How to solve a problem like La Rochelle – finally – for Leinster

Overcoming French side’s physical and mental strength is the ultimate challenge

Leinster know what it takes to beat La Rochelle, but knowing and doing are very different things when you’re up against one of the strongest teams in the game. Their strength is mental and physical, with Ronan O’Gara marrying an unbending will to a side that blends brute force, pace, skill and smarts to a degree that makes them so tough to overcome.

And yet, Leo Cullen’s men have been within touching distance of getting over the line in each of their two final defeats to the French giants, while they managed a win away to them in this season’s pool stages.

La Rochelle have lost 10 league games this season and the reason they’re in Dublin for this quarter-final encounter is their two pool defeats. Last weekend, they came dangerously close to exiting the competition in Cape Town.

And yet, there’s an expectation that even with a number of key front-row injuries, they’ll pitch up and perform tomorrow.

If they do, Leinster will need to rise to that challenge and produce a performance that marries accuracy, aggression and a capacity to stay switched on for 80-plus minutes to progress.

SPOIL OR BE SPOILED

Much of the talk about Jacques Nienaber’s impact is around the team’s line-speed, but the former Springbok supremo’s work around Leinster’s breakdown can’t be discounted.

La Rochelle are one of the best teams at slowing down opposition ball and making a mess of the ruck, but this season the Irish province have poured their efforts into disrupting the flow of possession.

Caelan Doris has relished the challenge, but he’s not alone. They’ll look to push the boundaries of what’s allowed and stay on the right side of referee Karl Dickson as they get in La Rochelle’s faces and refuse to take a backward step.

The French side may be powerful and comfortable on slow ball, but their comeback last season was based on good attacking play and an ability to get through phases at times.

Stopping them from getting a flow will be crucial element of what Leinster do, while limiting Will Skelton, Levani Botia and Uini Atonio’s breakdown influence will be a factor.

BE PERFECT AT SET-PIECE

Leinster, like Ireland, have lineout issues and James Ryan’s absence is a problem.

We’ll find out today if Ross Molony is included for his work out of touch and his presence would be a help to Dan Sheehan, but even in last year’s final and the pool win, there were moments when the lineout went awry.

If Leinster are to win, they’ll need a good supply of set-piece ball that will allow them to launch their planned moves and break La Rochelle down.

The Top 14 side have traditionally had the upper hand at scrum time, but the absence of Remi Wardi, Pierre Bourgarit and Georges-Henri Colombe weakens them somewhat.

Still, they have a strong scrummaging mindset and got on top of the Stormers last weekend. Leinster will need parity at least to be able to give themselves an attacking platform.

WIN THE KICKING BATTLE

After their stunning start last year, Leinster couldn’t get out of their half and will need a varied and patient approach to the kicking game to win this one.

O’Gara clearly wanted Antoine Hastoy to turn the Leinster front-line defence in December and the out-half will again look to dink balls in behind that Hugo Keenan will need to be alert to, while the La Rochelle supremo will have noted how other teams have begun turning James Lowe’s long-kicking game into a counter-attacking opportunity.

Leinster and Ireland are beginning to rely on Lowe’s boot to a dangerous degree. Ross Byrne and Jamison Gibson-Park are proficient kickers in their own right and there’s a need to vary where the kicks are coming from.

They’ll need field position to get the win and a combination of clever kicking and good discipline will go a long way.

DON’T STOP PLAYING

It’s unlikely that Leinster will race into a 17-0 lead after 13 minutes this time around, but the big lesson from last season, Marseille, and last week’s La Rochelle win over the Stormers is that these opponents don’t know when they’re beaten.

So, Leinster need to score heavily and keep going if they get ahead, going to the corner and building their lead until it is truly insurmountable.

Whatever moves they’ve got up their sleeves can be rolled out across the 80 minutes to get this monkey finally off their backs.

It will require a performance of enormous mental resolve, a capacity to win the big moments continually until they’re the last team standing.