Garry Ringrose: Win at Thomond was ideal prep for Leinster's La Rochelle trip

As they head into one of the most intimidating atmospheres in European rugby, Leinster's preparation could hardly have been better.

Stade Marcel Deflandre may only hold 16,700 supporters, but the La Rochelle supporters know how to make themselves seen and heard.

It’s a rare occasion when Ronan O’Gara’s side play to anything less than a full house, and they use that advantage well, with 19 wins from their last 21 games on home soil, one of those defeats being against Leinster in the opening round of last year’s Investec Champions Cup.

Leo Cullen’s side are back on the west coast of France tomorrow for a rematch against their great modern rivals, having had a weekend off to prepare for the two-time Champions Cup winners, while their opponents were scrapping their way to a three-point win against Toulouse.

Not only that, but Leinster’s 28-7 win against Munster a fortnight ago was played out in front of a sold-out crowd of 26,267 and a hostile atmosphere Thomond Park.

And centre Garry Ringrose believes that their Christmas Interpro in Limerick was an ideal dry run for what to expect on Sunday.

"It's a challenge anywhere we go. Certainly in Thomond when we were there two weeks ago, it was sold out with a nice, good atmosphere," he told RTE Sport.

"Against La Rochelle over there, they've incredibly passionate supporters that really row in behind their team and put you under pressure with the noise.

"So that'll be part of the challenge, to try and manage that.

"Certainly going down to is Thomond, to go down there and to get a win is always great. We know it's unbelievably tough to pick up anything there and to get the four tries, we were over the moon with it afterwards.

"Last week we had a rare in-season rugby week to try and prepare as