Mind games aplenty ahead of Champions Cup decider

As the top two teams in Europe gear up for an almighty clash at the Aviva on Saturday to determine who will hoist the trophy, La Rochelle boss Ronan O’Gara is dealing out the confusion in spades. Whether his trickery (if trickery it is, indeed) is toying with the thoughts of Leinster boss Leo Cullen is in doubt, however, as the latter said last week that he was not paying much attention to O’Gara’s words as the sides brace for impact. 

“I would definitely be wary of anything that’s there, for sure,” Cullen said, talking to independent.ie. 

“Is that the polite way of saying it? I’d be very wary of anything that the coach of La Rochelle says in the media because I’m sure he knows exactly what’s going on in his own world versus what he wants to put out there in the world. 

“So we take certain things with a pinch of salt. 

“At this stage you’ve got to focus on yourself,” Cullen continued. “It’s very easy to get distracted by the outcome. For us we’ve got to go through our own rituals. 

“It’s very easy to think, what’s it going to be like at the end of the game. It’s only so relevant. Preparing well leads to performing well. 

“Getting our own stuff right so we can impose our game on the opposition, whoever we play, whether it’s Munster this week or La Rochelle next week. Everyone has got to come up with a plan about how to stop a team.” 

O’Gara’s recent claims regarding the injuries to key players in his squad have been interesting, to say the least. 

Last Friday, O’Gara conveyed the unfortunate message that the giant, bruising lock-forward, Will Skelton, had sustained an injury which would keep him out for the remainder of the season. However, the apparent recovery of Skelton was nothing short of miraculous, as his meaty frame was spotted on the field of play in La Rochelle’s 32-13 victory over Stade Francais on the Saturday. 

"It was interesting Skelton came back from his season-ending injury," Cullen said, tongue-in-cheek. 

In explanation, O’Gara said: 

"Nothing sinister after the game but he did 15 minutes in a slow-paced game. 

"But the positive is he didn’t have a reaction. [Monday] was just a clarity session and he was able to walk. 

"[Tuesday] will probably tell more and accordingly if it keeps going to plan, we’ll see how much we can get out of him at the weekend." 

The latest blight on the La Rochelle squad was the news that Tawera Kerr-Barlow had broken two bones in his hand – an injury that would rule a player out for a minimum of six weeks – however, there is now talk that the 31 year-old's participation in the final is not dead and buried. O’Gara’s take on the situation was intriguing. 

"He has two broken bones in his hand but I’m trying to see…I need to get some hurling advice and try and get one of those Mycro gloves," he said, talking to RTÉ Sport. 

"So we’ll see what we can do with that in terms of... I mean you’ve got to explore every possibility. 

"Depending on his pain threshold, depending, I suppose, on his grip of the ball and depending on, well, the legality of it I think is okay. 

"People have played with those hurling gloves in the past. 

"We just have to wait and see with that." 

Stalwart loose-forward Victor Vito is also said to be carrying an injury of the ankle variety at the moment, but who knows?