Ferris: O'Gara won mind games ahead of Lansdowne battle

Stephen Ferris believes Ronan O'Gara got everything right - including the pre-match mind games - to ensure his La Rochelle side once again broke Leinster hearts in the Heineken Champions Cup final.

The Frenchmen came from 17 points down to beat Leinster 27-26 at the Aviva Stadium last Saturday, denying Leo Cullen's men in the showpiece decider for the second consecutive year.

There was an abundance of drama throughout the contest, with La Rochelle captain Gregory Alldritt aftewrads saying he felt disrespected by opposing skipper James Ryan during the coin toss, and allegations of a half-time spat involving members of both teams.

Reflecting on the result, Ferris said the needle between the clubs was no bad thing.

"La Rochelle had their number in terms of the mind games going into the game," he told RTÉ 2fm's Game On.

"Leinster were being talked up all week, they were eight-point favourites with the bookies, [nobody] could see past Leinster winning and ROG [O'Gara] was making sure his payers were well aware of all this hype and people blowing smoke up their backsides.

"Some might say it's good coaching. Some might say its a little petty, but it's working for him isn't it?

"When you listened to ROG on the RTÉ panel he specifically hammered home the point, 'I'm not home, I'm from Cork, I'm from Munster'. He's thought about this before he came out with it. He's very smart in everything he does.

"We all know the history between him and Johnny Sexton. There's been good blood, bad blood and everything in between.

"I absolutely love it. I think it's brilliant."

On the pitch, Leinster's enormous efforts in build up that 17-point lead eventually took a serious toll as the visitors inched their way back into it.

Ultimately, they had the