La Rochelle lifted their first ever European Champions Cup after Arthur Retiere's late try stole a dramatic 24-21 win over Leinster at Stade Velodrome.
Despite scoring the first try in Marseille through Raymond Rhule, La Rochelle trailed for much of the match as Jonny Sexton's boot dominated for Leinster on Saturday.
He had 18 points before Pierre Bourgarit powered over for La Rochelle to tee up a nervy finish as last year's runners-up piled on the pressure.
The French side's indiscipline almost put the game beyond them, with Thomas Lavault sent to the sin bin and Ross Byrne – on for the injured Sexton with 16 minutes remaining – kicking another three points, but Retiere's last-gasp response swung the final in their favour.
Leinster, chasing a record-equalling fifth title, ultimately paid for their failure to score a try – not that it appeared to matter as Sexton converted two straightforward penalties to edge them ahead.
Rhule then bundled over in the left corner after Dillyn Leyds' offload, before another Sexton penalty put Leinster back on top, and he profited again before the break when La Rochelle were punished for more sloppiness.
West reduced the arrears with three points after the interval, but Sexton responded with a further two penalties to take Leinster out of reach of a converted La Rochelle try.
That lead was cut after 61 minutes, however, as Bourgarit crossed following a maul and West's conversion made it a one-point game.
Sexton limped off in the aftermath of that try, but La Rochelle's momentum appeared to be halted when Lavault was yellow-carded for tripping Jamison Gibson-Park, allowing replacement Byrne to dispatch the subsequent kick.
And yet there was still time, with a prolonged period of La Rochelle pressure ending in Retiere breaking through to claim Champions Cup glory for his side at the second time of asking.
Ex-All Blacks coach Hansen fires 'chokers' warning to Ireland ahead of World Cup
Former New Zealand coach Steve Hansen warned in-form Ireland they still have a huge point to prove at the Rugby World Cup this year.
Andy Farrell's side completed a Grand Slam against England on Saturday, sealing a Six Nations crown and reaffirming their place as the world's number one team.
But with France 2023 looming in just under half-a-year, they will have to overcome their own history, having never progressed beyond the quarter-final stage.
Hansen, who knocked Ireland out in the last eight with the All Blacks four years ago in Japan, feels they must defy their own tournament reputation to triumph.
"They are going well, [are] ranked number one in the world, and they have had a great year so far," he said.
"Every time a team is number one in the world, you have got to consider them to be a World Cup contender. But it is a tough tournament to win.
"They have seemed to struggle a little bit at World Cups. If it was the All Blacks, they would probably be called chokers. They have come a long way, they believe in themselves. They are a very good side.
"So they are definitely a contender. But they will have to overcome the pressure of not having gone past the quarter-finals before, and there will be a lot of pressure involved in that.
"If they get through to the semi-finals, then they are in new territory. That is something they will have to deal with that they've never dealt with before, and it is always hard to deal with something you haven't dealt with before."
Ireland open their campaign against Romania on September 9, before they face Tonga, Scotland and reigning champions South Africa.
Farrell warns Ireland have 'a long way to go' to reach their peak despite Grand Slam triumph
Andy Farrell believes Ireland have "a long way to go" before reaching the peak of their powers despite winning the Grand Slam.
Ireland were crowned Six Nations champions on Saturday after beating England 29-16 at the Aviva Stadium.
Farrell's side are top of the rankings following 10 consecutive victories and will be expected to mount a strong challenge to win the Rugby World Cup for the first time in France later this year.
Yet the Ireland head coach is demanding more from his players after they celebrated a fourth Grand Slam triumph.
"I said to you in New Zealand, 'now this was the start of our World Cup year'," Farrell said.
"The most pleasing thing is that we've continued to be successful. To find a way. Everyone was nervous about that except us.
"This is part of the journey, isn't it? Obviously this stands on its own right, as does the New Zealand tour.
"But it's part of the journey of us as a group going forward into a World Cup. Like I said, we'll get two or three months pre-season training for the first time together and I expect ourselves to be better obviously because of that.
“We've carried on winning, is that the yardstick? I don't know.
"We just go on the performances and the performances were pretty good in New Zealand and we've continued to again find a way.
"It's never been perfect, but the game is not like that, so the mental strength of our game and large parts of our game are in a good place.
"There's a long way for us to go for us to be at our best which is a great sign."
Borthwick 'can't do anything about the past' as England plot post-Six Nations success
Steve Borthwick says he "can't do anything about the past" with England, but the coach is looking forward to a lengthy World Cup build-up after their Six Nations efforts.
The former Leicester Tigers boss took the reins of the national team from Eddie Jones in December, less than a year out from the showpiece tournament in France.
With England having struggled at the end of 2022 under the Australian, Borthwick was unable to completely reverse the rot in a Six Nations campaign that ended with a 29-16 loss to Ireland.
But with just under half a year until they open their World Cup account against Argentina, he intends to use his first taste of the job to put their recent ghosts firmly out of mind.
"We'll debrief this Six Nations thoroughly, take what lessons we take from it and be clear on our direction going forward," he said.
"The team is not where it could be and, while we're judging against teams that have used this four-year cycle tremendously well, that's not the position England are in.
"I can't do anything about the past. I intend we will be working really hard to put England in the best position possible, and I'm excited about what these players can do for the World Cup.
"We get a number of weeks to prepare. Players will then be conditioned for international rugby and understand how we want to play.
"This has been five intense games, and effectively you then have one main training session a week.
"I'm looking forward to having the opportunity to work with the players for a longer period of time. I think we've seen some growth here, but we will see more in that preparation period."
In addition to facing Argentina, England also play Japan, Chile and Samoa in Pool D later this year.
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