Bordeaux-Begles retain Champions Cup with dominant Bilbao victory

Bordeaux-Begles have retained the Champions Cup title with a commanding 41-19 victory over Leinster in the final held in Bilbao. The French club scored five tries in the first half to establish an insurmountable lead, extending France’s winning streak in the competition to six consecutive years.

Despite conceding an early try through Leinster winger Tommy O’Brien, Bordeaux-Begles quickly shifted the momentum. Captain Maxime Lucu and Paolo Uberti scored to stabilise the side, before Louis Bielle-Biarrey’s double put the French team in control. Yoram Moefana added to the tally by intercepting a Harry Byrne pass, contributing to a 28-point half-time gap.

Leinster attempted a second-half response through Joe McCarthy, who scored after Lucu received a yellow card for pulling the lock’s hair. Lucu returned to the pitch to kick two penalties, while Garry Ringrose scored Leinster’s third try, but the damage had already been done in the opening period.

The result marks Bordeaux-Begles’ second Champions Cup triumph and completes a French double in European rugby, following Montpellier’s win over Ulster in the Challenge Cup final on Friday night. La Rochelle and Toulouse have also claimed the Champions Cup twice since 2021, underscoring the continued hegemony of French clubs in the tournament.

For Leinster, this defeat represents their fifth final loss since 2018, when they claimed their fourth title. All four subsequent heartbreaks have come at the hands of French opposition, including narrow defeats to La Rochelle in 2022 and 2023, and a loss to Toulouse in extra-time in 2024. The match, played in Bilbao heat, saw Leinster comfortably outplayed by a Bordeaux side featuring five first-half tries.

Assistant referees for the final were Christophe Ridley from England and Hollie Davidson from Scotland. Bielle-Biarrey finished the competition with 10 tries, cementing his impact on the tournament.