Berjon on standby for baptism of fire in Marseilles

O’Gara is ready to start young La Rochelle scrum-half Thomas Berjon if his hurling glove plan to get Tawera Kerr-Barlow playing despite a fractured hand fails.

La Rochelle's Thomas Berjon passes the ball during the French Top 14 rugby union match between La Rochelle and Perpignan at The Marcel Deflandre Stadium in La Rochelle, western France, on April 23, 2022. (Photo by XAVIER LEOTY / AFP) (Photo by XAVIER LEOTY/AFP via Getty Images)

Ronan O’Gara is ready to start young La Rochelle scrum-half Thomas Berjon in the Champions Cup final against Leinster if his hurling glove plan to get Tawera Kerr-Barlow playing despite a fractured hand fails.

With Jules Le Bail still not fit to return after a thigh injury, the sight of Kerr-Barlow in clear pain in the dugout with ice on his hand in the semi-final win over Racing 92 in Lens was a huge concern for the French side ahead of their third European final since 2019.