Sam Prendergast can expect a serious La Rochelle examination

There were muted celebrations for La Rochelle in the dying moments last weekend, as Antoine Hastoy kicked them to victory in their 100th consecutive sold out home game at Stade Marcel Deflandre against Toulouse.

A win is a win, despite Toulouse picking a rotated and young squad to travel to La Rochelle. It gives La Rochelle a little momentum going into a Champions Cup battle against Leinster.

The Irish side spent the weekend with their feet up, readying themselves for their toughest battle this season.

While there are question marks around Leinster's 'cup final’ approach this season, they’re nine from nine in the BKT URC with nearly maximum points. The game that they’re building is made for these types of tight and physical clashes against powerful French teams.

The last time the sides met was in the quarte-final of the competition last season. It was anything but a tight affair. La Rochelle had come off the back of a long trip to South Africa in the previous round. With a short turnaround Ronan O’Gara brought his team to his home club in Cork.

I was lucky to experience their training week. It was a week of great insights and a look at the inclusive, open environment that O’Gara speaks of. Nothing was hidden. We knew what they planned to do to Leinster. Yet, they never did it. Leinster blew them away.

La Rochelle struggled that week with injuries and some senior players were heavily restricted with training minutes. Some didn’t train at all.

One player flew home for personal reasons before meeting the team again. Their training was more technical than physical but they still believed they had the formula to beat Leinster. You’d expect a reaction. This is a game they’ve been waiting for to seek revenge.

However, they’ll be doing