La Rochelle on the roof of Europe – Liberation

After the French victory at the Six Nations Tournament, that of Lyon in the European Challenge, Stade Rochelais had the responsibility of concretizing the tricolor domination on continental rugby, against the formidable Irish province of Leinster. The two formations clashed this Saturday afternoon in Marseille, at the Stade-Vélodrome, to win the He Cup, the most prestigious of European titles for club rugby. And at the end of a fight as pleasant as it was disputed, it was the Rochelais who won.

The start of the meeting suggested a one-way match for the benefit of the Irish. Taken by the throat and undisciplined, the Rochelais chained four penalties in ten minutes. Total: two attempts, two successes for the Irish master to play Jonathan Sexton (6-0), before the Rochelais Raymond Rhule, on the first possession of the Maritimes, comes to slam a first try out of nowhere (6-7). The machine finally packed, the players of Ronan O’Gara continued to press the accelerator until the end of the first half, without success. On the contrary, the Irish Eastern Province continued to rack up the points thanks to its striker, still impregnable against the posts (12-7 at halftime).

The Jonny Sexton Metronome

Not discouraged, the Maritimes returned to the Marseille lawn with the same intentions and again approached the quadruple European champions with a penalty. A ballet that will repeat itself until the end of the match. Always so pragmatic, mini-Ireland took the points and the wide, to turn to +8 twenty minutes from the end. A new test of La Rochelle by the untenable hooker Bourgarit? A new metronome penalty Jonny Sexton.

Reduced to fourteen, the Bagnards continued to bravely play their luck and squatted the five Irish meters during the last ten minutes. Harassing the Irish, the Maritimes ended up finally crossing the in-goal, by Arthur Retière, for the third time in the match and a few seconds from the end, to enter the history of the European Rugby Cup (21- 24). On the roof of Europe, decidedly very tricolor, there are now Toulouse, Brive, Toulon and La Rochelle.