It was only a pool stage game, but it's hard to overstate how much victory in La Rochelle on Sunday evening will have meant to this Leinster team.
Three years on the bounce crashing out of Europe to Ronan O'Gara's Stade Rochelais - successive last-gasp final defeats making up the last two of those - have left Leinster licking their wounds coming into this Champions Cup campaign, but they could scarcely have gotten it off to a better start than what they managed on Sunday.
Relentless rain drove in on the French seaside town, with a scrappy game seeing a new, grittier side to Leinster - perhaps something that can be attributed to the new arrival on the coaching team, Jacques Nienaber.
Ultimately, Ciarán Frawley's monster kick was what sealed a memorable opening day victory for Leinster, but it was the pack who were most impressive on a dirty day in France.
Will Connors was perhaps the most impressive of all, entrusted to start ahead of 2022 World Rugby player of the year Josh van der Flier - and backing up his selection with aplomb.
It now seems as though the pair could duel it out for the number seven jersey this season, but Shane Horgan believes there is every chance that Leinster could choose to innovate around the exceptional back-row talent.
READ HERE: Bernard Jackman Roasts Irish Provinces Over Key Issue
READ HERE: Netflix Announces Release Date For Rugby’s Answer To ‘Drive To Survive’
Shane Horgan thinks Leinster could experiment with Connors-van der Flier duo
10 December 2023; Will Connors, left, and James Ryan of Leinster celebrate after the Investec Champions Cup match between La Rochelle and Leinster at Stade Marcel Deflandre in La Rochelle, France. Photo by Harry Murphy/Sportsfile
Leinster legend Shane Horgan appeared on the Second Captains rugby podcast this week to analyse the weekend's Champions Cup action and, naturally, the main topic of conversation was his former team's epic win in La Rochelle on Sunday.
Though Horgan was full of praise for the changes made by Leinster in seeing out a different, trickier type of game to what they have been accustomed to in recent years, he felt that it was majorly facilitated by the excellence of Will Connors at seven.
A bold pick ahead of Josh van der Flier, Connors will hope to hold on to his spot at seven - but Horgan believes that the Leinster coaching team could even choose to experiment with starting both of them in future games:
The Connors call was inspired. We're talking about a guy who, under different circumstances, and with a different injury profile, could have any amount of caps for Ireland.
He was [previously ahead of van der Flier]. I remember that very well. He was the guy that the chips were going down on. It's kind of bizarre that he's not a household name. He may in time become one.
He was really important for Leinster.
You talk about the changes that need to be made to beat La Rochelle in different circumstances. The way he so ferociously chop tackles - and, listen, van der Flier is a great chop tackler as well. Across the board, is there a world where you're getting more out of both of them by using both of them?
You could go for two sevens, there's lots of different ways you could potentially skin the cat to look to utilise the chop tackle. It is very effective in the rain, but I remember [Michael] Cheika, when we had an underweight pack, it was one of the key things that was against the prevailing thought at the time.
It's an intriguing proposition, and Leinster certainly seemed better equipped to handle the immense strength of the La Rochelle pack on Sunday than they have across the sides' previous three meetings.
There is a long way to go in this season's Champions Cup, but Leinster have laid down a statement of intent by defeating the twice-over defending champions - and there are worse dilemmas to have than choosing between the brilliance of either Josh van der Flier or Will Connors.
SEE ALSO: Sonny Bill Williams Labels Eddie Jones A 'Disgrace' Over Japan Move
