of weeks.
With some luck, both sides will get to the final with close to full strength squads, and we’ll be treated to the fireworks that we’ve all been looking forward to. A titanic battle awaits.
