2023 European Rugby Champions Cup final

The 2023 European Rugby Champions Cup Final was the final match of the 2022–23 European Rugby Champions Cup, and the twenty-eighth European club rugby final in general. The final was contested by Leinster and La Rochelle, and a repeat of the 2022 Final which La Rochelle won 24–21.[1][2]

2023 European Rugby Champions Cup Final
Event2022–23 European Rugby Champions Cup
Date20 May 2023
VenueAviva Stadium, Dublin
RefereeJaco Peyper (South Africa)
WeatherDry with sunny spells

The Aviva Stadium was the host venue of the final, just the second time it has hosted the game having also been the venue in 2013.

The match referee was Jaco Peyper, the first South African to referee the European showpiece final.

La Rochelle retained the trophy with a 27-26 win over Leinster.[3][4]

Background

For the first time both finalists from a Champions Cup final returned to the following year's final. La Rochelle became the third team after Toulouse (2003-05) and Toulon (2013-15) to appear in three successive finals, while Leinster, for the second year, attempted to match Toulouse's outright record of five European Champions Cups. This was also the first final since 2011 that matched the top two seeds after the pool stage in the showpiece final.

Both Leinster and La Rochelle entered the final in similar form, with both teams having won every game in their European campaign. They both topped their respective pool, with Leinster gaining a maximum of 20 points and La Rochelle gaining 18. They both received home advantage through the knock-out stage, before gaining home country advantage in the semi-final to see them through to the final.

This was their third meeting in the Champions Cup, with La Rochelle winning both the previous encounters.

Their domestic form saw Leinster enter having lost their United Rugby Championship semi-final the week prior, whilst La Rochelle entered having secured a top two seed in the Top 14 with one round left of the regular season.

Both teams announced their match-day 23 the day before the game and Leinster had two changes to the starting XV that played in the 2022 Final, whilst La Rochelle had seven changes to the team that played in that final.

Route to the final

Note: In all results below, the score of the finalist is given first (H: home; A: away).

Leinster Round La Rochelle
Opponent Result Pool stage Opponent Result
Racing 92 10–42 (A) Matchday 1 Northampton Saints 46–12 (H)
Gloucester 57–0 (H) Matchday 2 Ulster 29–36 (A)
Gloucester 14–49 (A) Matchday 3 Ulster 7–3 (H)
Racing 92 36–10 (H) Matchday 4 Northampton Saints 13–31 (A)
Final standings
Pool A Top 4
Team P W D L PF PA Diff TF TA TB LB Pts
Leinster 440018434+1502854020
Exeter Chiefs 430113968+712084016
Sharks 430111989+3015113015
Saracens 430112094+2615112115
Pool B Top 4
Team P W D L PF PA Diff TF TA TB LB Pts
La Rochelle 440012057+631572018
Toulouse 440011053+571271017
Stormers 430110668+381373015
Leicester Tigers 430111689+2711101114
Opponent Result Knockout stage Opponent Result
Ulster 30–15 (H) Round of 16 Gloucester 29–26 (H)
Leicester 55–24 (H) Quarter-finals Saracens 24–10 (H)
Toulouse 41–22 (H) Semi-finals Exeter 47–28 (H)

Match

Leinster
La Rochelle

Details

20 May 2023
16:45 IST (UTC+01)
Leinster 26–27 La Rochelle
Try: Sheehan (2) 1' c, 11' m
O'Brien 5' m
Con: Byrne (1/3) 2'
Pen: Byrne (3/3) 23', 30', 46'
ReportTry: Danty 19' c
Seuteni 37' c
Colombe 71' c
Con: Hastoy (3/3) 20', 38', 72'
Pen: Hastoy (2/2) 43', 49'
Aviva Stadium, Dublin
Attendance: 51,711
Referee: Jaco Peyper (South Africa)
FB15 Hugo Keenan
RW14 Jimmy O'Brien
OC13 Garry Ringrose
IC12 Robbie Henshaw 61'
LW11 James Lowe
FH10 Ross Byrne
SH9 Jamison Gibson-Park 78'
N88 Jack Conan 59'
OF7 Josh van der Flier
BF6 Caelan Doris
RL5 James Ryan (c) 29'
LL4 Ross Molony
TP3 Tadhg Furlong 44'
HK2 Dan Sheehan 68'
LP1 Andrew Porter 78'
Substitutions:
HK16 Rónan Kelleher 71' 68'
PR17 Cian Healy 78'
PR18 Michael Alaalatoa 78' 44'
LK19 Jason Jenkins 29'
FL20 Ryan Baird 59'
SH21 Luke McGrath 78'
CE22 Ciarán Frawley
CE23 Charlie Ngatai 61'
Coach:
Leo Cullen
FB15 Brice Dulin
RW14 Dillyn Leyds
OC13 UJ Seuteni
IC12 Jonathan Danty 74'
LW11 Raymond Rhule
FH10 Antoine Hastoy
SH9 Tawera Kerr-Barlow 10' to 20'
N88 Grégory Alldritt (c)
OF7 Levani Botia 69'
BF6 Paul Boudehent 65'
RL5 Will Skelton
LL4 Romain Sazy 50'
TP3 Uini Atonio 59' 78'
HK2 Pierre Bourgarit 65'
LP1 Reda Wardi 59'
Substitutions:
HK16 Quentin Lespiaucq 65'
PR17 Joel Sclavi 59'
PR18 Georges-Henri Colombe 59' 78'
LK19 Thomas Lavault 50'
FL20 Rémi Bourdeau 69'
LK21 Ultan Dillane 65'
SH22 Thomas Berjon
CE23 Jules Favre
Coach:
Ronan O'Gara

Star of the Match:
Grégory Alldritt (La Rochelle)

Assistant referees:
Karl Dickson (England)
Christophe Ridley (England)
Television Match Official:
Tom Foley (England)

References

  1. "Leinster exploit Toulouse indiscipline to power into Champions Cup final". Guardian. 29 April 2023. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
  2. "La Rochelle 47-28 Exeter Chiefs - holders power into final". BBC Sport. 30 April 2023. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
  3. "La Rochelle break Leinster hearts with epic comeback to win Champions Cup". Guardian. 20 May 2023. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
  4. "Leinster 26-27 La Rochelle - French side edge thriller". BBC Sport. 20 May 2023. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.