Leinster’s Leo Cullen: ‘This is Harry’s time now - it’s time to deliver’

Champions Cup: La Rochelle v Leinster, Sunday December 10th, venue, 3.15pm, live on TNT Sports

Speaking on Off The Ball this week, Ronan O’Gara said of this reprise of the last two finals that “this is a big game, but it’s not a massive game.” As a pool match, the loser is not doomed to go out of the tournament and to that extent, Leo Cullen concurred.

For the last two seasons, Leinster have breezed through to the final as the most proficient side in the competition by almost every metric, and fat lot of good it did them in two titanic and narrow defeats against O’Gara’s side.

The “unusual dynamic” of being pitted against each other on a sodden Sunday on the Atlantic coast is being embraced by Cullen.

“But that’s what you want,” he said, clearly energised by the prospect. “You want to test yourselves and see where you really are. Sometimes it gives you a false sense if you can dominate the teams in your pool, rather than that kind of battle-hardened sense of reality.

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“Even going back to South Africa and New Zealand both losing games during the pool stages, it wasn’t fatal for them, was it?” he said, citing how they contested the final of the recent World Cup.

“And that’s the thing. We’ve had a good record in the pool stages but, ultimately, it’s at the end that you want to be really peaking.”

Yet this meeting reduces the odds of both obtaining home advantage in the round of 16 or indeed all the way through the semi-finals, as they both did last season. Whoever loses will have vastly curtailed elbow room.

Whatever doubts there are about Leinster’s relative lack of ruthlessness in this World Cup-disrupted season, they sit atop the URC after an opening loss to Glasgow with six wins on the spin – five with bonus points.

La Rochelle have won four and lost five to sit ninth in the Top14, but that’s hardly any wonder given last season’s last-ditch defeat by Toulouse in the French final and a similar fall-out from the World Cup.

But if any fixture is liable to whet the motivational juices of O’Gara, his players and their passionate fans, it is surely this one. While Leinster are motivated by revenge, O’Gara has intensified the rivalry. With the semi-final here three years ago having been played behind closed doors, La Rochelle will want to underline their supremacy in the last three clashes.

In all, save for Covid-affected restrictions, Stade Marcel-Deflandre has been a 16,000 sell-out, usually days in advance, for the last 82 home games dating back to the 37-18 win over Stade Francais in February 2017.

Stade Rochelais are the sporting heartbeat of the city and match days are about more than the matches. The gates open four or five hours before kick-off, making them an event and the financial artery of the club. The proudest days in the club’s history have been those two final wins over Leinster; their first major two trophies since the club’s foundation 125 years ago.

Acknowledging the “hostile environment” which awaits, said Cullen: “We know what Rog is like. He builds up the siege mentality in his group, that’s in his DNA, isn’t it? Chip on shoulder, all the stuff he would talk about. That’s what we’re heading into. We need to make sure we’re prepared for that and get excited by the challenge of it as well.”

[ Ronan O’Gara banned for La Rochelle’s Champions Cup opener vs Leinster ]

O’Gara’s selection reflects all of this. While Grégory Alldritt is taking a break, La Rochelle retain a dozen of their starting XV from the final, with Yoan Tanga starting at number eight, Thomas Lavault (who was on the bench in Dublin) at lock and Jules Favre on the left-wing.

All the other big guns are loaded, the all-French World Cup front-rowers, big bad Will Skelton, brilliant Fijian all-rounder Levani Botia, the Tawera Kerr-Barlow-Antoine Hastoy pivot, the wrecking ball that is Jonathan Danty, the game-breaking UJ Seuteni, the wily Brice Dulin et al, and a 6-2 bench.

By contrast, Leinster are missing five of their starting XV from the final; the frontline trio of James Lowe (personal reasons), Tadhg Furlong and Jack Conan (slight niggles), while the upwardly mobile Joe McCarthy is primed for the biggest game of his career to date, and, more unexpectedly, Will Connors, is picked ahead of the benched Josh van der Flier.

As expected, Harry Byrne has been chosen to fill his brother’s boots, and of course the Johnny Sexton void.

“He’s such a talented player, Harry. This is a huge step now. That’s the thing, the players just need to take the step. What a way to do it, away in France,” said Cullen, citing Byrne’s composed Champions Cup debut off the bench in a 35-14 win in Montpellier four years ago almost this weekend, since when he’s been restricted him to just six more Europe appearances.

“He’s been growing year on year, he’s learning from some of the players who have been there and Johnny in particular who has been in the driving seat for so long. But this is Harry’s time now. Think back to Croke Park in 2009, Felipe starting the game and Johnny steps in as a 24-year-old, now Harry is a 24-year-old and he’s stepping into the team. It’s time to deliver now.”

STADE ROCHELAIS: Brice Dulin; Dillyn Leyds, UJ Seuteni, Jonathan Danty, Jules Favre; Antoine Hastoy, Tawera Kerr-Barlow; Reda Wardi, Pierre Bourgarit, Uini Atonio; Thomas Lavault, Will Skelton; Paul Boudehent, Levani Botia, Yoan Tanga.

Replacements: Sacha Idoumi, Joel Sclavi, Georges-Henri Colombe, Ultan Dillane, Remi Picquette, Judicael Cancoriet, Teddy Iribaren, Hugo Reus.

LEINSTER RUGBY: Hugo Keenan; Jordan Larmour, Garry Ringrose, Robbie Henshaw, Jimmy O’Brien; Harry Byrne, Jamison Gibson-Park; Andrew Porter, Dan Sheehan, Michael Ala’alatoa; Joe McCarthy, James Ryan; Ryan Baird, Will Connors, Caelan Doris.

Replacements: Ronan Kelleher, Cian Healy, Thomas Clarkson, Jason Jenkins, Josh van der Flier, Ben Murphy, Ciaran Frawley, Charlie Ngatai.

Referee: Matthew Carley (England).

Forecast: La Rochelle to win.