Champions Cup final: Leinster coach Leo Cullen reacts to La Rochelle defeat
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Cullen described the defeat against La Rochelle as "agonising"
Leinster head coach Leo Cullen said "devastation is probably the word" after his side lost the Champions Cup final to La Rochelle for the second year in a row.
Leinster led 17-0 in the first half but La Rochelle fought back to win a thriller 27-26 and retain their title.
The result means Leinster have lost three finals since their last triumph in 2018.
"Devastation is probably the word," Cullen told BT Sport.
"The occasion, the amazing atmosphere in the crowd, both sets of supporters and two sets of players going full at it - everything you want in a final which goes down to one point.
"Unfortunately we're the losers."
Leinster raced into a 17-0 lead inside the opening quarter of an hour thanks to two Dan Sheehan tries and a Jimmy O'Brien score.
However, the Irish province let the holders back into it before half-time and succumbed to La Rochelle pressure in the closing stages as another European Cup slipped away.
"We started the game really well. We could have been further in front," added Cullen.
"I thought we gave up a couple of soft-ish tries. In the second-half, although we had the lead we struggled to get out of that end of the field.
"La Rochelle got over in the end and you've got give them a huge amount of credit. Bitterly disappointing."
'You know how much it means to everybody'
Cullen, the former Leinster and Ireland lock, lamented the lack of composure by his side during crucial phases.
Cullen added: "It was two really good teams going at it and it was always going to go down to little moments.
"We were so close and at the end we just lacked a little bit of composure. It's an agonising defeat. All the players were here in front of their friends and family, so it's a hard one.
"It's painful when you reach this point and you know it means so much to everybody. We just haven't quite been good enough to finish the job."
The result prolongs Leinster's wait for a record-equalling fifth title and caps a disappointing finish to the campaign following last week's United Rugby Championship semi-final loss to Munster.
Furlong admitted Leinster's latest failure to clinch a fifth title will be difficult to get over
Prop Tadhg Furlong did not try to hide the fact the latest heartache at the hands of La Rochelle will be difficult to get over.
"It hurts, it really hurts. I am so disappointed for the fans," Furlong told BT Sport.
"We are gutted, we put a lot into it. I thought we started very well but we lost our way a bit at the end of the first half and then in the second half.
"It is third final in a row we have lost, it is not great."
La Rochelle, who are coached by former Munster fly-half Ronan O'Gara, completed the biggest comeback in Champions Cup final history when Georges-Henri Colombe crossed late in the game to give them the lead for the first time in the game.
Leinster drove forward in numbers as the clock ticked towards 80 minutes, but Michael Ala'alatoa's red card in the last few seconds killed their hopes of a last-gasp victory.
And Furlong, who won the competition with Leinster in 2018, rued the fact they failed to match La Rochelle's energy and composure at the end of the game.
"We had a few starting plays that worked a treat," said the Ireland Grand Slam winner.
"But they hung in there, really put the squeeze on in the second half and we didn't quite match it."
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