Peter Jackson: O’Gara hauls La Rochelle off the canvas like real champions

Up in the glass box, O’Gara rummaged through the debris hoping to find a reason to believe it wasn't as bad as it looked, in the way a drowning man clutches at any old straw

ALL SMILES: La Rochelle Head Coach Ronan O'Gara, Quentin Lespiaucq (centre) and Ultan Dillane (right) celebrate with the trophy after during the Heineken Champions Cup final match at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland. Pic: PA

On a steamy night in New Jersey long ago, a referee by the name of Frank Cappuccino counted Michael Spinks out 91 seconds into his world title fight against Mike Tyson.

Staring down on scenes horribly like those at the Convention Hall in Atlantic City on June 27, 1988, Ronan O’Gara could hardly smell the coffee for the blood spilling beneath him. Ireland’s Grand Slammers bounced his champions from pillar to post with such surgical precision that every time the holders got back to their feet, Leinster laid them flat out, no mean achievement given the Goliaths involved.