Player ratings: Lack of physical dominance costs Leinster on big stage
Leinster players Rónan Kelleher, Cian Healy of Leinster and Ryan Baird during a scrum with the La Rochelle pack. Picture: Julien Poupart/Sportsfile
A lot was made about La Rochelle’s “lack of experience” at this level during the week but Jono Gibbs and Ronan O’Gara showed that talk to be what it always was - rubbish.
There is no magic to this game. You either win collisions or find a way to play around your lack of collision-winning ability.
Maybe it’s a good kicking game, maybe it’s a good set-piece, maybe it’s a good poaching game but it has to be something. If your game is based on winning collisions first and foremost and you don’t, you’ll find yourself in deep water sooner rather than later.
In truth, Leinster lost their semi-final away to La Rochelle for all the reasons that they typically win games - physical dominance.
La Rochelle, meanwhile, will take some stopping in this tournament.
Solid work from Keenan without ever really being able to stretch his legs in attack. 6/10
A decent performance without ever really impacting the game in a meaningful way. 6/10
A classy player but he failed to get going for much with little in the way of direction from inside. 6/10
Consistently quality but looked the same as any other midfielder when his forwards are losing more collisions than they are comfortable with. 6/10
Decent kicking, some nice breaks but his yellow card in the second half was costly. 5/10
Kicked some nice goals but struggled to impact the game during phase play. 5/10
Struggled to dictate the game through the boot. 5/10
Some good carries but struggled to impact a massively physical La Rochelle defence. 6/10
Two words to describe Van Der Flier? Work rate. If the game was 800 minutes long, he’d still play the entire game for you. His defensive output was outstanding. 7/10
Unlucky to limp off with a calf injury midway through the first half. 5/10
A quiet enough game for Ryan who played a fair bit below what we have come to recognise from him. 5/10
Struggled with the pace of the game at times. 5/10
Plainly one of the best forwards playing the game today. His close-range finish for Leinster’s first try was typical of his impact. 7/10
Another very strong, physical performance from the young Leinster hooker. One of the shining lights in what was a poor enough collective pack performance. 7/10
Decent work in the collisions and a typically tough performance around the breakdown. 6/10
Leinster’s depth looked a little stretched pre-game and the bench struggled to impact the game in any meaningful way. 6/10
A classy, composed performance from the La Rochelle full-back exactly when they needed it. Hardly put a foot wrong. 8/10
The South African winger had an absolute nightmare under the restart in the first half but grew into the game as it wore on. 7/10
Quality defensive work on a day when La Rochelle would be tested in the wider channels. 8/10
Impacted physically whenever he got the ball but picked up a nasty-looking ankle injury in the second half that forced him off. 6/10
A decent performance. 7/10
A near flawless kicking performance highlighted by some subtle touches during phase play. 8/10
Superb decision making and execution. 8/10
8 Hugely experienced. Vito showed every minute of his vast experience with a tough, nuggety performance in all facets of the game. 8/10
Copped a yellow in the first half for multiple infringements but showed up well physically throughout. 6/10
He’s one of the best players in the world and he showed why here with a dominant performance on both sides of the ball. 8/10
Will Skelton was a huge part of Peak Saracens ascension to a near unbeatable machine and his performance here shows that it was just a Saracens thing - Skelton was unbelievably effective in the collision. 9/10
A really smart, considered performance. Where Skelton is massive, the experienced Sazy was more subtle - good breakdown work, smart lineout calling and classic support forward play. 7/10
You don’t have to be 150kg to be an effective tighthead prop in the modern game, but it certainly helps. Atonio repeatedly punished Leinster in contact and formed a massive tighthead side of the La Rochelle scrum with Will Skelton. 8/10
Massively powerful performance at the breakdown but let his overall performance down with some ropey lineout work. Unbelievably physical. 8/10
Decent work. 7/10
Real impact and game-winning power helped La Rochelle barge past Leinster. 8/10.
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