Ronan O’Gara insists his La Rochelle side will not be daunted by the prospect of trying to win their first Heineken Champions Cup against record-chasing Toulouse in Saturday’s final at Twickenham.

O’Gara aims to follow in Leo Cullen’s footsteps by winning Europe’s most coveted prize, both as a player and as a head coach.

La Rochelle go into this weekend’s showdown following their impressive semi-final win over Leinster and will be looking to deny Toulouse a historic fifth title.

Toulouse have a one-point advantage over La Rochelle in the Top 14 and although O’Gara’s side have lost three times to their nearest rivals this season, the former Munster and Ireland out-half believes his players are ready to make their own mark.

“I don’t see any reason why we aren’t there,” O’Gara said.

“Me and the staff with Jono Gibbes, you’ve got a good staff. You’ve got (Pierre) Bourgarit, (Will) Skelton, (Kevin) Gourdon, (Victor) Vito, (Gregory) Alldritt, (Tawera) Kerr-Barlow, (Ihia) West, (Levani) Botia, (Geoffrey) Doumayrou, (Brice) Dulin, (Raymond) Rhule, (Dillyn) Leyds – there’s threats all over the pitch.

“For me, there’s a problem if you’re not in a Champions Cup final. Yeah, you’ve got to try and mix their forces together and get them playing for each other but that’s easy. I’m very proud of what this club has done and the opportunity it’s given me, but at the same time, there’s a game to play and you know I’m in it to win, I’m not in it to partake.”