# 2023 European Rugby Champions Cup final

The 2023 European Rugby Champions Cup Final was the final match of the 2022–23 European Rugby Champions Cup, and the twenty-eighth European club rugby final in general. The final was contested by Leinster and La Rochelle, and a repeat of the 2022 Final which La Rochelle won 24–21.
The Aviva Stadium was the host venue of the final, just the second time it has hosted the game having also been the venue in 2013.
The match referee was Jaco Peyper, the first South African to referee the European showpiece final.
La Rochelle retained the trophy with a 27–26 win over Leinster.

## Background

For the first time both finalists from a Champions Cup final returned to the following year's final. La Rochelle became the third team after Toulouse (2003–05) and Toulon (2013–15) to appear in three successive finals, while Leinster, for the second year, attempted to match Toulouse's outright record of five European Champions Cups. This was also the first final since 2011 that matched the top two seeds after the pool stage in the showpiece final.
Both Leinster and La Rochelle entered the final in similar form, with both teams having won every game in their European campaign. They both topped their respective pool, with Leinster gaining a maximum of 20 points and La Rochelle gaining 18. They both received home advantage through the knock-out stage, before gaining home country advantage in the semi-final to see them through to the final.
This was their third meeting in the Champions Cup, with La Rochelle winning both the previous encounters.
Their domestic form saw Leinster enter having lost their United Rugby Championship semi-final the week prior, whilst La Rochelle entered having secured a top two seed in the Top 14 with one round left of the regular season.
Both teams announced their match-day 23 the day before the game and Leinster had two changes to the starting XV that played in the 2022 Final, whilst La Rochelle had seven changes to the team that played in that final.

## Route to the final

Note: In all results below, the score of the finalist is given first (H: home; A: away).
| Leinster | Leinster | Round | La Rochelle | La Rochelle |
| Opponent | Result | Pool stage | Opponent | Result |
| Racing 92 | 10–42 (A) | Matchday 1 | Northampton Saints | 46–12 (H) |
| Gloucester | 57–0 (H) | Matchday 2 | Ulster | 29–36 (A) |
| Gloucester | 14–49 (A) | Matchday 3 | Ulster | 7–3 (H) |
| Racing 92 | 36–10 (H) | Matchday 4 | Northampton Saints | 13–31 (A) |
| | | Final standings | | |
| Pool A Top 4 Team P W D L PF PA Diff TF TA TB LB Pts Leinster 440018434+1502854020 Exeter Chiefs 430113968+712084016 Sharks 430111989+3015113015 Saracens 430112094+2615112115 Pool B Top 4 Team P W D L PF PA Diff TF TA TB LB Pts La Rochelle 440012057+631572018 Toulouse 440011053+571271017 Stormers 430110668+381373015 Leicester Tigers 430111689+2711101114 |||||
| Opponent | Result | Knockout stage | Opponent | Result |
| Ulster | 30–15 (H) | Round of 16 | Gloucester | 29–26 (H) |
| Leicester | 55–24 (H) | Quarter-finals | Saracens | 24–10 (H) |
| Toulouse | 41–22 (H) | Semi-finals | Exeter | 47–28 (H) |

## Match

| Leinster | La Rochelle |

### Details

* 20 May 2023 16:45 IST (UTC+01)
| Leinster | 26–27 | La Rochelle |
| Try: Sheehan (2) 1' c, 11' m O'Brien 5' m Con: Byrne (1/3) 2' Pen: Byrne (3/3) 23', 30', 46' | Report | Try: Danty 19' c Seuteni 37' c Colombe 71' c Con: Hastoy (3/3) 20', 38', 72' Pen: Hastoy (2/2) 43', 49' |
* Aviva Stadium, Dublin Attendance: 51,711 Referee: Jaco Peyper (South Africa)
| FB | 15 | Hugo Keenan |
| RW | 14 | Jimmy O'Brien |
| OC | 13 | Garry Ringrose |
| IC | 12 | Robbie Henshaw | | 61' |
| LW | 11 | James Lowe |
| FH | 10 | Ross Byrne |
| SH | 9 | Jamison Gibson-Park | | 78' |
| N8 | 8 | Jack Conan | | 59' |
| OF | 7 | Josh van der Flier |
| BF | 6 | Caelan Doris |
| RL | 5 | James Ryan (c) | | 29' |
| LL | 4 | Ross Molony |
| TP | 3 | Tadhg Furlong | | 44' |
| HK | 2 | Dan Sheehan | | 68' |
| LP | 1 | Andrew Porter | | 78' |
| Substitutions: ||
| HK | 16 | Rónan Kelleher | 71' | 68' |
| PR | 17 | Cian Healy | | 78' |
| PR | 18 | Michael Alaalatoa | 78' | 44' |
| LK | 19 | Jason Jenkins | | 29' |
| FL | 20 | Ryan Baird | | 59' |
| SH | 21 | Luke McGrath | | 78' |
| CE | 22 | Ciarán Frawley |
| CE | 23 | Charlie Ngatai | | 61' |
| Coach: ||
| Leo Cullen ||
| FB | 15 | Brice Dulin |
| RW | 14 | Dillyn Leyds |
| OC | 13 | UJ Seuteni |
| IC | 12 | Jonathan Danty | 74' |
| LW | 11 | Raymond Rhule |
| FH | 10 | Antoine Hastoy |
| SH | 9 | Tawera Kerr-Barlow | 10' to 20' |
| N8 | 8 | Grégory Alldritt (c) |
| OF | 7 | Levani Botia | | 69' |
| BF | 6 | Paul Boudehent | | 65' |
| RL | 5 | Will Skelton |
| LL | 4 | Romain Sazy | | 50' |
| TP | 3 | Uini Atonio | | 59' | 78' |
| HK | 2 | Pierre Bourgarit | | 65' |
| LP | 1 | Reda Wardi | | 59' |
| Substitutions: ||
| HK | 16 | Quentin Lespiaucq | | 65' |
| PR | 17 | Joel Sclavi | | 59' |
| PR | 18 | Georges-Henri Colombe | | 59' | 78' |
| LK | 19 | Thomas Lavault | | 50' |
| FL | 20 | Rémi Bourdeau | | 69' |
| LK | 21 | Ultan Dillane | | 65' |
| SH | 22 | Thomas Berjon |
| CE | 23 | Jules Favre |
| Coach: ||
| Ronan O'Gara ||
* Star of the Match:
* Grégory Alldritt (La Rochelle)
* Assistant referees:
* Karl Dickson (England)
* Christophe Ridley (England)
* Television Match Official:
* Tom Foley (England)