Gary Connaughton reporting from the Aviva Stadium
Coming into this evening's clash between La Rochelle and Leinster, very few onlookers would have predicted a sizeable win for either side.
While the French team have dominated the head-to-head between the clubs (at least in knockout rugby), those games have all been relatively close affairs. That was expected to be the case once again on this occasion, although the reality turned out to be far different.
Leinster were the dominant side right from the off, playing some scintillating rugby. La Rochelle found it difficult to live with, and even though they did defend well at times, the visitors rarely managed any sort of sustained pressure at the end of the pitch.
There was some hope for Ronan O'Gara's men scored a try just before halftime to ensure that the gap between the sides would be just ten points at the interval, although a Ryan Baird score just after the restart all but killed the game as a contest.
In the end, it was the most convincing of wins for Leinster.
READ HERE: Brian O'Driscoll Identifies One Key Change That Helped Leinster Hammer La Rochelle
Ronan O'Gara incredibly honest about La Rochelle loss to Leinster
Ronan O'Gara insisted that his La Rochelle team would not lack desire in their bid for a third successive Champions Cup, and while that may well have been the case, they struggled to rise to the occasion today.
Travel may have something to with that, with the French side having come off the back of a gruelling game in South Africa last week.
However, the Cork man refused to use those circumstances as an excuse.
Speaking to the media after the game, he was incredibly forthright in his admission that his team did not deserve to get anything from this game. He also said the nature of the loss may make it easier to move on from.
It's easier to move on. If it's a close game, you always have a lot more regrets.
If you had a small bit of cop on, you could see that the more dominant team was in blue. They were sharper to everything and they mad it difficult for us, their rush defence worked well.
In the first 70 minutes, I don't think we won a breakdown penalty bar a kick-off that we took...
We were quite happy going in just ten points down at halftime considering the way the game unfolded. We gave them a soft score. Obviously they executed quite well, but it was quite soft for them to go out to 17 again. It killed out momentum and we were chasing the game...
That would be using an excuse (blaming travel). Maybe with hindsight, it may have been a factor. But the better team won.
That's what sport is about. I've been lucky enough to be here as a victorious coach, so when it doesn't work for you, you can't blame the ref or your own players. Sometimes you've just go to go well done to Leinster, they had a good plan and executed it well.
They kept it us at arm's length throughout the 80 minutes.
La Rochelle still have plenty to play for this season, with the club on the hunt for a first ever Top 14 title.
That will keep them focused over the coming weeks and months, but there is no doubt that this loss will sting for Ronan O'Gara and his team for quite some time.
SEE ALSO: McCarthy & Baird Unlock New Dimension In Leinster Side To Help End La Rochelle Hoodoo
