The Left Wing
Another lost final for Leinster as exceptional Bordeaux top Europe | Reaction from Bilbao đ
23 May 2026
Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Hey there, we are Indosport with me, John Molloy. We cover sport and we have things like this.
If you ask Arsenal's defenders, Gabriel and Saliba, to play in that PSG team or that Bayern team, they would be exposed as much as those centre-backs were last night. Because effectively, the attackers were on top. Then you ask the question, how many defenders were actually on the pitch last night? Because none of the full-backs have no interest in defending. They're like wingers.
And I've seen Saliba and Gabriel in an open game in that League Cup semi-final doubleheader against Newcastle last season get torn apart by Izak. I won't have anyone convince me that they can defend in that space.
Well, hello from the San Mames Stadium, where Bordeaux have been crowned Investec 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, and 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 a reaction to Ulster's Challenge Cup defeat to Montpellier a little bit later in the show. But first... 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, it 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.
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Chapter 2: What were the key moments in the Champions Cup final between Bordeaux and Leinster?
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. But actually it comes off, I think it's Damien Panot's head and goes out of touch so Leinster get the ball back. But Adam Coleman gets up and wins the line out ahead of Joe McCarthy. So you've made two errors.
The first one you got away with, but the second one then leads to basically Bordeaux getting into Leinster's territory and not leaving until they score seven points. And then the restart, Harry Guerin kicks it dead. And look, you don't want to hone in on individual errors completely, but if you're going to beat a team like Bordeaux, you've got to perform. You've got to cut out those errors.
And my thing with Leinster is that's been happening all season, but it's been happening against lesser teams. Look, it's cost them in the URC. They've lost a lot of games in the URC, but they've got away with those errors all season. But if your standards slip to that level...
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Chapter 3: How did Bordeaux manage to dominate Leinster in the final?
And look, he wasn't alone in struggling, but yeah, it was just a really damaging day.
It relies on several things, that defensive system. I think Caelan Dorris was quite good when he was asked about it afterwards. If you lose the initial collision, well, it's very hard to get off the line. And then, like, UBB were really good at, you know, being aggressive at the ruck and taking out. Like, Leinster wanted to make it into a fight, but UBB just blitzed them out of the way.
And then they got quick ball from Maxime Lucu, who was so good today. I didn't think Jalabera actually had a massive influence on the game. I thought Lucu absolutely ran it. He was so good. And once you get that quick ball, that attack, like McNamara put in some amount of work into analysing Leinster. It's a long meeting. that Yannick Bruce was talking about yesterday.
Well, what an achievement for him. It's two years in a row. I know he's working with some of the best attacking talent in the world, but he's given them a structure. He's setting them up to succeed. He knew that Leinster team really well. I think that they won the coaching battle. Bordeaux, I think they looked like the better prepped side.
They looked like they had, they bought into their plan with everything they had and they believed in it and they were committed to it and they knew that if they played the way they planned to play and if they brought their best to the table, they could break Leinster, and they did it repeatedly.
Now, they had a bit of luck, but the first three tries, I think, before the kind of bit of... Now, even the third try comes off the kick from Louis Bill Bray that just brushes Hugo Keenan's hand and ends up going dead. It's a scrum five, and it leads to a try. So there is an element of luck there, and there was some freak kind of... The old cliche, you make your own luck, don't you, in this game?
Yeah, there was. When you're hot, you're hot. But I think, in particular, the Huberti try just showed the limitations of this fence. I just don't know if it works with this group of players. I think it...
when you're dealing with the spring box maybe you can make anything work but I just don't think it suits them I've thought it all the way through and I think it just has such limitations and it also takes your legs away and when on attack they just looked absolutely wrecked at times and they just didn't have that energy or vibrancy now it's hard when you're carrying against those kind of players but I think it really saps away from the team's energy
They were extremely blunt in attack. Like I said, I thought the opening try was exceptional and that was Leinster at their very best. But by and large, they were very blunt. Now again, I go back and I'd say the conditions were extremely tough. There was a knock-on in the first half from Jack O'Neill, like really uncharacteristic, but it just summed up Leinster's sloppiness.
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Chapter 4: What implications does this defeat have for Leinster's coaching staff?
They are the European champions back-to-back. I think there are six teams to do that, following in Leinster's footsteps, in Leicester's footsteps, in Toulon, Saracens. I'm probably missing one, but La Rochelle, of course, did it a couple of years ago. This is one of the great teams, Cian.
Oh, and like I said at the very start, it's the way they play rugby. I mean, if you're a young person watching this on or a young coach, tomorrow morning, this is the way you want to coach the game. Now, it helps when they have a golden era. And like you've touched on a couple of times, there's no shame in losing to a generational team because...
So while Leinster have generational players, I don't think this is a generational Leinster team. It was just the manner of the defeat. But the backs tend to get the headlines when it comes to this Bordeaux team. I thought Damien Pena was excellent at 13 today playing out of position.
I think he's a guy who Leinster would have looked at it potentially getting after playing out of position on the wing. But he was brilliant, Reassi in the back. But this Bordeaux team, their big development this season has been around the pack. And I just thought the pack was exceptional. Big fan of Marco Gazzotti at number eight. Lenny Nushi last night was exceptional.
This guy Gazzotti is just another unbelievable, good, young French back row. And you just look at the quality that they were able to roll off the bench. I thought Cameron Wacky, until he picked up his injury, was just so good. It was a shame to see him go off at the end with the roar he got and the Wacky chant that went around. He was denied what would have been a sensational try in the corner.
Lukaku, I think, ended up scoring shortly after. But they have quality right throughout the pack. And I think the pack now is allowing the backs to thrive. So they are a complete team. They're signing Willis for next season, aren't they?
Tom rather than Jack.
Yeah, Tom Willis, sorry. Next season, like what a signing he's going to be as well. You plug him in to an already great team. So they're not going away anytime soon. Meanwhile, Leinster are kind of going back to the drawing board to see where they can go and... I don't know. People who are paid a lot more money than me to figure it out, but it's a really sticky situation for them.
It's a pretty full drawing board at this stage. They've been back to it so many times at this stage. I think there's a vibrancy about Bordeaux that Leinster are missing right now. The crowds are down. There's an energy around them that the players seem to still bought into it. They're trying their best for the fans. It was a good crowd over here from Ireland, given how much it costs to get here.
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