5:55pm: Munster have a scrum just outside their own 22 after a La Rochelle knock on. 5:54pm: Munster have managed this period while down to 14 pretty well. Andrew Smith is back on. 5:52pm: La Rochelle look so threatening with ball in hand. They've worked it wide off a scrum. They are five metres from the line but Munster win the turnover. Nice clearance kick by Craig Casey gives Munster some breathing room. 5:48pm: Some concern about Gavin Coombes who's down getting treatment but he's up now. 5:47pm: Nice work from Munster in attack on the La Rochelle 22. Final pass from Seán O'Brien to Calvin Nash out wide was poor. La Rochelle have the lineout. 5:46pm: Substitution already for Munster. Front row Jeremy Loughman goes off injury and Josh Wycherley is on. 5:45pm: Ihaia West adds the extras. Levani Botia opens the scoring! 🇫🇯Ronan O'Gara's La Rochelle take the lead against Munster after ten minutes 🟡⚫#InvestecChampionsCup pic.twitter.com/dtSrIKbyQ4— Premier Sports (@PremSportsTV) April 5, 2025 5:44pm: La Rochelle are over again. Levani Botia touches down. Very little doubt about this one. They lead 5-0. Alldritt and Seuteni were superb in the build up. 5:43pm: Yellow card for Munster winger Andrew Smith! 5:42pm: John Hodnett can get his hands on a pass in midfield. It's a knock on and a scrum for La Rochelle on their own 10m line. 5:40pm: Munster have an advantage. Craig Casey tries a really ambitious crossfield kick. Nearly came off too. It would have been magnificent if it had. 5:39pm: Barron finds Beirne with the lineout throw. A nice little kick from Craig Casey finds some space in the La Rochelle 22. The French side win the line out. 5:38pm: Great turnover by Hodnett. Penalty for Munster just outside their 22. Crowley kicks down the line. 5:36pm: Cross kick from Jack Crowley but it's well over Calvin Nash's head. La Rochelle will have the lineout. 5:34pm: The try is ruled out. Relief for Munster. 5:32pm: Hold on. There may be an issue with the La Rochelle try. It looks like Teddy Thomas' foot was in touch. A lifeline for Munster. 5:31pm: La Rochelle try! Not even a minute on the clock. Tawera Kerr-Barlow touches down. Very sloppy from Munster. 5:30pm: Ihaia West gets the game is underway! 5:21pm: A few words from ROG on Munster pre-game: "They stay in the fight, you can’t give them gifts. We’re out of form, but we are a thoroughbred horse." 5:15pm: 15 minutes to kick-off. The game will be live on Premier Sports for those of you wondering. Mick Galwey leading Zombie outside the stadium. Unreal scenes here. pic.twitter.com/vopSdK8pVO— Murray Kinsella (@Murray_Kinsella) April 5, 2025 5pm: Leinster have clattered Harlequins 62-0 at Croke Park. They will face either Glasgow or Leicester in the quarters. 5pm: MUNSTER: T Abrahams; C Nash, T Farrell, S O’Brien, A Smith; J Crowley, C Casey; J Loughman, D Barron, O Jager; J Kleyn, T Beirne - captain; P O’Mahony, J Hodnett, G Coombes. LA ROCHELLE: D Leyds; J Nowell, T Thomas, UJ Seuteni, H Bosmorin; I West, T Kerr-Barlow; R Wardi, P Bourgarit, U Atonio; 4. T Lavault, 5. W Skelton; L Botia, O Jegou, G Alldritt (c) Replacements: Q Lespiaucq, A Kaddouri, A Kuntelia, U Dillane, J Cancoriet, M Haddad, A Hastoy, J Favre, "You need to be an unbelievably good coach to maintain positivity and top form in a period when you’re in a bad rut," O'Gara wrote about today's match between Munster and his La Rochelle side. "And I haven’t passed that test yet. If the timing was different, maybe this would be a different game, maybe this week would feel different. The result always matters, but we need this result. Obviously Munster need it too, so one team goes away devastated." 4:50pm: Tadhg Beirne knows what's ahead of Munster at the Stade Marcel Deflandre. “It's going to be a pretty intense game, said the Munster captain, "the atmosphere is going to feel like it probably can suffocate you at times, and that is kind of what French rugby, does, and it's probably why they struggle on the road so much. “That's the challenge. They love the power game, they love big carries, they love big hits, so that's all ahead of us. We're going to have to front up to that and be ready for it all, and hopefully not just match it but be even more physical and more powerful than they are.” You can read more from B eirne and Munster attack coach Mike Prendergast. 4:45pm: The French side's captain Grégory Alldritt said that if his side have any respect for Ronan O'Gara, they "have to do the job against Munster". 4:40pm: La Rochelle are amid rotten run of form right now, without a win in eight games. It's a barren spell of their own making according to James Harrington.