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Published 08:51 29 May 2022 BST
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La Rochelle head coach Ronan O'Gara, left, and assistant coach Donnacha Ryan react during the Heineken Champions Cup Final match, against Leinster, at Stade Velodrome in Marseille. (Photo by Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile)[/caption]
"Leinster are usually out of sight in the first half so at half-time - when we were five points behind - I asked the players, 'What's the problem?'. The data shows we score 60 per cent of our points in the last quarter. "12 months ago we went to Racing and got beaten 49-0. There was fighting and it was carnage, but it will be carnage in the port of La Rochelle for the next few days after this... We knew, with Leinster, the last 20 was were we could get them. "If we lose that at the end, we're a team of bottlers... three finals (lost) in a row. But this is a great starting point for the club."This is a first European Cup triumph for the club side from the West coast of France. O'Gara spoke of how Leinster had set the bench-mark for European club rugby. It is the example Leo Cullen's men, he insisted, that they will strive to follow. "The boys were probably a bit shocked at how much I loved the competition... this was something new to them," the Cork native and, as a player, two-time winner commented. "Once we got a bit of momentum, they could see, 'Now I know what this crazy Irishman is about'!" Considering how well La Rochelle stilted Leinster's attack while looking dangerous with the ball-in-hand, themselves, O'Gara was asked if he still would have been proud of his side's fight, had they not scored that late Arthur Retiere try.
"Are you joking me?!" came the incredulous response. "Happy to lose? We were all in today!" "You have to spare a thought for Leo, Stuart [Lancaster], Felipe [Contepomi], Denis [Leamy] and all that coaching staff... for them, it's a massive kick in the balls."Not for the first time, that day, O'Gara was bang on. This particular kick will sting for a while.
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