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It was a valiant effort from Northampton Saints, who fought until the final whistle, but the power of Bordeaux-Begles, mixed in with a scintillating attack orchestrated by Maxime Lucu, delivered their maiden Champions Cup title.
Coles (1', 40')
Tries
Penaud (5', 36'), Coleman (20'), Cazeaux (55')
Smith (2', 40')
Conversions
Jalibert (21')
Smith (24', 32')
Penalties
Jalibert (28'), Lucu (44')
It was a valiant effort from Northampton Saints, who fought until the final whistle, but the power of Bordeaux-Begles, mixed in with a scintillating attack orchestrated by Maxime Lucu, delivered their maiden Champions Cup title.
The first half was one of the finest halves of rugby seen this season, finishing 20-20 and featuring remarkable skill, controversy and drama - the key ingredients for a compelling final.
Eventually, Bordeaux's power game told in the second period with a dominant stanza, and they avenged their drastic shortcomings in the Top 14 final when they were thumped 59-3 by Toulouse.
Bordeaux, currently second in France's premier division, are worthy champions with rockstars in the backline that are supplemented by behemoths up front.
Lucu leads the way with fine captain’s knock
France's usage of scrum-halves is like no other nation. They see No.9 as the talisman, with No.10 as the supporting act. It's roles reversed elsewhere, but it's clear 27-time capped international, Lucu, is the perfect instigator for Bordeaux's brilliance.
The 32-year-old must be seething that he's playing the sport in the same era as Antoine Dupont because otherwise he'd have been France's first choice for the foreseeable future. Nolann Le Garrec has the flair, but Lucu is rock solid on both sides of the ball. I think he hits even harder than Dupont! From minute one, Lucu, whether he encountered forwards or backs, folded attackers in half with devastating dump tackles.
His box kicking was on the money, while his intuition and creativity were there for all to see. All that was missing from his mesmerising display was a try, but he can blame his free-scoring, greedy wings for stealing the glory.
They are, of course, Damian Penaud and Louis Bielle-Biarrey. The competition's player of the tournament and top try scorer, and the RUWC Writers' Club player of the season and Six Nations star man. Tommy Freeman lining up against those two created an intriguing sub-plot of Saturday's final, but the England and Lions star was largely subdued, not helped by early injuries to James Ramm and George Furbank.
Saints strike first but back came Bordeaux
Northampton enjoyed the dream start when Alex Coles crossed from close range with a barnstorming carry, which required a fine finish.
Quick hands to the outside put Penaud in as Bordeaux's backline clicked into gear. Bielle-Biarrey had a try chalked off for a forward pass, but the warning signs were there.
Mathieu Jalibert, another international unfortunate to be the second choice with his nation behind Romain Ntamack, waved his magic wand. The fly-half picked up a loose ball but managed to swiftly evade the entire Saints pack before assisting Adam Coleman in scoring.
Mahamadou Diaby was sent to the sin bin for a high tackle, but it was soon 14 on 14 when Freeman was carded for taking Penaud out in the air.
Honours even at the half
The simply outrageous Jalibert then waved his wand once more as he somehow retrieved possession by regathering his own blocked grubber kick in a breakdown to spin out of a tackle and feed a very grateful Penaud.
But Coles dotted down his second on the stroke of half time as forwards and backs produced synchronised offloading to tie the scores.
Henry Pollock, unusually quiet in the first half, looked to have made a major impact when he raced away and scored before pulling a calm down celebration, only for the TMO to step in and spot an infringement and rule out his effort.
Cazeaux administered the coup de grace
Ed Prowse was carded for a high shot, with Lucu slotting the resulting penalty.
Maxime Lamothe was denied a score by the TMO, but there would be no stopping Cyril Cazeaux, and Bordeaux dominated the final 25 scoreless minutes, seeing out their triumph in dominant fashion.
Northampton Saints Starting XV (1-15) Emmanuel Iyogun, Curtis Langdon, Trevor Davison, Temo Mayanavanua, Tom Lockett, Alex Coles, Josh Kemeny, Henry Pollock, Alex Mitchell, Fin Smith, James Ramm, Rory Hutchinson, Fraser Dingwall, Tommy Freeman, George Furbank
Replacements (16-23) Craig Wright, Tarek Haffar, Elliot Millar-Mills, Ed Prowse, Angus Scott-Young, Tom James, Tom Litchfield, Ollie Sleightholme
Union Bordeaux Bègles Starting XV (1-15) Jefferson Poirot, Maxime Lamothe, Sipili Falatea, Adam Coleman, Cyril Cazeaux, Mahamadou Diaby, Guido Petti, Pete Samu, Maxime Lucu, Matthieu Jalibert, Louis Bielle-Biarrey, Yoram Moefana, Nicolas Depoortere, Damian Penaud, Romain Buros
Replacements (16-23) Connor Sa, Ugo Boniface, Ben Tameifuna, Pierre Bochaton, Bastien Vergnes-Taillefer, Marko Gazzotti, Arthur Retiere, Rohan Janse van Rensburg
