Shocks, tackles, a fight to win every centimeter.
And, at the end of the fight, an intense joy.
We play the 79th minute of this Champions Cup final at the Stade Vélodrome in Marseille, and the Rochelais are still led by four points by Leinster (17-21).
But the Irish, big favorites of this meeting, are struggling at the end of the match.
La Rochelle multiplies the highlights and settles in the opposing 22 meters, then a few meters from the try line.
Under the impetus of their forwards, the Rochelais grab, again and again, but Leinster holds firm.
Until this charge from the massive Australian second line Will Skelton, who brings his own closer to a few centimeters.
A few seconds later, the winger Arthur Retière, entered during the game, slips into a mouse hole and extends his arm to flatten right next to the referee.
This requires verification by video arbitration, which does not take long to confirm.
La Rochelle can scream its joy, the sidelines unleashed in the lead.
[📺LIVE] 🏉 #ChampionsCup Final live on beIN SPORTS 1
🔥🔥 @staderochelais try in the last seconds of the game!!!
⭐️ The yellow and black are on the roof of Europe!
#LEIvSR pic.twitter.com/ZVxjDImuef
— beIN SPORTS (@beinsports_FR) May 28, 2022
The try is converted by New Zealand opening half Ihaia West, to give the Maritimes a three-point lead in the final score (24-21).
With this success, Ronan O'Gara's men won their first European Cup in their history and succeeded Toulouse (who had beaten them in the final) on the winners of this Champions Cup.
Les Rochelais, still in the running to qualify for the final phase of the Top 14, can, like the Rouge et Noir last year, achieve the double.