Leinster Complete Preparations For Marseille Mission

Leinster held their Captain’s Run at the Stade Vélodrome earlier today as the build-up continues to their eagerly-awaited Heineken Champions Cup final clash with La Rochelle.

Saturday evening’s showdown (kick-off 5.45pm local time/4.45pm Irish time) is the headline act of EPCR’s 2022 finals weekend in Marseille as Leo Cullen men’s aim to win the province’s fifth European Cup title.

Head coach Cullen, who has selected an unchanged team from their semi-final victory over Toulouse, said: “It’ll be a fantastic occasion, two great teams going at it. It’ll be warm, the conditions will be excellent tomorrow.

“Tadhg Furlong and James Lowe, they’ve been okay the two of them. I’m looking forward to seeing the two guys play. They weren’t a major concern from our point of view.

“We were hugely disappointed with the way last season ended. There’s a lot of blood, sweat and tears that go into a campaign to get you back to this point. It’s off the back of so much hard work, sacrifice, dedication, attention to detail and all the rest.

“You’ve got two teams that are hugely motivated to win this tournament, so we’re hoping for a great occasion. You get to this point and you’re just dying for the kick-off really and (to) let the players go at it.”