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2023 European Rugby Champions Cup final

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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
2022
2024

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]

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

[edit]

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

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

Ireland Leinster Round France La Rochelle
Opponent Result Pool stage Opponent Result
France Racing 92 10–42 (A) Matchday 1 England Northampton Saints 46–12 (H)
England Gloucester 57–0 (H) Matchday 2 Ireland Ulster 29–36 (A)
England Gloucester 14–49 (A) Matchday 3 Ireland Ulster 7–3 (H)
France Racing 92 36–10 (H) Matchday 4 England Northampton Saints 13–31 (A)
Final standings
Pool A Top 4
Team P W D L PF PA Diff TF TA TB LB Pts
Ireland Leinster 4 4 0 0 184 34 +150 28 5 4 0 20
England Exeter Chiefs 4 3 0 1 139 68 +71 20 8 4 0 16
South Africa Sharks 4 3 0 1 119 89 +30 15 11 3 0 15
England Saracens 4 3 0 1 120 94 +26 15 11 2 1 15
Pool B Top 4
Team P W D L PF PA Diff TF TA TB LB Pts
France La Rochelle 4 4 0 0 120 57 +63 15 7 2 0 18
France Toulouse 4 4 0 0 110 53 +57 12 7 1 0 17
South Africa Stormers 4 3 0 1 106 68 +38 13 7 3 0 15
England Leicester Tigers 4 3 0 1 116 89 +27 11 10 1 1 14
Opponent Result Knockout stage Opponent Result
Ireland Ulster 30–15 (H) Round of 16 England Gloucester 29–26 (H)
England Leicester 55–24 (H) Quarter-finals England Saracens 24–10 (H)
France Toulouse 41–22 (H) Semi-finals England Exeter 47–28 (H)

Match

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Leinster
La Rochelle

Details

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20 May 2023
16:45 IST (UTC+01)
Leinster Ireland26–27France 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)
FB 15 Ireland Hugo Keenan
RW 14 Ireland Jimmy O'Brien
OC 13 Ireland Garry Ringrose
IC 12 Ireland Robbie Henshaw downward-facing red arrow 61'
LW 11 Ireland James Lowe
FH 10 Ireland Ross Byrne
SH 9 Ireland Jamison Gibson-Park downward-facing red arrow 78'
N8 8 Ireland Jack Conan downward-facing red arrow 59'
OF 7 Ireland Josh van der Flier
BF 6 Ireland Caelan Doris
RL 5 Ireland James Ryan (c) downward-facing red arrow 29'
LL 4 Ireland Ross Molony
TP 3 Ireland Tadhg Furlong downward-facing red arrow 44'
HK 2 Ireland Dan Sheehan downward-facing red arrow 68'
LP 1 Ireland Andrew Porter downward-facing red arrow 78'
Substitutions:
HK 16 Ireland Rónan Kelleher Yellow card 71' upward-facing green arrow 68'
PR 17 Ireland Cian Healy upward-facing green arrow 78'
PR 18 Samoa Michael Alaalatoa Red card 78' upward-facing green arrow 44'
LK 19 South Africa Jason Jenkins upward-facing green arrow 29'
FL 20 Ireland Ryan Baird upward-facing green arrow 59'
SH 21 Ireland Luke McGrath upward-facing green arrow 78'
CE 22 Ireland Ciarán Frawley
CE 23 New Zealand Charlie Ngatai upward-facing green arrow 61'
Coach:
Ireland Leo Cullen
FB 15 France Brice Dulin
RW 14 South Africa Dillyn Leyds
OC 13 Samoa UJ Seuteni
IC 12 France Jonathan Danty Yellow card 74'
LW 11 South Africa Raymond Rhule
FH 10 France Antoine Hastoy
SH 9 New Zealand Tawera Kerr-Barlow yellow card 10' to 20'
N8 8 France Grégory Alldritt (c)
OF 7 Fiji Levani Botia downward-facing red arrow 69'
BF 6 France Paul Boudehent downward-facing red arrow 65'
RL 5 Australia Will Skelton
LL 4 France Romain Sazy downward-facing red arrow 50'
TP 3 France Uini Atonio downward-facing red arrow 59' upward-facing green arrow 78'
HK 2 France Pierre Bourgarit downward-facing red arrow 65'
LP 1 France Reda Wardi downward-facing red arrow 59'
Substitutions:
HK 16 France Quentin Lespiaucq upward-facing green arrow 65'
PR 17 Argentina Joel Sclavi upward-facing green arrow 59'
PR 18 France Georges-Henri Colombe upward-facing green arrow 59' downward-facing red arrow 78'
LK 19 France Thomas Lavault upward-facing green arrow 50'
FL 20 France Rémi Bourdeau upward-facing green arrow 69'
LK 21 Ireland Ultan Dillane upward-facing green arrow 65'
SH 22 France Thomas Berjon
CE 23 France Jules Favre
Coach:
Ireland Ronan O'Gara

Star of the Match:
France Grégory Alldritt (La Rochelle)

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

References

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  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.