La Rochelle player ratings: Dillyn Leyds shines in Champions Cup success over Leinster

Following their 24-21 victory over Leinster in the Champions Cup final at the Stade Velodrome in Marseille on Saturday, here’s the player ratings for La Rochelle.

15 Brice Dulin: Valuable left-footed boot for La Rochelle and high-quality under the high ball. Provided a gutsy kick for touch to leave his side just metres to go in the final minutes. 6/10

14 Dillyn Leyds: The Player of the Match and fantastic weapon in attack with agility and vision to help Raymond Rhule in for the opening score. Well timed runs and great reading of the game throughout. 9

13 Jérémy Sinzelle: Quiet day but almost scored late on with a short carry. Fairly even battle with Garry Ringrose. 6

12 Jonathan Danty: Solid outing with the thundering carries we all expect. Great speed defensively to help suffocate Leinster‘s attack. 7

11 Raymond Rhule: Worked well in tandem with Leyds, putting himself in dangerous positions for the defence consistently. Remarkable finish in the first half. 8

10 Ihaia West: Did what was asked of him in La Rochelle‘s multi-phase moves and distributed the ball effectively. Nailed everything he attempted from the tee including a tricky conversion in the first half. 7

9 Thomas Berjon: Surprisingly superb start to the nine’s European career following Tawera Kerr-Barlow’s injury. Eye-catching speed of ball helped keep La Rochelle flowing. 7

8 Grégory Alldritt (c): Relentless and never-tiring performance as predicted from Alldritt. 80 minutes of pure class and grit from Ronan O’Gara’s ball-carrying machine. 8

7 Matthias Haddad: Awesome defensive outing for the hyper-aggressive flanker. Outrageous open-field tackle on Ringrose which is sure to do the rounds on social media. 7

6 Wiaan Liebenberg: Won a crucial steal for the now champions to help them edge out the uncharacteristically human-looking Leinster side. Silverware on his last season is the perfect send-off. 6

5 Will Skelton: Originally thought to be out for the season, Skelton played a remarkable full 80 in the French summer heat. Gave La Rochelle a prop-like presence to help in the crucial forward battles at the close. 6

4 Thomas Lavault: Superb in the lineout but will only be remembered for his brainless trip on Jamison Gibson-Park which sent him to the bin. Could have cost his side the game if it wasn’t for the ferocity of the replacement pack. 4

3 Uini Atonio: Great work in the scrum versus Andrew Porter but didn’t see the fruits of his labour. Reliable carrier as ever. 6

2 Pierre Bourgarit: Sky-high work rate throughout exemplified by his chase down of Hugo Keenan following West’s missed drop goal. Great work in the set piece all day. 8

1 Dany Priso: Great day at the office against arguably the best in the business in Tadhg Furlong. Breakdown work was fantastic with four penalties to show for it. 8

Replacements: Unbelievable work from the replacement forwards especially who won penalty after penalty for the victors in the closing stages when yo-yoing in and out of the Leinster five. 9

READ MORE: Champions Cup: La Rochelle stun Leinster to claim European glory