Donal Lenihan: Leinster bound to win if Tadhg Furlong starts Champions Cup final

Donal Lenihan believes Tadhg Furlong's fitness will be a decisive factor in whether Leinster can win the Heineken Champions Cup final.

Leo Cullen's side take on Ronan O'Gara's La Rochelle on Saturday in Marseille as they look to add a record-equalling fifth crown to their European collection.

Ireland prop Furlong suffered an ankle injury in Leinster's semi-final win over last year's champions Toulouse but the province's senior coach Stuart Lancaster said he was "making good progress" in the build-up to the final, raising hopes that he could feature from the outset.

"Tadhg Furlong, I really hope that he starts because he's a massive figure for Leinster," Lenihan told RTÉ's Morning Ireland.

"I think if he does then I can't see anything other than a Leinster win."

In contrast, the former Ireland captain feels that O'Gara will have tough selection decisions on his hands amid injury concerns in the La Rochelle camp.

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"When you're building up to a massive game like this, and there are question marks hanging over to or three members of your starting team, I think that could be a huge distraction," said Lenihan.

"We've seen the thing about Ronan O'Gara looking for a hurling glove to protect (Tawera) Kerr-Barlow's hand. He has two broken bones in his hand and if you're a scrum-half, that's not exactly ideal.

"So I'll be intrigued to see what the actual selections are going to be. But I think ROG is in a position where he might have to gamble in one or two positions in terms of selection."

Lenihan