Fresh off their historic second consecutive European Rugby Champions Cup triumph, Bordeaux-Begles are turning their attention to the one major trophy that has eluded them since the club’s founding 19 years ago: the French Top 14 domestic crown. Head coach Yannick Bru issued a rallying cry to his squad Saturday, calling on the side to step up and reveal their full strength as they chase a maiden domestic title in the closing stages of the season.
Bru’s side delivered a dominant 41-19 upset over four-time champions Leinster at Bilbao’s iconic San Mamés Stadium last week to secure back-to-back European titles, a performance headlined by a two-try outing from in-form winger Louis Bielle-Biarrey and 21 points from captain Maxime Lucu. The result marked a massive milestone for the club, which formed out of a merger of two local sides in 2006 and has never claimed the Top 14 crown. But the team’s domestic form has been uneven all season, leaving them fifth in the league standings with just two regular-season matches remaining. Barring a late surge in the table, Bordeaux-Begles will have to battle through the play-offs to lift their first domestic silverware.
“The Top 14 is a boxing bout every weekend,” Bru told reporters following the Champions Cup victory. “I hope we will have all our resources to show our true selves in the Top 14.”
The road to the second consecutive European title has already taken a visible toll on the squad. Since scraping past Bath in a tight semi-final clash three weeks ago, Bordeaux-Begles have only notched narrow wins against bottom-of-the-table sides Bayonne and Perpignan in league play. For veteran Tongan prop Ben Tameifuna, the final win marked a long-awaited weight off the team’s shoulders. “It is relief. It has been a hard few weeks,” the 34-year-old told Premier Sports. “This is one of the few times that I was nervous in my career. Back-to-back is special.”
More than 50,000 fans packed into Bilbao’s sold-out San Mamés, nicknamed “The Cathedral,” with thousands of Bordeaux supporters making the four-hour drive down the Atlantic coast from southwest France to cheer on their side. Tameifuna praised the travelling support, adding with a joke: “What an arena and place to play. Thank you for everyone who made the trip. It is going to be a rough couple of days.”
For Leinster, the defeat marked a devastating fifth Champions Cup final loss, extending the Irish side’s title drought that stretches back to 2018. Despite the heartbreaking half-time deficit – the side trailed 35-7 after conceding five tries before the break, including an 80-metre intercept try from Yoram Moefana – Leinster captain Caelan Doris said he remained proud of his squad’s resilience and confident the team would return to compete for the title again next season.
“I admire the resilience of the group to keep knocking,” Doris said. “We have a lot of strength in the group to keep coming back, to keep working hard and keep reaching these stages. I have faith that we’re going to do the same again.”
Doris acknowledged that Bordeaux capitalized on every small opportunity to build their unassailable lead, saying, “They’re capable of big moments out of nothing, a lot of the scraps went their way. We left ourselves too tall of a mountain to climb. I’m happy with the resolve and how we put the first half behind us.”
The final was a quiet outing for New Zealand short-term signing Rieko Ioane, who was outmaneuvered in defense for Pablo Uberti’s 18-minute try that put Bordeaux ahead for good. Ioane will leave the province at the end of the current season after his seven-month deal concludes. Leinster now quickly shifts focus to their next title defense: next weekend, they will host the Lions at home in the quarter-finals of the United Rugby Championship, where they will aim to add another trophy to their cabinet to close out the campaign. “There are some lads moving on,” Doris said. “So we’re going to have to celebrate them over the next couple of days before turning the page to finish the season with silverware.”
Bru challenges Bordeaux-Begles to show ‘true selves’ in Top 14 after Champions Cup defence
