2022 European Rugby Champions Cup final

The 2022 European Rugby Champions Cup Final was the final match of the 2021–22 European Rugby Champions Cup, and the twenty-seventh European club rugby final in general. The final was contested between La Rochelle and Leinster with La Rochelle winning the game with a late try.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

2022 European Rugby Champions Cup Final

Event	2021–22 European Rugby Champions Cup
La Rochelle Leinster 24 21
Date	28 May 2022
Venue	Stade Vélodrome, Marseille
Player of the Match	Dillyn Leyds (La Rochelle)
Referee	Wayne Barnes (England)
Attendance	59,682
Weather	Sunny
← 2021 2023 →

Despite having hosted a number of Champions Cup semi-finals, the Stade Vélodrome hosted its first European final, two years later than expected after it was rearranged from 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background

Both Leinster and La Rochelle entered the final on similar form, with both teams having won 7 out of their 8 games in the Championship, with both losses being a default result due to cancellations earlier in the campaign.^{[citation needed]}

This was Leinster's sixth appearance in the Champions Cup Final, winning four and losing one, their last win being in 2018. If Leinster had won, it would have been a record equalling victory for them, joining Toulouse with five European titles to their name. For La Rochelle, this was the second time they have made the final, after they made the final in the previous year. They became the first team since Leinster to appear in back-to-back finals after the Irish side achieved this in 2018 and 2019. La Rochelle's victory was the first major trophy for the club.^{[citation needed]}

The two sides had met just once before in the Champions Cup, with La Rochelle triumphing 32–23 in last season's semi-finals and it was the fifth time that an Irish team faced a TOP 14 club in the European Cup final, with Irish sides having won on each of the previous four occasions.^{[citation needed]}

Route to the final

Further information: 2021–22 European Rugby Champions Cup

Note: In all results below, the score of the finalist is given first (H: home; A: away).

La Rochelle		Round	Leinster
Opponent	Result	Pool stage	Opponent	Result
Glasgow Warriors	20–13 (H)	Matchday 1	Bath	45–20 (H)
Bath	0–0 (A) (Cancelled)	Matchday 2	Montpellier	0–28 (A) (Cancelled)
Bath	39–21 (H)	Matchday 3	Montpellier	89–7 (H)
Glasgow Warriors	38–20 (A)	Matchday 4	Bath	64–7 (A)
		Final standings
Pool A Top 4 Team P W D L PF PA Diff TF TA TB LB Pts Racing 92 4 4 0 0 126 24 +102 16 3 3 0 19 Ulster 4 4 0 0 114 96 +18 15 9 3 0 19 La Rochelle 4 3 1 0 97 64 +33 11 7 2 0 16 Leinster 4 3 0 1 198 62 +136 30 8 3 0 15
Opponent	Result	Knockout stage	Opponent	Result
Bordeaux	31–13 (A)	Round of 16 Leg 1	Connacht	26–21 (A)
Bordeaux	31–23 (H)	Round of 16 Leg 2	Connacht	56–20 (H)
Montpellier	31–19 (H)	Quarter-finals	Leicester Tigers	14–23 (A)
Racing 92	13–20 (A)	Semi-finals	Toulouse	40–17 (H)

Match

La Rochelle

Leinster

Details

28 May 2022 17:45

La Rochelle	24–21	Leinster
Try: Rhule 9' c Bourgarit 60' c Retière 79' c Con: West (3/3) 11', 61', 80' Pen: West (1/1) 41'	Report	Pen: Sexton (6/6) 4', 8', 22', 40+2', 47', 53' R. Byrne (1/1) 64'

Stade Vélodrome, Marseille Attendance: 59,682 Referee: Wayne Barnes: (England)

FB 15 Brice Dulin RW 14 Dillyn Leyds  67' OC 13 Jérémy Sinzelle IC 12 Jonathan Danty  68' LW 11 Raymond Rhule FH 10 Ihaia West SH 9 Thomas Berjon  64' N8 8 Grégory Alldritt (c) OF 7 Matthias Haddad  29' BF 6 Wiaan Liebenberg  53' RL 5 Will Skelton LL 4 Thomas Lavault 63' to 73'  74' TP 3 Uini Atonio  62' HK 2 Pierre Bourgarit  66' LP 1 Dany Priso Substitutions: HK 16 Facundo Bosch  66' PR 17 Reda Wardi  53' PR 18 Joel Sclavi  62' LK 19 Romain Sazy  74' FL 20 Rémi Bourdeau  29' SH 21 Arthur Retière  64' CE 22 Levani Botia  68' WG 23 Jules Favre  67' Coach: Ronan O'Gara

FB 15 Hugo Keenan RW 14 Jimmy O'Brien OC 13 Garry Ringrose IC 12 Robbie Henshaw LW 11 James Lowe FH 10 Johnny Sexton (c)  62' SH 9 Jamison Gibson-Park  75' N8 8 Jack Conan OF 7 Josh van der Flier BF 6 Caelan Doris  66' RL 5 James Ryan LL 4 Ross Molony  76' TP 3 Tadhg Furlong  62' HK 2 Rónan Kelleher  14' LP 1 Andrew Porter  62' Substitutions: HK 16 Dan Sheehan  14' PR 17 Cian Healy  62' PR 18 Michael Alaalatoa  62' LK 19 Joe McCarthy  76' FL 20 Rhys Ruddock  66' SH 21 Luke McGrath  75' FH 22 Ross Byrne  62' CE 23 Ciarán Frawley Coach: Leo Cullen

Star of the Match: Dillyn Leyds (La Rochelle) Assistant referees: Matthew Carley (England) Christophe Ridley (England) Television Match Official: Tom Foley (England)