Champions Cup: Northampton Saints thrashed by Bordeaux-Begles in final repeat as Harlequins seal knockout place

Champions Cup holders Bordeaux-Begles put Northampton Saints to the sword in a repeat of last season's final

Northampton Saints were brought back down to earth after they suffered a 50-28 loss away to Champions Cup holders Bordeaux in a repeat of last season's final.

Saints had already secured a place in the round of 16 after two wins from two in the competition and despite a double by Henry Pollock, they lost for the first time in Europe this season.

Irresistible champions Bordeaux crossed over eight times in a scintillating display, but Northampton were able to leave with a bonus point after Danilo Fischetti touched down with two minutes left.

A ding-dong battle in a repeat of the 2025 showpiece appeared on the cards when Pollock instantly replied in the 10th minute to the first try by Bordeaux full-back Salesi Rayasi.

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Ill-discipline proved costly for Saints as a raft of first-half sin-bins meant it was 24-7 to Bordeaux at the interval and Rayasi completed his treble two minutes after the restart.

Cameron Woki joined Rayasi in scoring a hat-trick after he bundled over in the 50th minute, but the visitors showed character with England star Pollock able to add to a Tommy Freeman score late on before Fischetti clinched a losing bonus point to leave Northampton third in Pool 4.

Harlequins hammer Stormers to seal knockout place

Rampant Harlequins returned to form in style by blowing away previously unbeaten Stormers 61-10 at the Twickenham Stoop to secure their place in the Champions Cup knockout stages with one group game remaining.

Stormers had won all their 10 competitive fixtures so far this season, two in this competition and eight in the United Rugby Championship, but left their first-choice team in Cape Town and paid the price with a desperately poor display.

Quins, with Marcus Smith and Tyrone Green pulling the strings, scored nine tries. Nick David touched down for three of them, with Jack Kenningham, Cadan Murley, Alex Dombrandt, Chandler Cunningham-South, Zach Carr and Jarrod Evans bagging the others. Smith converted eight.

Unconverted second-half tries from replacement Imad Khan and Dylan Maart were all Stormers could muster in response.

Saracens stun Toulouse with crucial victory

Saracens produced a victory to rescue their season as they overcame Toulouse 20-14 in a heavyweight Champions Cup clash at StoneX Stadium.

Two tries from Rotimi Segun and a third by Tom Willis placed Maro Itoje's team in command after they were in danger of being swept away by a full-blooded start from the six-time champions.

Toulouse fought back in swirling winds and driving rain and while they threatened to reel in the deficit, the arrival of Owen Farrell and Ben Earl off the bench provided Saracens with the extra class they needed to get over the line.

But the dominant figure on a famous night in north London was Willis, the England No 8 who was a force of nature despite needing treatment for an early injury.

It was the response demanded by boss Mark McCall following Saracens' recent slide down the Gallagher Prem, but it was another shaky night from Antoine Dupont's Toulouse who were humbled 28-21 by Glasgow in their last Champions Cup outing.

Munster slip to late defeat at Toulon but secure losing bonus-point

Munster slipped to a second Champions Cup defeat after going down 27-25 away to Toulon in pool two, but they secured what could yet prove a precious losing bonus-point.

Jack Crowley put Munster in front with two penalty kicks, but they were reduced to 14 men in the 36th minute when Tadhg Beirne was sent to the sin-bin.

Toulon responded just before the break as Marius Domon crossed before converting his own effort to give them a one-point advantage at half-time.

Toulon were straight out of the blocks in the second half when Ben White touched down in the 43rd minute and Domon converted, but Munster responded three minutes later when a quick switch towards the right allowed Calvin Nash to ground in the corner and Crowley added the extras.

A chaotic start to the half continued as Gael Drean scored for Toulon in the 49th minute with a try under the posts and Domon converted, while Munster were frustrated further six minutes later when Alex Nankivell was shown a yellow card.

Esteban Abadie was then sin-binned for Toulon, who still extended their lead further with a Domon penalty. Jack O'Donoghue touched down for Munster after edging over the line, but Crowley missed the resulting conversion attempt.

Charles Ollivon saw yellow for the French side, allowing the visitors to capitalise as Tom Farrell went over and Crowley's conversion sent them ahead, but Domon's penalty with five minutes to play wrapped up the win for Toulon.