The TOP 14 side trailed to Leinster Rugby for much of the game in Marseille but battled back to win 24-21 thanks to Arthur Retiere’s last-gasp try.

O’Gara believes a never-say-die attitude instilled in his players saw them snatch the trophy from the Irish province’s grasp.

“Without, I hope, any resemblance of arrogance, we genuinely believed that we’d win today,” he said. “Otherwise, what happened throughout the game, [there were] ample opportunities to jump ship.

“18-10, yellow card. Teams with bottle, belief, a vision, find a way to win. The boys deserve immense credit for staying on task.

“There were one or two boys sulking at half time at 12-7, but I said to them that, before game, if we could sign at 12-7, I’d sign it.

“We’re a second half team, the data says that and as a coach you have to get into that.

“We knew then that Leinster’s last 20 [minutes] is where we can get them.”

“You go off your feet at any of those 150 pick-and-goes, it’s a penalty against us. So that’s the cup gone and then we’re a team of bottlers, three finals we can’t get over the line.

“I’m very proud of them. I’m very proud of their mental resolve and it’s a great starting point for the club.”

After defeat in the Heineken Champions Cup final last season and another loss in the 2019 Challenge Cup showpiece game before that, O’Gara says his players were ready to secure a maiden European trophy.

“They had had enough of competing, they wanted to win,” he said.

“They (Leinster) may have had one or two opportunities, but I don’t think there was eight or 10 [points] left out there if I recall the game correctly.

“That sums up the want of this team. They wanted it for each other.

“It’s a special day, a special story.

“I’m very, very, very proud of them.”

La Rochelle captain Gregory Alldritt echoed his coach’s comments: “All week, we said that every player thinks about whether he really wants this cup.

“I think in the end we saw a determined group who for nothing in the world wanted to leave the trophy to Leinster.

“It was a big, big tug-of-war. That's what we worked on this week. We said we had to challenge ourselves, be at our best.

“We knew that if we were blameless, we could beat this Leinster team. They were dominated in conquest, in defense. And behind it, we saw a three-quarters line on fire.”

Stade Rochelais head coach Ronan O’Gara says his team’s mental strength allowed them to triumph in Saturday’s Heineken Champions Cup final.