Leinster take on Stade Rochelais in the Heineken Champions Cup final, and the TOP 14 side’s highly regarded forwards will be looking disrupt the Irish province’s game plan at every opportunity

Ryan has asserted that his side must dominate the ruck and secure fast ball if they are to triumph at Stade Vélodrome.

“It’s (the breakdown) obviously a very important area for us. We want to play quick, and we want to play to space early. We need to be there early, we need to be effective there.

“One of La Rochelle’s strengths is their work in the ruck, particularly the defensive ruck. They have a number of guys there who are very, very good over the ball so it’s important we try and deal with those guys as best we can.

“If we want to play quick and play the type of rugby we’ve been pretty good at over the past few weeks, we’ll have to very good there and very early there.

“If we’re not, it will be very hard to impose ourselves.

“It’s not just about saying ‘let’s be physical’, it’s understanding how to actually get to that point. For us as a forward pack it’s being accurate with our lineout, on both sides.

“Defensively, it’s working early, it’s setting early, it’s being connected, it’s scanning. All these little bits that allow us to be physical.”

One figure in the La Rochelle pack who Ryan will have to contend with is counterpart Will Skelton, who has returned from a calf injury to start the game in Marseille – a challenge the Ireland international is eagerly awaiting.

“It’s exciting,” he said. “He’s a crucial member of their forward pack, of their squad really. To have him back will be a big boost for them.

“He’s an incredibly physical player, very effective on both sides of the ball. You look at their pack and they have some world class players there, between Skelton, [Grégory] Alldritt and [Uini] Atonio. There’s some very powerful athletes there.

“It’s a big challenge for us as a pack, so we’re excited.”

On La Rochelle, head coach Leo Cullen added: “They’re a team we’ve watched a hell of a lot of over the course of this year because [of] how they’ve progressed through the tournament.

If you want to win this tournament you’ve got to play against the best teams and La Rochelle are one of the best teams that are out there.

“It’s about trying to understand how we can impose our game as well.”

The game in Marseille kicks off at 16:45 (UK & Irish time) and will be available to watch on BT Sport, Channel 4, Virgin Media, beIN SPORTS, France 2 and Sky Italia.

Lock James Ryan has stressed the importance of Leinster Rugby’s work at the breakdown as they gun for a fifth European star tonight.