Leinster Rugby will be aiming for a record-equalling fifth European star when they clash with Stade Rochelais in the Heineken Champions Cup final at Stade Vélodrome on Saturday. The two sides have met just once before in the Heineken Champions Cup, with La Rochelle triumphing 32-23 in last season’s semi-finals. It will be the fifth time that an Irish team has faced a TOP 14 club in the European Cup final, with Irish sides having won on each of the previous four occasions. It is Leinster’s sixth European Cup final, with Saracens handing the Irish province their only defeat in the showpiece game in 2019. Meanwhile, La Rochelle have won two of their previous three games against Irish opposition in the competition, with both those successes coming on French soil. The game in Marseille kicks off at 16:45 (UK & Irish time) and will be available to watch on BT Sport, Channel 4, Virgin Media, beIN SPORTS, France 2 and Sky Italia.

Pool positions Leinster: 4th, Pool A La Rochelle: 3rd, Pool A Semi-finals Leinster Rugby 40 Stade Toulousain 17 Racing 92 13 Stade Rochelais 20 Heineken Champions Cup head-to-head record Leinster wins: 0 Draws: 0 La Rochelle wins: 1 Leading 2021/22 points-scorers Leinster: Johnny Sexton (65) La Rochelle: Ihaia West (67) Key quotes Josh van der Flier (Leinster flanker): “There’s a hunger, certainly, in the team to go back there and to win it. I wouldn’t say we feel a huge amount of pressure because obviously it’s such a hard thing to win. “Looking at the team and the squad, there’s a lot of us on the team who wouldn’t have played in a European final before. It’s certainly not something that we’re used to, so it’s very, very exciting.” Ronan O’Gara (La Rochelle head coach): “We will have to impose our game on them and after that it will be important to occupy and play in their zone. Because when they get within 22 meters, it’s a tough team to stop. They are very clean in their structure. It’s important to control the ball well.” https://twitter.com/ChampionsCup/status/1528805595180060672 Other key stats

Leinster would equal Toulouse’s record of five European Cup titles should they defeat La Rochelle in Marseille.
Leinster have won each of their seven matches in this season’s Heineken Champions Cup (excl. cancelled fixtures), including their two fixtures against French opposition; the 40 points they scored against Toulouse in the semi-final was the second most by any team at that stage of the competition (Saracens, 46 v ASM Clermont Auvergne in 2013/14).
La Rochelle will become the seventh side to feature in consecutive European Cup finals (also CA Brive, Leicester Tigers, Stade Toulousain, Leinster, RC Toulon and Saracens).
La Rochelle have won 11 of their 12 games in the Heineken Champions Cup since the start of last season (L1, excl. cancelled fixtures), with their only defeat in that spell coming in last season’s final (17-22 v Toulouse); they have scored 30+ points in five of their seven games so far this season.
Leinster boast the quickest average ruck speed of any side in this season’s Heineken Champions Cup (2.84s); La Rochelle have recorded the best ruck success rate this season (97%) and have the fifth best ruck speed (3.28s).
Leinster have averaged the most metres (931), line breaks (10) and passes (184) per game in the Heineken Champions Cup this season, while they also boast the best tackle success rate in the competition (91%); La Rochelle have recorded the third best tackle success rate (89%).
La Rochelle have spent the highest percentage of time in opposition territory of any club in this season’s Heineken Champions Cup (56%), while Leinster have averaged the most 22 entries of any side (15.1) and recorded the most points per 22 entry (3.26).
Leinster’s James Lowe is the top try-scorer in this season’s Heineken Champions Cup (10) and needs just one more try to equal Chris Ashton’s record of 11 tries in a single campaign (2013/14); Lowe has also made more line breaks than any other player in the competition this season (12), while teammate Jimmy O’Brien has made the second most (10).
La Rochelle’s Gregory Alldritt has made the most carries of any player in the Heineken Champions Cup this season (113), while he ranks second for metres (731), defenders beaten (28), offloads (15) and turnovers won (8) in the competition this season.