Leinster hoping for lethal form against La Rochelle, sweating on Lowe & Furlong

Leinster senior coach Stuart Lancaster is under no illusions about the task which lies in wait for his players as they gear up for battle with La Rochelle with the title of European Champions hanging in the balance. 

Although the bookies are calling the Irish outfit 12-point favourites for the game in Dublin, finals are always tricky affairs. 

High on the Leinster priority list at present is the fitness of tighthead prop Tadhg Furlong and prolific try-scoring winger James Lowe. 

Lowe is carrying a shin injury while Furlong limped from the field with an ankle issue against Toulouse. 

“It’s taken a while for them to get back moving again, but they are moving in the right direction,” Lancaster said of the duo. 

“Not fully confirmed yet, but they are moving in the right direction. But Tuesday will be a big training day for us and Wednesday is off, so Tuesday is more of a decision-making day really.” 

Furlong is a crucial element of the Leinster forward pack and will be greatly needed in the final, however, he has to attain a certain level of fitness. 

“He’s got to be right,” Lancaster said of Furlong. 

“It’s very hard for a tighthead prop to go into a scrum if you are not right. He needs to be right. It’s position specific sometimes for these things, but he has to be right to put him in because it will compromise our chances, never mind his chances, of doing well.” 

Looking ahead to the game itself, Lancaster said: 

“I mean, obviously it’s important to play your best game in the final. 

You saw in the World Cup in 2019, South Africa played their best game in the final and won the final. Yeah, you can talk about it but until the actual final starts itself, it’s only then when you truly know where your group is. You’ve got to prepare for every eventuality, both in terms of circumstances on the field but also the environment which surrounds the game as well.  

“You’re trying to paint a picture in the players’ minds of what the stadium will look and feel alike. What the 28 degrees will feel like. What the 60,000 people feel like and you’re hoping to use that to prepare them, but also for them to draw on their experiences themselves because when it comes down it, it’s 15 players vs 15 players.  

“We’ve got to do our job early in the week and the players have to drive it on and we’re lucky that we’ve got an experienced group that can do that, but equally this experienced group have also had some pain along the way as well, and you draw on that.”