Champions Cup Final Teams: Double Injury Boost For La Rochelle, Three Leinster Milestones
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The teams for Saturday's Champions Cup final at the Stade Velodrome in Marseille have been named.
- Leinster unchanged from semi-final
- Will Skelton and Brice Dulin fit for La Rochelle
- Garry Ringrose will be making his 100th Leinster Rugby appearance
- Robbie Henshaw will be making his 50th appearance in the Champions Cup
- Cian Healy will be making his 100th European appearance
Leinster team news
Leo Cullen has opted to go for the same 23 that defeated Toulouse in the semi-final a fortnight ago at Aviva Stadium.
Garry Ringrose will be making his 100th Leinster Rugby appearance having first made his debut against Cardiff in September 2015.
In the 99 appearances to date, he has scored 153 points for the province (29 tries and four conversions) as well as becoming a mainstay for the national side.
Henshaw will be making his 50th appearance in the Champions Cup, 12 of those coming for Connacht Rugby between 2012 and 2014, while it’s a 100th European club competition outing for Healy, his 97th in the premier competition with three in Leinster’s 2013 Challenge Cup win.
Andrew Porter, Rónan Kelleher and Tadhg Furlong will pack down in front of locks Ross Molony and James Ryan. In the back row, and completing the starting XV are Caelan Doris, Josh van der Flier and Jack Conan.
At half-back, captain Johnny Sexton and Jamison Gibson-Park retain their spots with Henshaw and Ringrose in the centres. Hugo Keenan, Jimmy O’Brien and James Lowe complete the starting backs.
Replacements: Dan Sheehan, Healy, Michael Ala’alatoa, Joe McCarthy, Rhys Ruddock, Luke McGrath, Ross Byrne and Ciarán Frawley
La Rochelle team news
Ronan O'Gara has made two changes in his pack from the side that beat Racing 92 in the semi-finals with a further two in the backline.
Brice Dulin returns from injury to start at fullback with Dillyn Leyds shifting to the right wing and Jules Favre dropping to the bench. Raymond Rhule completes the back three starting on the left wing.
The centre remain the same with Jonathan Danty at inside centre and Jeremy Sinzelle at outside centre. With Tawera Kerr-Barlow ruled out through injury, 24-year-old Thomas Berjon starts at scrumhalf with Ihaia West retaining the starting flyhalf role.
Dany Priso, Pierre Bourgarit, and Uini Atonio start in an unchanged front row with Will Skelton returning in the second row alongside Thomas Lavault.
Victor Vito misses the final through injury and is replaced by Matthias Haddad in the no.7 jersey with Gregory Alldritt captaining the side at number 8.
Pierre Popelin has dropped out of the matchday 23 with Arthur Retiere, Levani Botia, and Jules Favre providing backline cover. Facundo Bosch, Reda Wardi, Joel Sclavi, Romain Sazy, and Remi Bourdeau are the forward replacements.
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Replacements:
16. Dan Sheehan, 17. Cian Healy, 18. Michael Ala'alatoa, 19. Joe McCarthy, 20. Rhys Ruddock, 21. Luke McGrath, 22. Ross Byrne, 23. Ciaran Frawley,
Replacements:
16. Facundo Bosch, 17. Reda Wardi, 18. Joel Sclavi, 19. Romain Sazy, 20. Remi Bourdeau, 21. Arthur Retiere, 22. Levani Botia, 23. Jules Favre,