logo
What time and TV channel is the Champions Cup final on today?

What time and TV channel is the Champions Cup final on today?

A first Anglo-French final in five years and, if the occasion doesn't tighten up both sets of players, this one could be an epic match-up to fit the bill.
Northampton's defeat of tournament favourites Leinster and Bordeaux's dismissal of reigning champions Toulouse in the semi-finals make it a first-ever meeting in a final of the sides.
Both are at their best when on the front foot and boast scintillating attacks. Bordeaux have Louis Bielle-Biarrey, the 2025 Six Nations player of the championship, and record scorer Damian Penaud after he recovered in time from injury.
Northampton have 22-year-old England No.10 Finn Smith pulling the strings and Tommy Freeman looking to inflict serious damage of a similar nature to the hat-trick he scored against Leinster at the Aviva Stadium.
The game takes place at the Principality Stadium, Cardiff
The match kicks off at 2.45pm on Saturday
It will be shown live on RTÉ 2 and Premier Sports
Northampton are 12/5 to win, Bordeaux are 4/11 to win, 12/1 draw
Referee: Nika Amashukeli (Geo)
Unfortunately there's no room in the Bordeaux matchday squad for Joey Carbery as the Top 14's second placed team opt for a 6:2 bench split and Clareman Noel McNamara flies the Ireland flag in the final as Bordeaux's attack coach.
Northampton Saints: George Furbank; Tommy Freeman, Fraser Dingwall (capt), Rory Hutchinson, James Ramm; Fin Smith, Alex Mitchell; Emmanuel Iyogun, Curtis Langdon, Trevor Davison; Temo Mayanavanua, Tom Lockett; Alex Coles, Josh Kemeny, Henry Pollock.
Replacements: Craig Wright, Tarek Haffar, Elliot Millar Mills, Ed Prowse, Angus Scott-Young, Tom James, Tom Litchfield, Ollie Sleightholme.
Bordeaux Begles: Romain Buros; Damian Penaud, Nicols Depoortère, Yoram Moefana, Louis Bielle-Biarrey; Matthieu Jalibert, Maxime Lucu (capt); Jefferson Poirot, Maxime Lamothe, Sipili Falatea, Adam Coleman, Cyril Cazeaux, Mahamadou Diaby, Guido Petti, Peter Samu.
Replacements: Connor Sa, Ugo Boniface, Ben Tameifuna, Pierre Bochaton, Bastien Vergnes, Marko Gazzotti, Arthur Retiere.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Leinster coach Jacques Nienaber dismisses Sharks gamesmanship against Munster as 'normal'
Leinster coach Jacques Nienaber dismisses Sharks gamesmanship against Munster as 'normal'

Irish Examiner

time2 hours ago

  • Irish Examiner

Leinster coach Jacques Nienaber dismisses Sharks gamesmanship against Munster as 'normal'

You rarely need all seven degrees of separation in rugby. If Bradley Davids was something of an unknown until last weekend then Jacques Nienaber needed no introduction to the boyish 21-year-old whose kick ended Munster's URC bid in Durban. The Leinster senior coach's son Carlu used to room with the young half-back at Paarl Gimnasium, the same renowned rugby school in the Western Cape that has produced the likes of Jean De Villiers, Handre Pollard and Schalk Burger in days gone by. 'He was the kicker for the school,' said Nienaber. It showed at King's Park when Davids, substituted on to the field of play with just two minutes of extra-time to go, nailed his two efforts on goal from a tricky angle in the shootout that eventually separated the sides after an absorbing URC quarter-final. The pity of it is that Davids' isn't still the name on everyone's lips. That rather peculiar form of honour has gone to another Sharks half-back, Jaden Hendrikse, whose wink while being treated extensively for an apparent cramp in the middle of that dramatic end game so enraged Jack Crowley. Springboks head coach Rassie Erasmus has since tweeted a close-up of Henrikse's calf which appears to back up the assertion that the 15-cap scrum-half was indeed suffering from the condition, but there is no doubt but that the matter was milked. Rory Scannell and Conor Murray, Munster's other two shootout kickers, also had reason to be frustrated by the Sharks' attitude after the game had ended all square through 100 minutes. Nienaber, a former Munster assistant coach, was more relaxed about all that. "It's something that happens in the game from minute one to minute 80. There's banter and trying to get under a guy's skin and trying to physically impose yourself on him and try and rub his hair. "I mean, that happens for 80 minutes, so in this case it was for everyone to see because it's not as secluded as what will be in a game. But it happens in a game. "Think of Pete [O'Mahony], what did he tell Sam Cane? I mean, that banter flies. If you listen to just the referee mic and you take the commentators away, it's crazy what you hear on that mic. They got stuck into each other. It's just normal." Saturday's was the first ever shootout in the history of the URC but Leinster have been preparing for just such an eventuality since they met Harlequins in the round of 16 of the Champions Cup back in April. You'd just never know. Is Nienaber a fan of it? Well, as a fan, yes. If his own side was involved? Maybe not so much. If Munster went down all guns blazing in South Africa then Leinster pressed on to this week's semi-final against Glasgow Warriors with a far-from-emphatic 12-point defeat of Scarlets at an Aviva Stadium that was barely one quarter full. The province is still awaiting news on whether Josh van der Flier will be fit for the Scottish challenge. The openside flanker came off early three days ago with a hamstring issue and Leinster were still waiting for scan results as of Monday evening. The official line is a 'hopeful' one and that, should he sit out the Glasgow game, then it still isn't a tear of the type that would jeopardise van der Flier's chances of using the ticket punched for him when named on the British and Irish Lions squad. Garry Ringrose (calf) and Tommy O'Brien (foot) are both still being assessed having sat out the quarter-final, but Tadhg Furlong is again ruled out with what is another, but different, calf problem after a season plagued by them. 'It's tough for a player to get a rhythm,' said Nienaber. 'You like to get a string of games and build on your confidence and get the team to get confidence in you. So I think it is frustrating, yeah.' Glasgow looked to be back to something approaching their best in accounting for the Stormers in Scotstoun on Friday evening and they bring four Lions to the party in Ballsbridge to face a Leinster side that is just not clicking right now. Leo Cullen mentioned the Champions Cup semi-final loss to Northampton Saints four times after the Scarlets game. This despite the fact that no-one had mentioned the game by way of a question. The sense is of a team and a club struggling to find its mojo. Nienaber claimed otherwise. 'No, it's gone. The competition is gone. Next year. Like, is there anything we can about it?'

Katie McCabe: I can feel the Cork support already when you're walking by shops and pubs
Katie McCabe: I can feel the Cork support already when you're walking by shops and pubs

Irish Examiner

time2 hours ago

  • Irish Examiner

Katie McCabe: I can feel the Cork support already when you're walking by shops and pubs

Katie McCabe feels the football calendar needs a major overhaul as Ireland face into a Nations League promotion decider against Slovenia at Páirc Uí Chaoimh. Just 10 days ago, the Arsenal stalwart was starring in their Champions League final triumph over Barcelona. Since then, she has enjoyed a trophy parade at the Emirates Stadium, a player-of-the-match award in Friday's 2-1 comeback victory over Turkey, and now, this key clash on Leeside. Later this month, Ireland will travel to Colorado and Cincinnati for back-to-back friendlies against world number one side USA. McCabe will not be joining them as she takes a well-earned rest. The squeeze is not just a product of European success. Last summer, McCabe's club crammed in a post-season friendly in Australia before she returned home for international duty. Within weeks of the famous French victory in Cork, she was off to America for a pre-season tour. 'It's the whole calendar. I don't know who's in charge of it, but it definitely needs to be looked at,' said McCabe. 'What it will create over time, and we've already seen it in recent years, is burnout in players and major injuries. 'You've got world-class players that will be sitting out of tournaments through injuries. We don't want to see that. We want the best players in the world playing at tournaments on the biggest stage. 'I just hope it doesn't cause too much more harm to us as players going forward. 'Like what we had to do last year, all through the summer, where you're finishing a season and you've to kind of rest but kind of keep fit for the next block of games. It's hard mentally and physically, from a periodisation point of view, to do that. So the timing of the fixtures needs to be looked at.' The Ireland captain is equally bamboozled by the convoluted procedure for World Cup qualification. 'It's nuts, the set-up,' she said. 'The goals, points, relegation, and promotion. All we can concentrate on is winning games and progressing performances game by game. 'I'll let youse all do the maths and we focus on winning matches.' The jam-packed schedule made it more difficult for the Irish players to rebound from their Euro 25 play-off defeat to Wales. That brought an acrimonious end to Eileen Gleeson's tenure, with Carla Ward taking the helm in January. 'It hurt coming into the next camp,' said McCabe. 'There was so much change, so much noise around the FAI and us as a team. Ultimately, it affected me because we didn't get to a tournament. 'I know we're footballers, but we're also human, and when you're striving towards something that you crave so much as a team but then don't achieve, it takes its toll on you. So that first camp was really difficult. 'Being around the other girls in the last few months, you get to open up and chat through things, talk about what we could have done better. 'Then, there are changes of players. But there comes a time when you have to move past it. Just go, 'Okay, that happened. Let's just see how we can improve now going forward.' 'Look, it's going to be difficult with the Euros on this July. I'll probably turn my telly off. I won't be watching it. It's going to hurt, but we have to feel that. 'Keep striving to get better, and obviously World Cup 2027 is a big driving force for us.' That first camp back ended in calamity as Slovenia tore Ireland to shreds in a 4-0 defeat. As a consequence, Ireland require a four-goal win on Leeside if they are to overhaul Slovenia for League A promotion. McCabe insists the team must be 'miles better' than their 2-1 comeback victory in Turkey if they are to achieve that ambition. But the need for goals doesn't change the approach too much. 'If we don't score the first one, you can forget about the fourth,' she said. 'We just have to be fully concentrated on how we're setting up the game plan and executing it as best as possible. 'For us, we know we can score goals in a lot of different ways. But if we want to top this group, we have to be miles better than we were on Friday night, all over the pitch.' They can draw on last summer's famous 3-1 success against France for inspiration. 'That France game will stick with us for a long time,' said McCabe. 'It was an amazing crowd, a fantastic day, and a remarkable result against one of the best teams in the world. 'I've taken a walk into town over the last day or two, and I can feel the support already when you're walking by shops and pubs on the bank holiday weekend. Everyone's cheering us on. 'We hope the fans come in their numbers and really help to get us over the line.'

Wexford's Coláiste Abbáin celebrates vibrant school spirit and diverse talents with end-of-year-awards
Wexford's Coláiste Abbáin celebrates vibrant school spirit and diverse talents with end-of-year-awards

Irish Independent

time4 hours ago

  • Irish Independent

Wexford's Coláiste Abbáin celebrates vibrant school spirit and diverse talents with end-of-year-awards

From first to sixth year, students were recognised for top performances across a wide range of subjects. Among the first years, Charlie Kehoe stood out with awards in History, Science, French, ICT, Visual Art, and Music, while Kelsey Furlong received accolades for English, Irish, and science. In the senior cycle, students such as Lauren Cullen and Conor Foley earned multiple academic honours, with Lauren excelling in maths, chemistry, biology, French, and Irish. The Most Improved Student awards celebrated those who demonstrated exceptional growth. Ian Murphy (1st Year), Aoife Banville (2nd Year), Mathew Mullins (3rd Year), Riain O'Shea (Transition Year), Tiernan O'Brien (5th Year), and Conor Foley (6th Year) were honoured, alongside LCA students Conor Murphy and Sean Barron. The top accolades went to the students who truly embodied excellence throughout the academic year. Emma Farioli Vecchioli was named Junior Cycle Student of the Year, while Philippa Coleman was honoured as Senior Cycle Student of the Year, recognising their exceptional academic records, leadership, and contribution to school life. This year marked a landmark for Coláiste Abbáin's sports teams. The 1st Year football team won the Leinster final, while the Senior Hurling team captured the South Leinster title. The 1st Year soccer team also made headlines, winning the league and narrowly missing out on the Leinster title after a hard-fought final. Standout athletes such as Barry Sweetman, Morgan Nash Colfer, and Ella Fitzpatrick earned Player of the Year titles in football, hurling, and camogie. Erin Walsh also shone across disciplines, receiving awards in athletics and team sports. In the arts, Lexi Rose Blanzy received the Senan Lillis Perpetual Musician of the Year award, while Philippa Coleman was named both MJ Booth Art Student of the Year and Senior Cycle Student of the Year. The school's Junk Kouture entry, Treasured Costs, was designed by Ava Kehoe and modelled by Ciara Czere, impressing judges with its creativity, sustainability, and impact. The Junior Craft Fair winners, Cian Murphy and Leon Ryan also earned recognition for their innovative Christmas wreaths. Prefects and student leaders were also acknowledged, including Head Boy, Milo Farioli Vecchioli and Head Girls, Alyssa Kelly and Lucy Wise. The coveted Ethos Award went to Faye Hynes for embodying the school's values. Ava Kehoe and Alex Sheehan received the Transition Year and LCA Spirit Awards respectively. Top honours included the Senior Sports Person of the Year awarded to Morgan Nash Colfer, and Junior Sports Persons of the Year jointly awarded to Mikaela Kavanagh and John Foley. Historian of the Year went to Eimear Doyle, while Gavin Ryan and James Delaney were named Agricultural Students of the Year. The ceremony also highlighted contributions to school life beyond academics and sport. The STAR Programme acknowledged Traveller students across year groups, and the Meitheal team for 2026 was introduced, reflecting the school's commitment to leadership, inclusion, and support. Coláiste Abbáin's Achievements Day 2025 was 'a true celebration of hard work, talent,' said Mr Dean O'Connor. 'It's our strong school spirit that makes the community proud. We'd like to congratulate all students, staff, and families involved in this year's successes,' he added.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store