Bordeaux-Begles 41-19 Leinster: French side dominate to retain Champions Cup title in Bilbao

Bordeaux-Begles tore Leinster apart in a dominant 41-19 victory to secure back-to-back Champions Cup crowns at San Mames Stadium in Bilbao.

Leinster, who have now lost five Champions Cup finals since 2019, were totally outplayed in the Spanish heat despite moving 7-0 ahead, falling 35-7 behind by the half-time break.

Indeed, Bordeaux played with a pace, skill and power that Leinster were no match for, scoring tries through scrum-half Maxime Lucu, wings Pablo Uberti and Louis Bielle-Biarrey (two) and centre Yoram Moefana.

Lucu converted all five off the tee in a marvellous kicking performance and also added two second-half penalties.

Leinster scored tries through wing Tommy O'Brien, lock Joe McCarthy and centre Garry Ringrose, but were left to reflect on their heaviest ever final defeat.

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Despite a bright Bordeaux start to the final, with attacking play at a frantic pace, Leinster were the ones to move into an early lead through O'Brien in the ninth minute, as patient attack in the 22 was rewarded when space was carved out for a try in the corner.

Harry Byrne converted well for the full haul but Bordeaux came close to a response in under two minutes: Bielle-Biarrey sprinting down the left for big metres, with play then shipped to the opposite side where Cameron Woki dived to score acrobatically.

TMO replays proved inconclusive as to whether Woki grounded the ball before his leg landed in touch, with the Bordeaux forward unfortunate the try was not ultimately awarded.

It mattered little in the end as Bordeaux kept their heads, playing through tight phases before Lucu leapt over by the posts to level the final up.

While Leinster may been totally outplayed on the day, a moment of misfortunate then played a major role in them falling behind in the 18th minute as a Bielle-Biarrey chip ahead was touched by Hugo Keenan in flight while attempting a charge down. When the ball ran dead, it handed Bordeaux a five-metre attacking scrum.

The French outfit needed little invitation to take advantage of the field position, releasing full-back Salesi Rayasi into space before he found Uberti for the try.

Seven minutes later a now rampant Bordeaux had their third, with Matthieu Jalibert and Damian Penaud doing well on penalty advantage to get the ball out to a static Bielle-Biarrey, whose pace and guile did the rest in jinking inside three Leinster defenders to score.

Leinster had a big chance to narrow to within a score again just past the half-hour but after an extended period of phase-play, back-row Jack Conan knocked-on deep in the Bordeaux 22 to relieve all the pressure.

Within five minutes Bordeaux had their fourth try out of nothing via the lethal Bielle-Biarrey. Jalibert saw a kick charged down and bobble around in midfield, before Penaud kicked on and the ball popped up for him to pass on for Bielle-Biarrey to sprint in at express pace.

Trailing 28-7 and with possession in dead time at the end of the first half, Leinster rolled the dice to keep playing rather than kick the ball out. Though they did manage to work their way considerably into the Bordeaux half, it proved the wrong decision when Moefana intercepted and sprinted 60 metres in untouched.

At 35-7 behind Leinster needed a miracle, but did get a hand from Lucu into the second half when the playmaker was sin-binned for pulling McCarthy back by the hair while attempting to scrag him by the jersey.

With Lucu off the park, Leinster did manage a second try through McCarthy has he leapt over from close range to make pressure tell, but they failed to add any more while facing 14 players as Bordeaux conjured up a number of big turnovers - both before and after Lucu re-emerged.

The Bordeaux skipper returned to then add penalties in the 60th and 65th minutes - the second effort particularly impressive and coming from inside his own half.

Leinster added a try very much of the consolation variety with eight minutes remaining through Ringrose, and though Bordeaux prop Ugo Boniface was then sin-binned for a moment of madness in leading a clear-out with his head, that proved the end of the scoring.

Doris: We left ourselves too much of a mountain to climb

Leinster captain Caelan Doris to Premier Sports:

"You have to credit them. Some of their attack in the first half was incredibly hard to deal with.

"We've obviously scouted them thoroughly and a lot of it starts with the contact area, if you're not winning that, you can see what they can do.

"They're capable of big moments out of nothing, a lot of the scraps and stuff went their way early on but from the contact area, which we didn't deal with well enough.

"We left ourselves too tall a mountain to climb. Proud of the effort of our boys in the second half, trying to climb back, the story of the season a little bit has been finding a way and composure and that was the message at half-time.

"But we left ourselves a little too much to do. There were opportunities that we didn't take and it's obviously incredibly disappointing."

Bielle-Biarrey: First crown was incredible, but this is special too

Bordeaux's Louis Bielle-Biarrey said after victory:

"It's a very special moment. I lived here with my family when I was young, so it's nice to visit them here. We are just really, really happy.

"We know we are now back-to-back champions, we know we are one of the best but to be best we need to work a lot.

"It's really nice and we are a big family at the club, we are always smiling - the coaches are not really happy with that but it's our mindset, it's good for us.

"To do it the first time was incredible, but this is special too."

On being named the Champions Cup Player of the Year, he said:

"It's really special, but I'm a winger - if the forwards don't do a great job, the backs don't do a good job too, I don't get good ball.

"It's because of them I can be Player of the Year this year."