La Rochelle player ratings: Ronan O’Gara’s charges comfortably outplayed as Will Skelton nullified and champions dethroned
La Rochelle lock Will Skelton against Leinster.
Following Leinster’s impressive 40-13 victory over La Rochelle in the Investec Champions Cup quarter-final, here is how we rated Ronan O’Gara’s charges.
La Rochelle player ratings v Leinster
15 Dillyn Leyds: Stepping into the rather large shoes of Brice Dulin was always going to be a difficult ask and Leyds was busy early on with 40 metres racked up from six carries. Unfortunately, his evening was cut short due to injury. 5
14 Jack Nowell: Was much more involved in the second period after a quiet opening stanza as he finished with 61 metres from his seven carries. A solid enough performance but had his hands full with the outstanding James Lowe. 6
13 Ulupano Seuteni: Hasn’t quite recaptured his form of 2022/23 and while he showed flashes of his quality, Seuteni struggled against the formidable Robbie Henshaw. 4
12 Jonathan Danty: Completely outplayed by the young Jamie Osborne, who gave a demonstration of a complete game against the France star. Danty made just five metres with ball in hand as most of his work came defensively. 4
11 Teddy Thomas: Tried admirably to put his stamp on the game and can be proud of his six defenders beaten from seven carries. La Rochelle‘s pack going backwards didn’t help their wide men. 5
Leinster banish Champions Cup ghosts as La Rochelle’s three-peat dream emphatically ended
10 Antoine Hastoy: Struggled throughout as La Rochelle could not unlock the Leinster defence. Was often caught taking the wrong option in a performance that summed up his team’s day. 4
9 Tawera Kerr-Barlow: A worrying sight shortly after half-time when Kerr-Barlow was stretchered off. Before that, the former All Black was his typically nuggety self but was bested by Jamison Gibson-Park. 5
Planet Rugby’s player ratings key.
Forwards
8 Gregory Alldritt: La Rochelle’s main workhorse, as always, with the France international getting through the carries (16) en route to 46 metres. At times it felt like he was on his own. 6
7 Levani Botia: A couple of physical hits among his team-high 14 tackles but struggled to disrupt Leinster‘s ball at the breakdown, as he so often does. 5
6 Judicael Cancoriet: A real handful at times as he showed his quality but those moments were few and far between as Leinster turned the screw up front. 5
5 Will Skelton: Visibly frustrated by how his team couldn’t repeat their physical dominance of recent meetings between the sides. Skelton tried manfully, but even the gargantuan lock struggled to make the inroads that had done for Leinster in the past. 4
4 Ultan Dillane: La Rochelle’s engine room was outplayed and outmuscled by Joe McCarthy and Jason Jenkins as Dillane and company came off second best. Conceded two penalties that knocks down his score. 4
3 Uini Atonio: Struggled to get the ascendancy over Andrew Porter as Leinster shaded the scrum battle for the majority of the game. Busy around the field with seven carries to his name. 6
2 Tolu Latu: Solid at both set-pieces in his 53 minutes on the field. While he continues to fill in for Pierre Bourgarit admirably, La Rochelle do miss the latter’s threat in open play. 5
1 Louis Penverne: One of La Rochelle’s few bright lights in an otherwise disappointing afternoon. The 21-year-old scored a well-deserved try and has a bright future in the game. 7
Replacements: Hardly any of the bench stood up and made an impact as Leinster pulled away late on. Possibly only Teddy Iribaren with his ability to find 50:22s was a positive and he will at least take something from his cameo.
