Ronan O’Gara was delighted to lift the trophy as he became only the third person to win the Heineken Champions Cup as a player and head coach after his La Rochelle side beat Leinster 24-21 at Stade Velodrome, in Marseille.
O’Gara joined Leinster counterpart Leo Cullen and Toulouse’s Ugo Mola as scrum-half Arthur Retiere squirmed his way over from a ruck on the Leinster line to score his side’s winner with a mere 17 seconds left on the clock.
Four-time champions Leinster came into the game as firm favourites and looked set to join Toulouse on a record five wins after Johnny Sexton kicked six penalties and his replacement Ross Byrne added a seventh to put their side 21-17 ahead with 15 minutes to go.
