Leinster heartbreak as La Rochelle win dramatic final

This one will hurt for a while.

For the second year in a row, Leinster's European dream has been ended by La Rochelle and Ronan O'Gara.

For the second year in a row, they were big favourites, and for the second year in a row, they were beaten through sheer muscle.

Leo Cullen's side were second best for most of the 80 minutes at Stade Velodrome in Marseille, but still had the game in their hands. Aside from a brief period in the first half, they led for the vast majority of this final, right up until 78 minutes and 50 seconds, when the sniping run of scrum-half Arthur Retiere handed the French side their first ever major trophy.

Ronan O'Gara now joins Leo Cullen as the only men to win this trophy as a player and a coach, and his side should have won by more, hindered by dreadful discipline, which handed Leinster all 21 of their points, with six of the seven penalties being directly in front of the posts.

But every time they switched their brains on, they made ground. Will Skelton threw himself about for the full 80, proving once again to be the arch-nemesis of Leinster.

Even though Leinster failed to fire any shots at the tryline, they led 18-10 early in the second half, and 21-17 with a quarter of an hour to play and a man advantage after Thomas Lavault's yellow card.

But under the roasting Marseille sun, they couldn't get to the final bell, as another season passes by with Champions Cup regret.

Leinster eased into the game nicely. Pinning Le Rochelle back into their half, they forced a shallow clearance kick, and won consecutive penalties in the next two minutes, Sexton calling for the tee on the second of those, for an early shot at goal.

It was a nice settler for the captain, 30 metres out and straight in front of the posts,