Heineken Champions Cup: La Rochelle beat Leinster 32-23 to seal first final appearance
Alldritt and Skelton's tries, plus the kicking of Ihaia West, sent the French side into the final on May 22 where they will face Toulouse; Leinster had led through Tadhg Furlong's early try, but ill-discipline proved costly for them
Last Updated: 02/05/21 5:34pm
Second-half tries from Gregory Alldritt and Will Skelton helped send La Rochelle into a first Heineken Champions Cup final as they beat four-time winners Leinster on Sunday afternoon.
Leinster capitalised on a strong start when Tadhg Furlong forced his way over from close range for a try after eight minutes, with La Rochelle also having Wiaan Liebenberg sin-binned following a string of early penalties.
But although Ross Byrne kept the scoreboard ticking over with his boot, three penalties and a drop goal from fly-half Ihaia West ensured the home side trailed by just one point a half time.
West and Byrne kept exchanging penalties as the sides swapped leads after the break, but forward Alldritt and Skelton eventually broke Leinster's resolve as the Irish side's discipline went to pieces to seal a showdown with Toulouse at Twickenham on May 22.
Leinster made a strong start as they steadily built pressure in the home side's half, with La Rochelle conceding five penalties in the first eight minutes.
With the visitors laying siege to the hosts' try-line, forward Liebenberg was sent to the sin-bin for illegally killing the ball at the breakdown.
Leinster opted to turn down an almost guaranteed three points to take the tap, with Furlong claiming the game's first try as he powered his way over from short range. Byrne added the extras to give Leinster an early 7-0 lead.
But La Rochelle's driving line-out brought them back into the game as they forced Leinster to concede a penalty, which allowed West to convert from 45 metres out on the angle.
The hosts were growing into this game with the likes of Victor Vito and Skelton making headway before Tawera Kerr-Barlow found West in the pocket who slotted over a drop-goal.
But Byrne extended Leinster's lead to seven points with two successful penalties from distance as La Rochelle's discipline let them down.
West clawed three points back for the French side before they went on the attack. La Rochelle very nearly scored when West's cross-kick was taken by Vito, who was brought down just inches short of the try-line and they had to make do with three points which meant Leinster held a slender 13-12 lead at the interval.
La Rochelle took the lead for the first time in the match seven minutes into the second half, with West adding another three-pointer.
Byrne and West exchanged further penalties before Leinster's James Lowe was shown a yellow card for not rolling away at the ruck.
Leinster looked out on their feet and, after a period of sustained pressure, La Rochelle's patience finally paid off as Alldritt was helped over the line by Skelton for their first try. West added the extras to put the French side 25-16 ahead with 12 minutes left to play.
La Rochelle's pack were complete control and they sealed their victory when Skelton touched down courtesy of a powerful driving line-out, with West converting.
Byrne broke the home side's defensive line to score a converted try late on but it was too little too late for the Irish outfit.
