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2023 European Rugby Champions Cup final

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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
Leinster La Rochelle
Ireland France
26 27
Date20 May 2023
VenueAviva Stadium, Dublin
RefereeJaco Peyper (South Africa)
WeatherDry with sunny spells
← 2022
2024 →

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

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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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Further information: 2022–23 European Rugby Champions Cup

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 4 4 0 0 184 34 +150 28 5 4 0 20
  Exeter Chiefs 4 3 0 1 139 68 +71 20 8 4 0 16
  Sharks 4 3 0 1 119 89 +30 15 11 3 0 15
  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
  La Rochelle 4 4 0 0 120 57 +63 15 7 2 0 18
  Toulouse 4 4 0 0 110 53 +57 12 7 1 0 17
  Stormers 4 3 0 1 106 68 +38 13 7 3 0 15
  Leicester Tigers 4 3 0 1 116 89 +27 11 10 1 1 14
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

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Leinster
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
La Rochelle

Details

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

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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.
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