Another lost final for Leinster as exceptional Bordeaux top Europe | Reaction from Bilbao 🏉
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What were the key moments in the Leinster vs Bordeaux Champions Cup final?
Well, hello from the San Mames Stadium, where Bordeaux have been crowned in Best Deck Champions Cup winners for 2026. They beat Leinster 41-19 to retain their crown. Keane Tracy, that was something else.
It really was, yeah. I think you'd have to just tip your cap to an absolutely awesome Bordeaux team. I know we're an Irish-focused podcast. We'll get on and we'll get into the gory details of it from a Leinster point of view. But when rugby is played like that, it's the sport at its very best. We've entered the Bordeaux era now. And I think the sport is all the better for it because they play the game in the right way. And when it's like that, it's just pure magic and fully, fully deserving champions.
It was a big weekend for French rugby on the whole. And we'll have reaction to Ulster's Challenge Cup defeat to Montpellier a little bit later in the show. Our sponsors, Energia, sponsor rugby in Ireland at all levels, at grassroots with the Energia AAL and as official energy partner to Leinster, Connacht and the Irish men's and women's teams. The Energia Rugby for All initiatives supports inclusion, welcoming everyone of all abilities to participate in the game. Find out more at energia.ie forward slash rugby and avail of exclusive home energy offers for rugby fans. So, Cian, 41-19, a very unusual final. If you think about how Leinster have lost finals before, they've all been tight games, largely Leinster have led in them, or in the case of Toulouse, they came back and drew it, but it were all really tight games.
This one was such a different affair. The first half, they score first and then Bordeaux score five unanswered tries to go in at 35-7 at the break. It's been hard for them to come back over and over again over the years. But you have to wonder how the Leinster players are feeling now with Leo Cullen and Jacques Nienaber and everyone else as they fly back from Bilbao tonight because that was a damaging, damaging defeat.
Yeah.
It really was and you think of the way that Leo Cullen went and got Shaq Neenar and obviously changed the way Leinster's DNA that you know had been I guess hadn't been working more recently in terms of they've just lost a bit of that attacking spark and he's tried to do something different and it hasn't worked at all now that's three seasons in a row where the defensive system which is supposed to be their point of difference has just failed to fire really now again I would give an awful lot of credit to Noel McNamara as well, who's done such an exceptional job with what is an exceptional group of players. But it was the ease with which Bordeaux were able to pick off the defence. Pablo Iberti, Troy in particular, was just so damaging against a team who, like I said, they're supposed to be their point of difference.
And they just got around the blitz far too easily. We spoke at a build-up about how important the breakdown was going to be, but... Bordeaux just dominated there as well and it was a very very sobering defeat considering how well it had started like you touched on it there I was really impressed with how Leinster started it feels like a long time ago and it's it's almost irrelevant now at this stage but that Tommy O'Brien try I think it was 19 phases was an exceptional try so many big carries getting over the gain on you're kind of thinking okay Leinster on it here but a bit like Ulster Last night just their tendency to compound errors and to just cough up cheap scores like they're bored over the worst team in the world you want to be playing against when you're not fully on it and they were ruthless in exposing every single mistake.
Yeah, I think their first five visits to the 22, they came away with seven points. So that just speaks to the... But I guess what Leinster will look at is how they got into their 22. They scored a try from Tommy O'Brien, but then James Ryan doesn't hold on to the restart. The conditions were difficult. I mean, handling is difficult when it's that sweaty out there. It was very hot, very humid, and I'm sure handling was very difficult.
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Chapters
6 chapters
1
What were the key moments in the Leinster vs Bordeaux Champions Cup final?
0:02–5:53
2
How did Bordeaux dominate the match against Leinster?
5:53–9:27
3
What were the main factors behind Leinster's defeat?
9:27–18:11
4
How did the weather conditions affect the players' performance?
18:11–22:19
5
What are the implications of this loss for Leinster's coaching staff?
22:19–25:06
6
How does this defeat impact Leinster's future prospects in rugby?
25:06–47:24
Speakers
2 identifiedMore from Indo Sport
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