Ronan O'Gara: La Rochelle not 'anywhere near our potential'

"If they want to go for that trophy they have to go through us."

La Rochelle head coach Ronan O'Gara. Picture: ©INPHO/Nick Elliott

The mood was light in the Aviva Stadium. Ronan O’Gara was leaning up against a pitchside barrier chatting to some of his staff, his players were playing a game of touch rugby across the width of the pitch, and Uini Atonio even tried a 50:22 just for the fun of it.

Atonio is the clichéd gentle giant, massively destructive on the field of play, quietly-spoken off it. He spoke gently afterwards but the words carried a weight when Leinster’s talk this week of their Champions Cup “obsession” was shared with him.