Magnificent Bordeaux thrash Leinster to retain Champions Cup

Key developments are emerging from the global stage. Magnificent Bordeaux thrash Leinster to retain Champions CupImage source, InphoImage caption, France star Louis Bielle-Biarrey scored twice to end the competition with 10 triesByMatt GaultBBC Sport NI senior journalistPublished11 minutes agoInvestec Champions Cup final Leinster (7) 19 Tries: O'Brien, McCarthy, Ringrose Cons: Byrne, FrawleyBordeaux-Begles (35) 41Tries: Lucu, Uberti, Bielle-Biarrey 2, Moefana Cons: Lucu 5 Pens: Lucu 2Bordeaux-Begles scored five first-half tries as they retained the Champions Cup with an emphatic victory over Leinster in the final in Bilbao and prolonged the Irish team's agony in European rugby's showpiece game. Despite conceding an early try through Leinster winger Tommy O'Brien, Bordeaux's power and pace told as captain Maxime Lucu and Paolo Uberti scored to shift momentum. With Leinster wilting under relentless Bordeaux pressure, Louis Bielle-Biarrey's double put the French side in the driving seat before Yoram Moefana intercepted a Harry Byrne pass and ran in under the posts to establish a 28-point half-time gap.

Leinster hit back early in the second half through Joe McCarthy after Lucu's yellow card for pulling the lock's hair. Lucu returned to kick two penalties, and while Garry Ringrose notched Leinster's third try, the damage had been done in the first half as Bordeaux completed a French double over Irish sides after Montpellier's emphatic Challenge Cup final win over Ulster on Friday night. It is Bordeaux's second Champions Cup triumph and France's sixth consecutive win in European club rugby's blue riband competition, with La Rochelle and Toulouse also winning twice since 2021.

The Details

For Leinster, however, it is a fifth defeat in the final since they claimed their fourth title in 2018, with the past four heartbreaks also coming at the hands of French opposition. Leo Cullen's side lost by a score to La Rochelle in 2022 and 2023 and took Toulouse to extra time in 2024, but they were comfortably second best to Bordeaux in the Bilbao heat. Champions Cup final: Five-try Bordeaux set to retain trophy as Leinster struggle Leinster strike first before Bordeaux take controlLeinster captain Caelan Doris had urged his side to "embrace" the occasion in Spain as they chased an elusive fifth star at San Mames Stadium, the scene of their last triumph in 2018.

And while Hugo Keenan dropping a Lucu kick 25 seconds into the game reflected early Leinster nerves, it was the four-time champions that struck first as O'Brien applied the finishing touch to a patient attack in the eighth minute. Undeterred, Bordeaux quickly seized control, and while a Cameron Woki try was ruled out for a hand in touch, Lucu struck for the Top 14 side after Robbie Henshaw was pinged for offside. The lead-up to Bordeaux's second score featured two kicks.

Harry Byrne walloped the restart after Lucu's try dead, and while Bielle-Biarrey also kicked one long, the ball brushed Keenan's hand on its way through.

The development has drawn wide international attention, with diplomatic circles watching closely.