In just a few days another season of the Top 14 kicks off with the likes of Owen Farrell, Siya Kolisi, Josua Tuisova, and Davit Niniashvili making the numbers of the overseas players ready to make the headlines and wrestle for the title.
The 31-year-old South African has been a key player in the evolution of La Rochelle with Ronan O’Gara at the helm and he was a left wing starter in their 2022 and 2003 Champions Cup final wins over Leinster.
Winning the Investec Champions Cup is tough, winning two in a row is tougher and winning three in a row is nigh on impossible, and history shows us that.
Let’s start with the players who are absent. Siya Kolisi, the most inspirational leader in world rugby and one of the most dynamic loose forwards from broken play. Handre Pollard, a World Cup winning fly-half who returned from injury and steered Leicester Tigers from eighth to third in the Premiership within three weeks.
When South Africa kick off their latest Junior World Championship campaign at home to Georgia in Stellenbosch on June 24, it will be two days after the 11th anniversary of their 2012 22-16 final win over New Zealand in Cape Town – the last time the tournament was held in that country.
Leinster and La Rochelle have named their teams for Saturday’s Heineken Champions Cup final in Dublin, the Irish province making two changes from their semi-final win over Toulouse and the defending champions two as well after their victory over Exeter.
Defending Heineken Champions Cup holders La Rochelle set up a repeat of last year’s final against Leinster with a 47-28 victory over Exeter in Bordeaux.
South African franchises have finally joined the Champions Cup but their influence on the competition is already pronounced
Raymond Rhule wishes rugby embraced its sparkling characters, rather than shunning them.
Dillyn Leyds can’t quite believe that La Rochelle had to call a stop in midweek to the incredible celebrations ignited by last weekend’s breakthrough Heineken Champions Cup title win.