Coghlan, Jackman and Heaslip weigh in on Leinster chances in France

All three RTÉ panellists at the Munster-Saracens game were eager to discuss the much-anticipated clash between Leinster and La Rochelle on Sunday in the Investec Champions Cup.

Fiona Coghlan was not alone in her excitement at Leinster's team announcement.

"The team that Leinster have named, and the bench they have named, and even if they have injuries who they can put in, and Jordie Barrett starts," the ex-Irish International said.

Coghlan thinks Leinster are fair favourites going into the hotly contested fixture, but feels they need to earn that status, despite putting a dent in La Rochelle's impressive home record with a 16-9 win.

"Last year, Leinster got over that hump of La Rochelle when they went down there and beat them, they are now deserved favourites, but they have to produce it."

Bernard Jackman thinks that the game will be a bigger challenge than the top province has faced so far this season.

"You only come up against teams like La Rochelle once or twice a year. They have a smarter game plan than Toulouse or Bordeaux, this is a big challenge for them," Jackman told RTÉ Sport's Jacqui Hurley.

Leinster have been dominating in this season of rugby so far, sitting top of the URC and unbeaten so far in Europe. Jackman believes the real challenge comes when facing an equally "big" team.

"They have been bullying teams in the URC, and they have been good in the first two rounds of Europe... but can they do it against a team that are as big as them, that's a challenge."

FT: Munster 17-12 Saracens

Fiona, Jamie and Bernard look ahead to Leinster V La Rochelle tomorrow afternoon.