Stephen Ferris believes Ronan O'Gara got everything right - including the pre-match mind games - to ensure his La Rochelle side once again broke Leinster hearts in the Heineken Champions Cup final.
The Frenchmen came from 17 points down to beat Leinster 27-26 at the Aviva Stadium last Saturday, denying Leo Cullen's men in the showpiece decider for the second consecutive year.
There was an abundance of drama throughout the contest, with La Rochelle captain Gregory Alldritt afterwards saying he felt disrespected by opposing skipper James Ryan during the coin toss, and allegations of a half-time spat involving members of both teams.
Reflecting on the result, Ferris said the needle between the clubs was no bad thing.
"La Rochelle had their number in terms of the mind games going into the game," he told RTÉ 2fm's Game On.
"Leinster were being talked up all week, they were eight-point favourites with the bookies, [nobody] could see past Leinster winning and ROG [O'Gara] was making sure his payers were well aware of all this hype and people blowing smoke up their backsides.
"Some might say it's good coaching. Some might say it's a little petty, but it's working for him isn't it?
"When you listened to ROG on the RTÉ panel he specifically hammered home the point, 'I'm not home, I'm from Cork, I'm from Munster'. He's thought about this before he came out with it. He's very smart in everything he does.
"We all know the history between him and Johnny Sexton. There's been good blood, bad blood and everything in between.
"I absolutely love it. I think it's brilliant."
On the pitch, Leinster's enormous efforts in building up that 17-point lead eventually took a serious toll as the visitors inched their way back into it.
Ultimately, they had the physicality and the nous to get over the line, with Ferris adding: "I saw a stat coming up on the monitor when I was working at the weekend, around 60 minutes.
"Leinster had made close to 160 tackles, and La Rochelle had made just over 35. That tells its own story in who had most of the possession.
"A lot of people were saying Leinster tried to play the game out, tried to protect their lead. I'm not so sure they did. It's just a couple of poor exits and the pressure just kept coming.
"La Rochelle milked a couple of penalties around the maul, nudged it into the corner and with the guys they have in their pack, they can maul over any side in the world.
"It was really disheartening and unfortunate for Leinster but ultimately they came out second best. I know the referee is maybe coming under a bit of heat, as Frank Murphy did in their defeat against Munster, but I thought the referee did a half decent job.
"Yes, the breakdown was frantic and there was bodies flying all over the place, but that's what you want to see in a final. Some of it might have been illegal but I think it was very much the same for both sides."
Follow the United Rugby Championship final, Stormers v Munster with our live blog on the RTÉ News app or RTÉ.ie/Sport and listen to live commentary on Saturday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1. Kick-off 5.30pm Saturday
