In a closed, messy and committed match, La Rochelle lost to Leinster (9-16) for its entry into the competition this Sunday. A setback which puts an end to the series of 16 consecutive victories in the Champions Cup. Hastoy scored three penalties while the Irish went to queen thanks to Larmour (12th). Byrne’s foot then Frawley finished the job.
Probably marked by their three consecutive defeats against the Maritimes (2021, 2022, 2023), the Irish showed great aggressiveness throughout the meeting. Targeting Skelton, the Irish increased the pressure from the first minutes. The match referee took the opportunity to calm things down with two yellow cards, one on each side, for Danty and McCarthy (12th).
In the process, the Leisntermen took the opportunity to score the only try of this match via a shift on the closed side concluded by Larmour (13th). Continuing their mixed start to the season in the Top 14 (only 9th, with five defeats in nine days), Ronan O’Gara’s men seemed without ideas with the ball in hand.
The rain, which fell in torrents during the first act, did not encourage initiatives. The La Rochelle forwards tried to make the difference via carried balls by multiplying the penaltouches, in areas that were nevertheless accessible to Hastoy’s boot.
Too undisciplined and imprecise with ball in hand, the Maritimes no longer got back in front on the scoreboard and saw Frawley widen the gap at the end of the game with a long kick of 60 meters (80th, 9-16).
For the Caravelle club, this setback is bad news before starting a particularly busy schedule, between a trip to South Africa, to Cape Town, to face the Stormers next week, then, in the Top 14, two shocks against Stade Français and Stade Toulousain.
For his first match with the Irish province, Jacques Nienaber, the former coach of the world champion Springboks, achieved a prestigious success.
