Leinster look equipped to overcome power-packed La Rochelle

Leinster go into Saturday's Champions Cup final on the back of a hugely impressive European campaign but they know that to win a record-equalling fifth title they will have to withstand, then find a way around, the extraordinary power of La Rochelle.

Leinster, not far off the Irish national team but in blue instead of green, are certainly no lightweights and showed in their knockout wins over Toulouse and, particularly, Leicester that they can deal with immense physicality.

Their all-round game, boasting the 'cohesion' that was the buzzword of this year's Six Nations, functioned almost perfectly and their ability to change gear and switch defence into attack from all points in an instant makes them one of the great club sides of any era.

Victory in Marseille on Saturday would draw them level with Toulouse on five European Cups but the last of their four triumphs came in 2018 and they have suffered some heartbreak since.

Defeat in the 2019 final by a superb Saracens side was hardly an upset but losing to La Rochelle in last year's semi-finals took some swallowing.

The French side just piled on too much power too consistently and eventually ground Leinster down - though they could not repeat the feat in the final where they lost 22-17 to Toulouse without ever really threatening another upset.

Leinster can point to the fact that key halfback pairing Johnny Sexton and Jamison Gibson-Park missed that semi, which was also an away game, and they will undoubtedly have spent a long time poring over the tape of the match and cooking up strategies to ensure a different outcome.

"When you lose a game of that magnitude you want to learn all the lessons you possibly can and be better next time," said coach Leo Cullen, the only man to have