2022 European Rugby Champions Cup final

2022 European Rugby Champions Cup Final
Event2021–22 European Rugby Champions Cup
Date28 May 2022
VenueStade Vélodrome, Marseille
Player of the MatchDillyn Leyds (La Rochelle)
RefereeWayne Barnes (England)
Attendance59,682
WeatherSunny

The 2022 European Rugby Champions Cup Final was the final match of the 2021–22 European Rugby Champions Cup, and the twenty-seventh European club rugby final in general. The final was contested between La Rochelle and Leinster with La Rochelle winning the game with a late try.[1][2][3][4][5]

Despite having hosted a number of Champions Cup semi-finals, the Stade Vélodrome hosted its first European final, two years later than expected after it was rearranged from 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background

Both Leinster and La Rochelle entered the final on similar form, with both teams having won 7 out of their 8 games in the Championship, with both losses being a default result due to cancellations earlier in the campaign.

This was Leinster's sixth appearance in the Champions Cup Final, winning four and losing one, their last win being in 2018. If Leinster had won, it would have been a record equalling victory for them, joining Toulouse with five European titles to their name. For La Rochelle, this was the second time they have made the final, after they made the final in the previous year. They became the first team since Leinster to appear in back-to-back finals after the Irish side achieved this in 2018 and 2019. La Rochelle's victory was the first major trophy for the club.

The two sides had met just once before in the Champions Cup, with La Rochelle triumphing 32–23 in last season's semi-finals and it was the fifth time that an Irish team faced a TOP 14 club in the European Cup final, with Irish sides having won on each of the previous four occasions.

Route to the final

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

La Rochelle Round Leinster
Opponent Result Pool stage Opponent Result
Glasgow Warriors 20–13 (H) Matchday 1 Bath 45–20 (H)
Bath 0–0 (A)
(Cancelled)
Matchday 2 Montpellier 0–28 (A)
(Cancelled)
Bath 39–21 (H) Matchday 3 Montpellier 89–7 (H)
Glasgow Warriors 38–20 (A) Matchday 4 Bath 64–7 (A)
Final standings
Pool A Top 4
Team P W D L PF PA Diff TF TA TB LB Pts
Racing 92 4 4 0 0 126 24 +102 16 3 3 0 19
Ulster 4 4 0 0 114 96 +18 15 9 3 0 19
La Rochelle 4 3 1 0 97 64 +33 11 7 2 0 16
Leinster 4 3 0 1 198 62 +136 30 8 3 0 15
Opponent Result Knockout stage Opponent Result
Bordeaux 31–13 (A) Round of 16 Leg 1 Connacht 26–21 (A)
Bordeaux 31–23 (H) Round of 16 Leg 2 Connacht 56–20 (H)
Montpellier 31–19 (H) Quarter-finals Leicester Tigers 14–23 (A)
Racing 92 13–20 (A) Semi-finals Toulouse 40–17 (H)

Match

La Rochelle
Leinster

Details

28 May 2022
17:45
La Rochelle 24–21 Leinster
Try: Rhule 9' c
Bourgarit 60' c
Retière 79' c
Con: West (3/3) 11', 61', 80'
Pen: West (1/1) 41'
ReportPen: Sexton (6/6) 4', 8', 22', 40+2', 47', 53'
R. Byrne (1/1) 64'
Stade Vélodrome, Marseille
Attendance: 59,682
Referee: Wayne Barnes: (England)
FB 15 Brice Dulin
RW 14 Dillyn Leyds  67'
OC 13 Jérémy Sinzelle
IC 12 Jonathan Danty  68'
LW 11 Raymond Rhule
FH 10 Ihaia West
SH 9 Thomas Berjon  64'
N8 8 Grégory Alldritt (c)
OF 7 Matthias Haddad  29'
BF 6 Wiaan Liebenberg  53'
RL 5 Will Skelton
LL 4 Thomas Lavault 63' to 73'  74'
TP 3 Uini Atonio  62'
HK 2 Pierre Bourgarit  66'
LP 1 Dany Priso
Substitutions:
HK 16 Facundo Bosch  66'
PR 17 Reda Wardi  53'
PR 18 Joel Sclavi  62'
LK 19 Romain Sazy  74'
FL 20 Rémi Bourdeau  29'
SH 21 Arthur Retière  64'
CE 22 Levani Botia  68'
WG 23 Jules Favre  67'
Coach:
Ronan O'Gara
FB 15 Hugo Keenan
RW 14 Jimmy O'Brien
OC 13 Garry Ringrose
IC 12 Robbie Henshaw
LW 11 James Lowe
FH 10 Johnny Sexton (c)  62'
SH 9 Jamison Gibson-Park  75'
N8 8 Jack Conan
OF 7 Josh van der Flier
BF 6 Caelan Doris  66'
RL 5 James Ryan
LL 4 Ross Molony  76'
TP 3 Tadhg Furlong  62'
HK 2 Rónan Kelleher  14'
LP 1 Andrew Porter  62'
Substitutions:
HK 16 Dan Sheehan  14'
PR 17 Cian Healy  62'
PR 18 Michael Alaalatoa  62'
LK 19 Joe McCarthy  76'
FL 20 Rhys Ruddock  66'
SH 21 Luke McGrath  75'
FH 22 Ross Byrne  62'
CE 23 Ciarán Frawley
Coach:
Leo Cullen

Star of the Match:
Dillyn Leyds (La Rochelle)

Assistant referees:
Matthew Carley (England)
Christophe Ridley (England)
Television Match Official:
Tom Foley (England)

References

  1. ^ "2022 European Rugby Champions Cup Final". EPC Rugby.com. 23 May 2022. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  2. ^ "Sublime Leinster dethrone Toulouse to march into Champions Cup final". The 42. 14 May 2022. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  3. ^ "La Rochelle win 20-13 at Racing 92 to reach second successive final". BBC Sport. 15 May 2022. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  4. ^ "Leinster 21-24 La Rochelle: Champions Cup final – as it happened". Guardian. 22 May 2022. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  5. ^ "Ronan O'Gara leads La Rochelle to first Champions Cup title with stunning last-gasp victory over Leinster". The 42. 22 May 2022. Retrieved 1 February 2023.