It's a clash of two stellar French outfits in this season’s showpiece Heineken Champions Cup final at Twickenham Stadium as La Rochelle and Toulouse will do battle on Saturday afternoon for the biggest prize in European Rugby. In terms of European experience and pedigree, La Rochelle and Toulouse couldn’t be further apart although it will count for little at 16:45 (UK and Irish time) on Saturday when 10,000 fans will be in attendance to see what is sure to be a European classic. Perennial European heavyweights Toulouse will be going in search of a record-breaking fifth European Cup on Saturday, having already lifted Europe’s top club prize in 1996, 2003, 2005 and 2010. Meanwhile, La Rochelle will be competing in the Heineken Champions Cup final for the first time, having only previously reached the quarter-final stage of the competition. They can look back on a 2019 Challenge Cup final defeat to ASM Clermont Auvergne, and have plenty of European pedigree amongst the coaching staff, including Munster Rugby legend Ronan O’Gara and former Leinster Rugby coach Jono Gibbes. EPCR European Player of the Year nominee Antoine Dupont has been at his brilliant best in this campaign for Toulouse, and is tied for top try-scorer in the competition with four –and has also beaten 20 defenders in his four matches. La Rochelle’s Gregory Alldritt leads the competition in carries with 59, but arguably their finest player this season has been former Saracens lock Will Skelton. The 2019 Heineken Champions Cup winner has taken his form to a new level this season, especially when producing one of the best all-round displays of the season against Leinster in the last four.

Watch the Heineken Champions Cup final between La Rochelle and Toulouse on Saturday 22 May, live on BT Sport, Channel 4 and Virgin Media from 16:45 (UK and Irish time).

https://twitter.com/ChampionsCup/status/1395017034254196739 Pool positions La Rochelle: 4th in Heineken Champions Cup Pool A; 9 points Toulouse: 3rd in Heineken Champions Cup Pool B; 10 points Quarter-finals La Rochelle 45-21 Sale Sharks ASM Clermont Auvergne 12-21 Toulouse Semi-finals La Rochelle 32-32 Leinster Rugby Toulouse 21-9 Bordeaux-Begles Heineken Champions Cup head-to-head record The sides have never met in the Heineken Champions Cup Leading 2020/21 points-scorers La Rochelle: Ihaia West (48) Toulouse: Romain Ntamack (52) https://twitter.com/ChampionsCup/status/1395050198225891329 Key quotes Will Skelton (La Rochelle): “We’ve got guys like [Dillyn] Leyds, guys like Victor [Vito], Greg Alldritt, who don’t change the way they play, they play to their strengths. Ronan and Jono facilitate that at training and its showing on the field. "Ronan’s a legend of the game. I didn’t know how it’d go as a coach though, because it doesn’t always transfer – being a great player to a great coach. But for me, he’s been awesome. He’s been someone who has helped on the side of playing to your strengths." Cheslin Kolbe (Toulouse): “I just need to make sure that I prepare well throughout the week, before we leave for England and then I can calm down the nerves through the preparation we put in. I think it’s probably [partly due to] the long wait, Toulouse not getting the fifth title for ten years. “Obviously there’s a bit of pressure on us as players to try and create history by getting that fifth star onto the jersey. But I’d definitely say that’s going to be our main focus. I think we just need to focus on the processes in the game.”

Match facts

This will be the first time these clubs have met in European competition, however Toulouse have won six of their last seven clashes against La Rochelle in the TOP 14 (L1).
La Rochelle will be participating in their first Heineken Champions Cup final, they have reached this stage in the Challenge Cup though, suffering a 16-36 defeat to fellow TOP 14 side ASM Clermont Auvergne in 2018/19.
Toulouse have won the Heineken Champions Cup on four occasions and will be aiming to lift the trophy for a record fifth time; three of their previous four final victories came against fellow TOP 14 opposition – Perpignan in 2002/03, Stade Français in 2004/05 and Biarritz in 2009/10.
In total, Toulouse have reached the Heineken Champions Cup final for the seventh time, each of their previous six matches at this stage have been decided by seven points or fewer, including a 20-27 defeat to Wasps in their only previous final at Twickenham.
La Rochelle have won their last four completed matches in the Heineken Champions Cup, their best run in the competition, while Toulouse have also won their last four matches and have suffered just one defeat in the 12 matches they’ve played since the beginning of last season (W11).
Toulouse are one of just five sides to maintain a 100% scrum success rate in the Heineken Champions Cup this season, winning each of their 21 scrums, while they’ve also managed to win 29% of scrums on the opposition feed, the best rate of any club.
Only Lyon (14.5) have averaged more offloads per game in the Champions Cup this season than La Rochelle (11.3) and Toulouse (10.3); La Rochelle have also allowed their opponents to offload less often than against any other side (4.5 per game).