La Rochelle celebrate shock last-gasp Champions Cup final victory over Leinster

Ronan O’Gara conjured up a coaching masterclass to inspire La Rochelle to a last-gasp 24-21 Heineken Champions Cup final victory over four-time champions Leinster at Stade Velodrome, Marseille.

Massive underdogs coming into the final, La Rochelle snatched victory at the death when replacement scrum half Arthur Retiere squirmed his way over from a ruck on the Leinster line to put his side ahead with a mere 17 seconds left on the clock.

Up stepped Ihaia West to add his third conversion of the game and the French side made up for their defeat in the final a year earlier and become only the 13th team to win the European title.

While Leo Cullen was able to send out the same starting XV as he had used to beat Leicester and Toulouse in the quarter and semi-finals respectively, opposite number O’Gara had to patch up his side after losing two highly-influential All Blacks through injury – back row man Victo Vito and scrum half Tawera Kerr-Barlow.

Chasing a record-equalling fifth title, Leinster started well and forced La Rochelle to concede five penalties inside the first seven minutes.

That allowed Johnny Sexton to kick Leinster into a six-point lead with successful penalties in the fourth and ninth minutes.

English referee Wayne Barnes gave Australian giant Will Skelton a talking to in between those two Sexton scores, telling him to calm down, and La Rochelle responded by conjuring up the first try of the game.

Having kept the ball moving, they went down the narrow side of a ruck near halfway and Dillyn Leyds managed to get his arms free in a tackle and sent his fellow Springbok Raymond Rhule slaloming to the line from 30 metres out for a great try.

West added the extras and with 10 minutes on the clock the underdogs were