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Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Bordeaux bulldoze Northampton to win Champions Cup
Investec Champions Cup final Northampton: (20) 20 Tries: Coles 2 Cons: Smith 2 Pens: Smith 2 Bordeaux-Begles: (20) 28 Tries: Penaud 2, Coleman, Cazeaux Con: Jalibert Pens: Jalibert, Lucu Northampton's Champions Cup dream was crushed as French giants Bordeaux-Begles' second-half power saw them muscle out a 28-20 victory in the final in Cardiff. Saints, who upset four-time champions Leinster in the semi-finals, had threatened to conjure another shock with Alex Coles' tries at either end of the first half giving them a 20-20 share of the scoreline at the break. Bordeaux's sparkling backline took a back seat for the second half however as their forwards, including six of the replacements, gradually wore down Northampton. Second row Cyril Caseaux scored the only try of the second period, barging over from short range. It was a route that Bordeaux took again and again, but a stubborn Northampton defence repelled them repeatedly. Ultimately though, short of possession and territory, there was no way back into the lead for Saints and their wait for a second Champions Cup, now a quarter of a century old, goes on. Victory in their maiden European final sets Bordeaux on course towards supplanting Toulouse, who they beat in the semi-finals, as French and European champions. After suffering a sobering 59-3 defeat by their south-west rivals in last year's Top 14 final, Bordeaux are set on a domestic collision course with Toulouse once again, with the two teams leading the French standings. 'It's going to hurt' - Northampton beaten by Bordeaux in Champions Cup final Northampton hurtled into the game, pouncing on a Bordeaux spill, ploughing upfield and crossing as Coles, who passed a late fitness test to start, threaded the ball through a tangle of limbs to ground inside two minutes. Saints supporters were still in full cry though as their fruitful opening turned sour. Wing James Ramm limped out of the fray as Fin Smith lined up the conversion. Full-back George Furbank, playing only his second game since breaking his arm in December, followed shortly after on a stretcher after catching an accidental knee in the face as opposite number Romain Buros attempted to hurdle over him in pursuit of a loose ball. Ollie Sleightholme and Tom Litchfield were summoned off the bench, but the subsequent rejig shunted England wing Tommy Freeman to full-back and scrambled some of Saints' backline understanding. Once play restarted following Furbank's injury, Damian Penaud sauntered in for his 13th try of Bordeaux's continental campaign to pull his side back within two points. Shortly after, Louis Bielle-Biarrey looked to have put his fellow wing over again, only to have the score chalked off for a forward pass. That call apart, Saints felt they were getting little from referee Nika Amashukeli with Smith called for a marginal knock-on and Freeman seemingly blocked off by second row Adam Coleman as he pursued a kick ahead. There was no argument about Bordeaux's second try however. After the ball went to ground in Northampton's 22m, Mathieu Jalibert's twinkling feet evaded five Saints defenders before the France international pumped a basketball-style pass out of the tackle and Coleman crashed over in the corner for 12-7 to the French side after 20 minutes. Saints slowly recovered from the onslaught with Smith moulding some shape into his reordered backline. A couple of penalties from the fly-half edged Northampton back to 15-13. Penaud continued to bristle with danger though and, after spilling forward close to the line on one occasion, he dived over amid the chaos of Jalibert's botched and regathered grubber. Northampton refused to be shifted from the contest and, with Freeman and Mahamadou Diaby both in the sin-bin and the game swinging wildly from end to end, Coles went over in the final play of the half after Sleightholme had bumped off a tackler. That try, and Smith's dead-eyed conversion, levelled the half-time scoreline at 20-20 after a breathless first period. The tumult continued two minutes after the restart when Henry Pollock, quiet until then, cantered over off a clever blind-side line-out move and pulled a Cristiano Ronaldo-style 'calma' celebration, to the delirium of the travelling 'Shoe Army'. However, the video referee picked up Coles holding back a Bordeaux defender, wiping the score from the board and the smile from Pollock's face. When Northampton replacement Ed Prowse was despatched to the sin-bin for a high hit on Yoram Moefana shortly after, Maxime Lucu slotted the subsequent penalty and Bordeaux saw their chance. The Top 14 side, who had loaded their bench with six forwards, introduced the heft of 24-stone Ben Tameifuna, tightening up the game and their grip on its outcome. Second row Caseaux barged over after Saints had heroically repelled a pair of piledriving rolling mauls. That score took Bordeaux eight points clear and while a game Northampton kept running from deep and spreading wide in search of a score, their entertaining continental campaign eventually ran out of steam on the biggest stage. Northampton's appearance in the final was the first by an English club since Exeter's victory in 2020, and, given the gap in financial firepower to their rivals across the Channel, might be the last for a while. Saints were the only one of five English clubs to emerge from the last 16 in this year's tournament, with runaway Premiership leaders Bath failing to make it out of the pool stage. Northampton: Furbank; Freeman, Dingwall (capt), Hutchinson, Ramm; Smith, Mitchell; Iyogun, Langdon, Davison, Mayanavanua, Lockett, Coles, Kemeny, Pollock Replacements: Wright, Haffar, Millar Mills, Prowse, Scott-Young, James, Litchfield, Sleightholme Bordeaux-Begles: Buros; Penaud, Depoortere, Moefana, Bielle-Biarrey; Jalibert, Lucu; Poirot, Lamothe, Falatea, Coleman, Cazeaux, Diaby, Petti, Samu Replacements: Sa, Boniface, Tameifuna, Bochaton, Vergnes-Taillefer, Gazzotti, Retiere, Janse van Rensburg Referee: Nika Amashukeli (Geo) Assistant referees: Andrew Brace (Ire) and Andrea Piardi (Ita) TMO: Marius Jonker (SA) Listen: Sport's Strangest Crimes - Bloodgate Listen to the latest Rugby Union Weekly podcast
Irish Times
24-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
French flair seals Champions Cup title for Bordeaux Bègles over Northampton Saints
Champions Cups final: Bordeaux Bègles 28 Northampton Saints 20 The Champions Cup has a new name on the trophy and a new major force in the European rugby. Strictly speaking, this well-run, superbly supported club have been the coming force for some years now and this spellbinding final merely confirmed the arrival of Bordeaux Bègles among the continent's elite. The ferocity of the collisions was matched by the ambition of both sides, although a slightly disjointed second period didn't match the wildly fluctuating end-to-end pattern of the first-half. As suspected might be the case, the competition's top seeds had a little too much physical power, as well as X factor, although Northampton didn't die wondering and their bravery against a superior force couldn't be faulted. Is French club rugby becoming more popular than Ligue 1? Listen | 20:26 The highlight reels were provided by Matthieu Jalibert and two of the world's best wingers Louis Bielle-Biarrey and Damian Penaud. READ MORE The latter added two more to his try tally, bringing him to 14 for the campaign, and duly received the Anthony Foley Trophy as the player of the tournament in the week when Axel's mother Sheelagh sadly passed away. The teams traded blow for blow in a first period which fulfilled the hype and the hopes to finish 20-20 before Bordeaux turned up their power game to full force. Perhaps fittingly, the match-winning try was provided by one of their unheralded heroes, lock Cyril Cazeaux, while Yoram Moefana maintained his potent season with another big game. Northampton Saints' Tommy Freeman and Bordeaux's Damian Penaud. Photograph: Adam Davy/PA There were warriors aplenty in the Saints too, not least Alex Coles, who was immense in their semi-final win over Leinster and here demonstrated his wide-ranging abilities by moving to blindside and scoring both Northampton tries, as well as being awesome in the lineout. The tournament is still not without its flaws, and will lack even more reach next season for the lack of interest from the main terrestrial TV companies in Ireland and the UK, but almost invariably the showpieces deliver. The prematch fire show under the enclosed Principality Stadium roof was spectacular and the atmosphere and darkened upper tiers obscured the few empty seats. Among the crowd was a fair sprinkling of Leinster blue and in the montage of tries from each of the previous finals there were a fair few cheers, and boos, for Leinster's scorers. But the loudest derision was for Saracens tries while, interestingly, the Bordeaux fans cheered triumphs by rival French sides. The prospect of a tryless final always seemed remote between these two sides who had scored 89 tries en route to this decider. Sure enough, that possibility lasted all of one minute and 51 seconds. Setting the helter skelter tone from the off, Pete Samu called for Fin Smith's wonky kick-off but knocked on and Northampton immediately went into overdrive with the ferocity of their straight carries before going wide. Northampton Saints' Fin Smith (left) and Henry Pollock after the game. Photograph: Andrew Matthews/PA Although Alex Mitchell was thumped backwards from his quick tap, they were playing with another advantage when Alex Coles finished adroitly from close range despite three tackles, Smith converting. As impressive was the Northampton defensive set after Jalibert's clever kick forced George Furbank to concede an attacking lineout. But, having already seen an injured James Ramm helped off, the Saints then lost Furbank as well inside the opening five minutes when the fullback was caught accidentally in the head by the knee of Romain Burros. When Bordeaux went to the corner although their drive was repelled, Yoram Moefana's big carry put him on the front foot for Jalibert and Burros to give Damian Penaud a routine finish. Bordeaux appeared to have struck again off a lovely strike play off a scrum, Jalibert pulling the strings, Louis Bielle-Biarrey came across from his wing and exchanged passes with Penaud to finish, but on review his initial pass was clearly forward. Bielle-Biarrey soon engineered another attacking lineout with a well-weighted kick in behind after again roaming over to the right. Although Moefana dropped the ball when launched, he left it behind hi, m, and Jalibert a danced a jig back toward the touchline, taking out five players before popping the ball for Adam Coleman to finish. Jalibert also landed the touchline conversion and then exchanged penalties with Smith before Mahamadou Diaby was binned for catching Temo Mayanavanua high. But although they initially probed after going up the line, Northampton ultimately had to settle for another three-pointer. Bielle-Biarrey was applauded sardonically after miscuing out on the full but you can't keep a great winger down for long. Soon he brilliantly regathered his own high kick and then kicked ahead again, the ball bouncing for Penaud to gather when he was tackled in the air by Tommy Freeman, sending him to the bin. Louis Bielle-Biarrey in action for Bordeaux. Photograph: Billy Stickland/Inpho Again Bordeaux went to their drive and power play before Jalibert regained his own deflected grubber and offloaded for Penaud to beat Mitchell and score in the corner for his record-extending 14tth try in one Champions Cup campaign. However, after tighthead Trevor Davison won a key turnover penalty Northampton reprised one of their cleverly and accurately executed plays when sweeping back to the right where Tom Litchfield offloaded for Coles to score his second try. Smith, inevitably, landed the touchline conversion to make it 20-20 with the last kick of the half. You didn't that kind of vision to envisage this being that kind of wild yet evenly balanced final. On the resumption, Mitchell's kick gained the ground from which Henry Pollock appeared to have scored off a trick play at the front of a lineout but reviews showed Coles had tugged back Ben Tameifuna. Ed Prowse was then binned for a high hit on Moefana and Lucu elected for the three-pointer against 13 men. Bordeaux then had a try overruled after replays showed Maxime Lamothe had knocked on over the line before the Saints then repelled another drive off a penalty to the corner. That seemed like it might be significant but Bordeaux's mix power and pace was unrelenting as the benches became a factor, one big counter-ruck on halfway leading to Jalibert and Nicolas Depoortere released thur Retiere, an early replacement for Burros. The attack continued through multiple phases before Cazeaux, having been part of the initial counter-ruck, went through Ollie Sleightholme's tackle to score. Bordeaux Bègles captain Maxime Lucu. Photograph: Billy Stickland/Inpho Even so Lucu, having taken over the kicking duties, missed Bordeaux's third conversion and after Moefana's big carry through the middle and two more penalties to the corner, once again they were defied by the Northampton pack. The Saints even launched a big attack on the Northampton line but a trailing leg disrupted Mitchell's pass from the base and after Jalibert, Bielle-Biarrey and Penaud led a footrush upfield, soon Bordeaux were looking to turn the screw again. Their kicking game mercilessly exposed Mitchell in the back left corner but the Saints' lineout defence, in the air and on the ground, was outstanding. But the clock kept ticking on their chances, and there was no doubting that, yet again, the Champions Cup was simply won by the best team in the competition. Scoring sequence – 2 mins: Coles try, Smith con 0-7; 6: Penaud try 5-7; 20: Coleman try, Jalibert con 12-7; 25: Smith pen 12-10; 29: Jalibert pen 15-10; 33: Smith pen 15-13; 37: Penaud try 20-13; 40: Coles try, Smith con 20-20; Half-time: 20-20 ; 45: Lucu pen 23-20; 56: Cazeaux try 28-20. BORDEAUX BÈGLES: R Buros; D Penaud, N Depoortere, Y Moefana, L Bielle-Biarrey; M Jalibert, M Lucu (capt); J Poirot, M Lamothe, S Falatea; A Coleman, C Cazeaux; M Diaby, G Petti, P Samu. Replacements: A Retiere for Burros (12 mins), B Tameifuna for Falatea, M Gazzotti for Diaby (both h-t), P Bochaton for Coleman (50), U Boniface for Poirot (59), C Sa for Lamothe (63), R Janse van Rensburg for Moefana (73), Yellow card: Diaby (30-40 mins). NORTHAMPTON SAINTS: G Furbank; T Freeman, F Dingwall (capt), R Hutchinson, J Ramm; F Smith, A Mitchell; E Iyogun, C Langdon, T Davison; T Mayanavanua, T Lockett; A Coles, J Kemeny, H Pollock. Replacements: O Sleightholme for Ramm (3 mins), T Litchfield for Furbank (5), E Prowse for Mayanavanua (30), E Millar-Mills for Davison (60), C Wright for Langdon, A Scott-Young for Lockyer (both 61), Langdon for Wright (73), T James for Mitchell (78). Yellow cards: Freeman (37-47 mins), Prowse (44-54). Referee: N Amashukeli (Geo).
Reuters
24-05-2025
- Sport
- Reuters
Bordeaux overpower Northampton to win Champions Cup
CARDIFF, May 24 - Bordeaux Begles were crowned kings of Europe for the first time on Saturday when they combined rapier finishing with relentless forward power to beat Northampton 28-20 in a tense and often chaotic Champions Cup final at the Principality Stadium. Two tries for Damian Penaud and one for Adam Coleman had the French side ahead, but Alex Coles followed his third-minute score with another in the 40th to make it 20-20 at the end of a crazy first half full of tries, injuries and yellow cards. Bordeaux, appearing in the final for the first time, tightened the screw in the second half and their forward power and driving mauls allowed them to forge eight points clear after a Cyril Cazeaux try and a penalty for man of the match scrumhalf Maxime Lucu. Northampton showed admirable spirit to stay in the game but were unable to conjure the attacking backline moves that swept them to the final and instead the title went to France for the fifth year in a row.
CNA
24-05-2025
- Sport
- CNA
Bordeaux overpower Northampton to win Champions Cup
CARDIFF -Bordeaux Begles were crowned kings of Europe for the first time on Saturday when they combined rapier finishing with relentless forward power to beat Northampton 28-20 in a tense and often chaotic Champions Cup final at the Principality Stadium. Two tries for Damian Penaud and one for Adam Coleman had the French side ahead, but Alex Coles followed his third-minute score with another in the 40th to make it 20-20 at the end of a crazy first half full of tries, injuries and yellow cards. Bordeaux, appearing in the final for the first time, tightened the screw in the second half and their forward power and driving mauls allowed them to forge eight points clear after a Cyril Cazeaux try and a penalty for man of the match scrumhalf Maxime Lucu. Northampton showed admirable spirit to stay in the game but were unable to conjure the attacking backline moves that swept them to the final and instead the title went to France for the fifth year in a row.
BBC News
24-05-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Bordeaux bulldoze Northampton to win Champions Cup
Investec Champions Cup finalNorthampton: (20) 20Tries: Coles 2 Cons: Smith 2 Pens: Smith 2Bordeaux-Begles: (20) 28Tries: Penaud 2, Coleman, Cazeaux Con: Jalibert Pens: Jalibert, Lucu Northampton's Champions Cup dream was crushed as French giants Bordeaux-Begles' second-half power muscled out a 28-20 victory in the final in who upset four-time champions Leinster in the semi-finals, had threatened to conjure another shock with Alex Coles' tries at either end of the first half giving them a 20-20 share of the scoreline at the sparkling backline took a back seat for the second half however as their forwards, including six of the replacements, gradually wore down row Cyril Caseaux scored the only try of the second period, barging over from short was a route that Bordeaux took again and again, but a stubborn Northampton defence repelled them though, short of possession and territory, there was no way back into the lead for Saints and their wait for a second Champions Cup, now a quarter of a century old, goes to follow.
