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The Citizen
24-05-2025
- Sport
- The Citizen
Trokkie out, Rohan in Champions Cup final
Janse van Rensburg continues the tradition of a South African player in every final of the Champions Cup era, named on the Bordeaux bench ahead of Saturday's clash with Northampton Saints. BORDEAUX, FRANCE – APRIL 12: Rohan Janse Van Rensburg of UBB breaks with the ball during the Investec Champions Cup quarter-final match between Union Bordeaux-Begles and Munster Rugby at Stade Chaban-Delmas on April 12, 2025 in Bordeaux, France. (Photo by) Juarno Augustus is ruled out of the Champions Cup final, while former Sharks centre Rohan Janse van Rensburg is poised to make an impact on Saturday. Janse van Rensburg continues the tradition of a South African player in every final of the Champions Cup era, named on the Bordeaux bench ahead of Saturday's clash with Northampton Saints. Former Stormers No 8 Augustus misses out through an injury suffered in training this week. Fraser Dingwall leads a settled Saints side aiming for their first European title since 2000. George Furbank and Ollie Sleightholme return while Fin Smith and Alex Mitchell continue at halfback and Curtis Langdon earns his 50th appearance. The Bordeaux lineup boasts the strike power of arguably the best wing tandem in club rugby, France finishers Damian Penaud and Louis Bielle-Biarrey, with the hard-running Janse van Rensburg primed to add momentum to the midfield off the bench. NORTHAMPTON — 15 George Furbank, 14 Tommy Freeman, 13 Fraser Dingwall (c), 12 Rory Hutchinson, 11 James Ramm, 10 Fin Smith, 9 Alex Mitchell, 8 Henry Pollock, 7 Josh Kemeny, 6 Alex Coles, 5 Tom Lockett, 4 Temo Mayanavanua, 3 Trevor Davison, 2 Curtis Langdon, 1 Emmanuel Iyogun Bench: 16 Craig Wright, 17 Tarek Haffar, 18 Elliot Millar-Mills, 19 Ed Prowse, 20 Angus Scott-Young, 21 Tom James, 22 Tom Litchfield, 23 Ollie Sleightholme BORDEAUX — 15 Romain Buros, 14 Damian Penaud, 13 Nicolas Depoortere, 12 Yoram Moefana, 11 Louis Bielle-Biarrey, 10 Matthieu Jalibert, 9 Maxime Lucu (c), 8 Pete Samu, 7 Guido Petti, 6 Mahamadou Diaby, 5 Cyril Cazeaux, 4 Adam Coleman, 3 Sipili Falatea, 2 Maxime Lamothe, 1 Jefferson Poirot Bench: 16 Connor Sa, 17 Ugo Boniface, 18 Ben Tameifuna, 19 Pierre Bochaton, 20 Bastien Vergnes-Taillefer, 21 Marko Gazzotti, 22 Arthur Retiere, 23 Rohan Janse van Rensburg This story was first published on It is republished here with permission.
Irish Times
23-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
Fresh, novel pairing to Champions Cup final as Leinster wonder what might have been
Champions Cup final: Northampton Saints v Bordeaux Bègles, Principality Stadium; Saturday, 2.45pm (live on RTÉ2 and Premier Sports) The sense of anticlimax, of what-might-have-been, will not be confined to bars and homes in the province of Leinster. It was palpable on the plane over, in the streets around Cardiff, when Northampton conducted their eve-of-match press conference and there may well be more Leinster blue in the enclosed stadium than the estimated 3,000 clad in claret supporting Union Bordeaux Bègles . After all, this will be the first final in four seasons, and just the third in the last eight, not to feature Leinster. The last hurdle has been acutely painful for them but to fall short in their magnificent obsession at the penultimate stage has hurt even more, and this final will only compound those scars. Still, the 30th Champions Cup final has a fresh, novel pairing. Northampton, winners in 2000 and runners-up against Leinster in 2011, against first-time finalists Bordeaux Bègles. It's generously sprinkled in star dust too. READ MORE With Damian Penaud having recovered from the ankle injury which left him in tears at the end of the 35-18 semi-final win over Toulouse three weeks ago, UBB revert to the same starting XV from that game. Alas for Joey Carbery , an unused replacement in Leinster's win over Racing 92 in Bilbao seven years ago, despite his versatility he loses out on the bench to the impactful Rohan Janse van Rensburg, with scrumhalf Maxime Lucu instead providing cover for Matthieu Jalibert. Bordeaux's Joey Carbery. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho Northampton welcome back George Furbank, albeit he has only played once since December due to a broken arm, with James Ramm (a try-scoring fullback in that win three weeks ago) shifting to the wing. But the Ulster-bound number eight Juarno Augustus is sidelined with the ankle ligament injury he sustained in training before last week's win over Saracens. So Tom Lockett starts at lock, with Alex Coles shifting to a reconfigured backrow with Henry Pollock at number eight, while Ollie Sleightholme returns from an ankle injury on the bench. Even so, there is still more of a patchwork feel to the Saints. UBB recruited well last summer and have been able to rotate from a position of strength to ensure they arrive at this stage of the season relatively fit and fresh – witness Carbery missing out despite overcoming a three-month absence to play 20 games this season. Five of the previous 29 finals have had no tries over the 80 minutes, but with so much cutting edge and world-class finishers on display, and the roof closed to block out the rain, even allowing for a degree of tension and nerves, there'll surely be tries aplenty. Between them, UBB (50 in seven games) and Northampton (39) have scored 89 tries in reaching this final. Tommy Freeman and Penaud have both scored 21 this season for club and country, including nine and a record 12 for Penaud in this competition. The jet-heeled Louis Bielle-Biarrey, who looked equally unplayable in UBB's game of tip rugby at their Captain's Run, has scored 31 tries in 26 games for club and country in this campaign. And then there's Henry Pollock, who said this week that he and his team-mates can't wait to 'rip into' this final. To the boy's credit, he walks the walk too, and six of his seven tries in this competition, celebrated in his own inimitably teasing way, have been against French sides. 'We love him, I'm not sure who hates him,' said the Northampton Director of Rugby Phil Dowson when asked about the 'love-hate' view from France of the extravagantly talented 20-year-old backrower. 'He's confident and he's unashamedly himself,' said Dowson. 'He's one of these guys you'd love to have in your team and hate to play against.' This Northampton side loom as dangerously for UBB as they did for Leinster in the semi-finals. In the last two seasons, the English champions have demonstrated their big-game mentality by winning seven of their last eight knockout ties. The only exception was last season's 20-17 Champions Cup semi-final defeat against Leinster in Croke Park. Yet having watched UBB dismantle Ulster and Northampton at first hand, and most of all do the same to Toulouse, the sheer unrelenting ferocity of their pack which was just as eye-catching as their stardust. There was the running games of hooker Maxime Lamothe and number eight Pete Samu, as well as the workrate and endurance of lock Cyril Cazeaux and flanker Guido Petti (both of whom have played every minute of the knockout stages despite 6-2 splits). That and Jalibert, who is on fire and looks primed to join the long list of stellar European Cup-winning outhalves. 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 Bègles: Romain Buros, Damian Penaud, Nicolas Depoortere, Yoram Moefana, Louis Bielle-Biarrey; Matthieu Jalibert, Maxime Lucu (capt), Jefferson Poirot, Maxime Lamothe, Sipili Falatea, Adam Coleman, Cyril Cazeaux, Mahamadou Diaby, Guido Petti, Pete Samu. Replacements: Connor Sa, Ugo Boniface, Ben Tameifuna, Pierre Bochaton, Bastien Vergnes-Taillefer, Marko Gazzotti, Arthur Retiere, Rohan Janse van Rensburg. Referee: Nika Amashukeli (Geo). Forecast: Bordeaux Bègles to win.
The Citizen
20-05-2025
- Sport
- The Citizen
South Africa to be represented in 11th straight Champions Cup final
Rohan Janse van Rensburg has scored four tries in his last six appearances for Bordeaux, and Juarno Augustus has had a standout season for Northampton Saints. Juarno Augustus and Rohan Janse van Rensburg are expected to extend the streak of South African representation in every Champions Cup final when Northampton Saints battle Bordeaux in Cardiff on Saturday for the premier European club rugby crown. Augustus has enjoyed a standout season for Northampton Saints, the former Stormers No 8 scoring five tries in five Champions Cup appearances for the defending English Premiership champions this campaign. Meanwhile, powerhouse centre Janse van Rensburg has scored four tries in his last six appearances for Bordeaux and will inevitably find himself running at Augustus in the Cardiff finale. Rohan Janse van Rensburg has been in good form for Bordeaux Begles. Picture: Christophe Archambault/AFP 2015: Toulon With Nigel Owens on the whistle, Bakkies Botha, Bryan Habana and Juan Smith were in tow as Leigh Halfpenny kicked 14 points and Drew Mitchell scored a decisive try to win Toulon's third consecutive European title in the inaugural Champions Cup final with a 24-18 win against Clermont at Twickenham. 2016: Saracens Owen Farrell beat Johan Goosen in a goal-kicking duel by seven penalties to three as Saracens clinched their first Champions Cup trophy with a 21-9 victory over Racing 92 in the Lyon final. Goosen started at outside centre for the French contenders, supported by former WP lock Francois van der Merwe, while the English Premiership club was powered by Schalk Brits, Michael Rhodes and Petrus du Plessis. 2017: Saracens Saracens made it two from two with Farrell kicking 13 points in a 28-17 win against Clermont in the Murrayfield final. Brits, Rhodes and Du Plessis were joined by compatriots Schalk Burger and Vincent Koch in hoisting the trophy. 2018: Leinster The wet conditions in Bilbao forced Leinster and Racing 92 into a tactical battle. Former Bok Pat Lambie was forced off early after a serious knee injury, handing French international Remi Tales the keys to Racing's attack. Johnny Sexton and Teddy Iribaren exchanged three penalties each before Isa Nacewa took over kicking duties for Leinster. Iribaren slotted his fourth of the game before Nacewa sealed Leinster's fourth title by adding six points from the tee, securing a 15-12 win in Spain. 2019: Saracens Defending champions Leinster were in the hunt for a record-breaking fifth Champions Cup win and faced off an imposing Saracens at St James' Park in Newcastle. Owen Farrell scored 10 points from the tee, aided by Springbok duo Schalk Burger and Vincent Koch to defeat Leinster 20-10 and earn a third Champions Cup win in four seasons. 2020: Exeter Chiefs The 2020 Champions Cup was contested by first-time finalists Exeter Chiefs and two-time runners-up Racing 92. Exeter started strong, streaking to a 14-0 lead thanks to tries from Luke Cowan-Dickie and Sam Simmonds. Racing responded by closing the gap to a single point but a stoppage-time penalty from Joe Simmonds saw Exeter claim a 31-27 victory and their first Champions Cup crown. Jacques Vermeulen started at openside flank while Bulls forward Jannes Kirsten featured off the bench for Exeter. 2021: Toulouse It was the battle of the flyhalves at Twickenham in 2021 as Romain Ntamack bested La Rochelle's Ihaia West by 16 points to 12 in Toulouse's 22-17 win for a record-breaking fifth Champions Cup triumph. Springbok speedster Cheslin Kolbe and Rynhardt Elstadt started for Toulouse, fending off former Stormers duo Dillyn Leyds and Raymond Rhule. Wiaan Liebenerg came off the bench for La Rochelle. 2022: La Rochelle After suffering heartbreak at the hands of Toulouse in the 2021 decider, La Rochelle bounced back with a 24-21 win against four-time winners Leinster. Dillyn Leyds, Raymond Rhule and Wiaan Liebenbrg returned to weather Leinster's storm – including 18 points from Johnny Sexton – and claim La Rochelle's first ever Champions Cup trophy. 2023: La Rochelle Leinster, playing in front of a packed home crowd, had the opportunity for revenge in a rematch of 2022's final against La Rochelle who were appearing in a third consecutive Champions Cup final. Ross Byrne's 11 points from the tee was matched by La Rochelle's Antoine Hestoy, who contributed 11. Backed up by speedsters Dillyn Leyds and Raymond Rhule, La Rochelle secured a nailbiting 27-26 win in Dublin to clinch a second-consecutive Champions Cup win. 2024: Toulouse The two most decorated unions met in the 2023-24 Champions Cup final. Five-time champions Toulouse squared up against four-time winners Leinster at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London. In a match that went to extra time after being deadlocked at 15-15, Scotland international Blair Kinghorn kicked four penalties, while replacement fullback Thomas Ramos scored 13 with the boot to outmatch Ross Byrne's 12-point contribution and steer Toulouse to a 31-22 victory and their sixth Champions Cup crown. Springbok lock Jason Jenkins ran out for Leinster in their fourth Champions Cup final defeat. This story first appeared on It is republished here with permission.
