La Rochelle vs Toulouse: Heineken Champions Cup final preview ahead of Twickenham kick off
Heineken Champions Cup 2020/21 final: La Rochelle vs Toulouse at Twickenham (Saturday, 4.45pm); Toulouse are looking to claim record fifth European Cup title; La Rochelle are into their first final. We look at form, statistics and team news ahead of kick-off. Tune into our live blog.
Last Updated: 22/05/21 4:06pm
We look ahead to the weekend's Heineken Champions Cup final, as Toulouse look to make European history in an all-French affair vs first-time finalists La Rochelle...
In the first all-French European Cup final since 2015, Toulouse and La Rochelle will meet in Europe for the first time in the history of the two clubs, with Toulouse having won six of their last seven clashes against La Rochelle in the Top 14.
Toulouse's four tournament wins before now in 1996, 2003, 2005 and 2010 set a benchmark that only Leinster have reached before now. Three of Toulouse's previous wins have also come against French opposition - Perpignan in 2002/03, Stade Français in 2004/05, and Biarritz in 2009/10.
Having not featured in a final since their last triumph in 2010, Toulouse can now move ahead again with a historic fifth win on Saturday, but a note of caution - the last time they played a final at Twickenham in 2004, they lost out late on 27-20 to Wasps.
Emile Ntamack, who captained Toulouse to their first European Cup title in 1996, and Romain Ntamack, are in line to become the first father and son to win European club titles.
The home of English rugby will host the Heineken Champions Cup final for the sixth time on Saturday - one short of the record held by the Principality Stadium in Cardiff. A world club-record attendance at the time of 81,076 saw Wasps defeat Leicester Tigers in 2007 and there was a tournament record for a final of 81,744 in 2012 for the all-Irish decider Leinster and Ulster
Toulouse head coach Ugo Mola was a winner with the club in the inaugural final in Cardiff in 1996, while his forwards coach Jean Bouilhou was a winner in 2003, 2005 and 2010, along with backs coach Clement Poitrenaud.
While there are coaches on both sides who have experienced winning the Heineken Champions Cup in previous guises, the only other player apart from La Rochelle's Will Skelton (who won with Saracens) that has picked up a winner's medal is Toulouse veteran Maxime Medard. The 34-year-old played in the 21-19 win against Biarritz at the Stade de France in 2010 having been on the losing side in the 2008 final in Cardiff against Munster.
In terms of stats, Toulouse are one of just five sides to maintain a 100 per cent scrum success rate in the European Cup this season, winning each of their 21 scrums, while they've also managed to win 29 per cent of scrums on the opposition feed, the best rate of any club.
Toulouse's Dupont has scored the joint-most tries of any player this season (4, level with three other players), while he has the best average gain of any player to make 30-plus carries this campaign (7.8m per carry) and ranks second for both offloads (7) and defenders beaten (20).
Toulouse team news
Toulouse: 15 Maxime Médard, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Juan Cruz Mallía, 12 Pita Ahki, 11 Matthis Lebel, 10 Romain Ntamack, 9 Antoine Dupont (c); 1 Cyril Baille, 2 Peato Mauvaka, 3 Charlie Faumuina, 4 Rory Arnold, 5 Richie Arnold, 6 Rynhardt Elstadt, 7 Francois Cros, 8 Jerome Kaino.
Replacements: 16 Guillaume Marchand, 17 Clément Castets, 18 David Ainu'u, 19 Joe Tekori, 20 Thibaud Flament, 21 Selevasio Tolofua, 22 Baptiste Germain, 23 Thomas Ramos.
For La Rochelle, they are bidding to become the fourth French club along with Toulouse, Brive and RC Toulon to win the title.
Ronan O'Gara, head coach of La Rochelle, made the first of his four appearances in finals as a player with Munster in the first Twickenham showpiece in 2000. Northampton Saints won 9-8 on that occasion and the Munster No 10 missed two late penalties to win the match. O'Gara was a runner-up again in Cardiff in 2002, but then triumphed against Biarritz and Toulouse in the 2006 and 2008 finals in the Welsh capital.
The La Rochelle Director of Rugby, Jono Gibbes, never played in a final, but has been part of the coaching set-up in some five previous finals with Leinster (2009, 2011, 2012) and with Clermont Auvergne (2013, 2015).
La Rochelle's Australian second row Skelton joined the exclusive club of Heineken Champions Cup and Super Rugby double winners when he helped Saracens to win a third European crown in 2019. That came five years on from when he was a winner with the Waratahs in the Super Rugby final.
And there are several other contenders who could join that exclusive club at the weekend. La Rochelle No 8 Victor Vito signed off his Hurricanes career with a win in the 2016 Super Rugby final, while scrum-half Tawera Kerr Barlow was a winner with the Chiefs in 2012 and 2013.
Apart from Skelton, three members of the La Rochelle squad have previously tasted European success as Geoffrey Doumayrou, Jules Plisson and Jérémy Sinzelle were all Challenge Cup winners with Stade Francais in 2017.
Only Lyon (14.5) have averaged more offloads per game in the European Cup this season than La Rochelle (11.3) and Toulouse (10.3); La Rochelle have also allowed their opponents to offload less often than against any other side (4.5 per game).
La Rochelle back-row Gregory Alldritt has made 59 carries in Europe this season, more than any other player, whilst he's also beaten 10 defenders - the joint-most of any forward, alongside teammate Skelton and Bristol Bears' Nathan Hughes.
La Rochelle's Wian Liebenberg has averaged 16.9 tackles per 80 minutes in 2020/21, the best rate of any player to play at least 160 minutes, recording a tackle success rate of 91% in the process.
La Rochelle team news
La Rochelle: 15 Brice Dulin, 14 Dillyn Leyds, 13 Geoffrey Doumayrou, 12 Levani Botia, 11 Raymond Rhule, 10 Ihaia West, 9 Tawera Kerr Barlow; 1 Dany Priso, 2 Pierre Bourgarit, 3 Uini Atonio, 4 Romain Sazy (c), 5 Will Skelton, 6 Grégory Alldritt, 7 Kevin Gourdon, 8 Victor Vito.
Replacements: 16 Facundo Bosch, 17 Reda Wardi, 18 Arthur Joly, 19 Thomas Lavault, 20 Wiaan Liebenberg, 21 Paul Boudehent, 22 Arthur Retiere, 23 Jules Plisson.