FORMER Leinster and Munster player James Downey says he is looking forward to a “fascinating” rerun of last year’s final on Saturday in Dublin, where Leinster will once against face La Rochelle to decide the winner of this season’s Heineken Champions Cup.
A chance for Leo Cullen’s men to avenge last year’s painful loss in the final which denied them a fifth European crown should serve as sufficient motivation.
However, Downey points out there is another layer of competition in Saturday’s clash as his former team-mate and legendary Munster out-half Ronan O’Gara is La Rochelle’s head coach.
Following Leinster’s loss to provincial rivals Munster last Saturday – which killed their hopes of a URC and Champions Cup double – Downey predicts Leinster will have a renewed focus.
“There is bit of extra spice given the Munster connection with ROG [O’Gara] and Donnacha Ryan [former Munster player and La Rochelle forwards coach],” said Downey.
“I’m sure that will be in the back of everyone’s minds that they don’t want Munster men doing a job on Leinster two weeks in-a-row.
O’Gara is not going to buy into all that stuff. He will just be about implementing his game plan and not getting too much into the emotion of it.
“He has them well-drilled and O’Gara is the sort of coach that, if something isn’t working during a game, he is not afraid to take someone off and change things, particularly in a final. He won’t hesitate and wait until the last 10 minutes”.
Indeed, there is no doubt about O’Gara’s coaching credentials as he has turned his side into a European heavyweight as they contest their third consecutive final and have not lost a game in the competition yet.
A rare defeat in the French league last Saturday against Montpelier came off the back of O’Gara choosing to rest a number of players in preparation for this weekend.
Similarly, Leinster have enjoyed a dominant season, moving through the knock-out stages of the tournament without breaking too much of a sweat. However, Downey claims, the loss to Munster last weekend now puts Leinster under significant pressure.
“It’s huge pressure on Leinster this weekend,” Downey said.
“I think they have the ability to flip around and refocus following the Munster disappointment.
“If you were to ask every Leinster player what competition they would prefer to win if they had a choice, they would all say ‘Europe’. They played in the final last year, so they will know what to expect.
“We’ll know after this game whether it’s been an unsuccessful season for Leinster. It would be cruel on them to come away with nothing, but that’s the nature of knockout rugby.
“We’ve heard Leinster talk about this elusive fifth star for quite some time now. They have gotten close, but they just haven’t always delivered on the big occasion.
“Coming up to this weekend, with the way the season has gone for Leinster, I was very confident Leinster would win it but, as you get closer, I am questioning that a bit more.
“Ultimately, they will be judged on their success in Europe.”
Given the pressure on Leinster to produce a big performance and the added advantage of the home crowd in Dublin, Downey says the Irish side will need to be more adventurous than they were in Marseille 12 months ago.
“Leinster will need to go out and attack,” he said.
“They will need to score to get going and they are pretty efficient once they get into that 22.
“You’d want them to get back to that confidence that they’ve had over the past while, send it into the corner and have a go.
“If it’s a slow game and there’s a lot of scrums, lineouts and mauls then it’s going to suit the big pack of La Rochelle.
“Leinster don’t have just as much bulk, so they will be looking to move the ball around and fatigue the La Rochelle pack.
“Leinster will be looking to get the ball away quickly from rucks, use a bit of footwork and stretch the La Rochelle players.”
The game is also significant as it will be the last involvement for senior Leinster coach Stuart Lancaster, who will join Racing 92 as director of rugby from next season, while injured Ireland out-half Johnny Sexton – who will be injured for the clash – will in all likelihood hang up his boots post World Cup.
There is still work to be done, however, as Downey points out the Leinster side will now be solely focused on how to overcome their French opponents.
“Leinster have no distractions now,” he said.
“There is nothing coming up for them after this week.
“The focus needs to be on that elusive fifth star.”
