La Rochelle vs Exeter Chiefs – Champions Cup Semi-Final Preview 

You often hear of David and Goliath being touted around in a sporting context, and this weekend will bring up much of the same, as La Rochelle face-off against Exeter Chiefs in the semi-finals of the Champions Cup on Sunday afternoon.

The French side is the reigning tournament champions and have their eyes set on becoming the first side to win back-to-back European titles since Saracens did so back in 2017.

They have already rolled two English opponents to get this far, first toughing it out against a brittle Gloucester side before brushing aside Premiership leaders Saracens with relative ease.

And now they travel to Matmut Atlantique in Bordeaux with the intention of beating a third English club to secure a third consecutive appearance in the final.

La Rochelle are without question the favourites heading into this tie. In fact, of all the teams remaining in the competition, three could be considered goliaths of the sport.

Leinster, Toulouse and La Rochelle are all formidable forces and sit at the peak of their respective leagues. Meanwhile, Exeter are sixth in the Premiership and are facing a mass exodus of players in the upcoming off-season.

It’s been turbulent at the best of times for Exeter this campaign, and yet they’ve still managed to claw their way through the Champions Cup knockout stages.

Luck has played its part in their productivity, with travel disruption stifling the Stormers' pre-match preparation ahead of their last 16 clashes, helping Exeter on their way to a healthy victory.

And then, in the quarter-finals, Exeter were a man up for much of the game after Montpellier’s Zach Mercer saw red for a high tackle, and still were taken deep into extra time before narrowly stealing the tie at the death.

However, for all the fortune and instability, Exeter are not entirely out of their depth. They have a history in the business end of this competition, having beaten Racing 92 31-27 to lift the trophy for the first time back in 2020.

If they are to have any hope of repeating such heights, they will have to physically match Ronan O’Gara’s men. On their day, Exeter has a ferociously clinical pack, capable of squeezing any opponent, but this season that high level of performance has been all too rare.

By comparison, La Rochelle are in a rich vein of form, riding an eight-game unbeaten run in all competitions, which has taken them to within a point of Top 14 leaders Toulouse.

Anyone coming up against them knows the challenge which lies ahead, and Exeter will no doubt be preparing for the physical clash which awaits. Key to that battle will be the discipline of their defence and in particular, their ability to handle such monstrous carriers as Will Skelton and Uini Atonio.

There is also the added challenge of the dynamic jackaling duo of centre Jonathan Danty and flanker Levani Botia. Both are extremely handy over the ball and a menace to get rid of. Exeter will need to target both players to ensure neither take over the game and turn the tide in La Rochelle’s favour.

Strangely for Exeter, for all the chatter about their pack, it has been the backs that have been the shining lights of the season so far, in particular, Olly Woodburn and, more recently, Tom Wyatt.

Both have just signed new contracts with the club and will be dead-set on delivering and proving the worth of those deals.

Wyatt in particular, has shone in the Champions Cup, having not really played much for the side in the Premiership. His sublime solo try against Montpellier marked him out as a genuine talent, and regardless of whether he starts or not, he will be one for La Rochelle to monitor.

Of course, the other Exeter threat is number eight Sam Simmonds, who has four tries in the competition so far.

All in all, this should be a fascinating match-up; but for all the hype surrounding La Rochelle, they have never beaten Exeter despite facing them on four occasions.

Even so, it’s hard to imagine La Rochelle suffering another loss to Exeter, given the form they’re in and the ease with which they dispatched the current Premiership leaders Saracens in the previous round.

For this reason, FloRugby believes the French side will prevail and face off against either Leinster or Toulouse in the Champions Cup final at the Aviva Stadium.