Even at full-strength, Leicester would have struggled against the most potent attack in Europe. But without a string of first-choice forwards – including Ollie Chessum, Joe Heyes, Tommy Reffell and Nicky Smith – the result at a sun-drenched Stade Chaban-Delmas was never in doubt.
So it proved as Bordeaux Bégles tore their English guests to shreds, scoring nine tries to underline their status as continental champions with a 64-14 win. A quarter-final against their domestic rivals, Toulouse, will be required viewing next weekend.
It took a while for the floodgates to open. A Maxime Lucu penalty was all the hosts had to show for their dominance after 20 minutes. Both teams were sloppy with ball in hand but a creaking Leicester scrum, and an inability to pin Bordeaux down in their own half, meant this was just the quiet before the storm.
Cameron Woki, brilliant around the park all game, got things going when he used every inch of his rangy frame to dot down under contact.
Louis Bielle-Biarrey provided two assists in six minutes – first for Salesi Rayasi with a one-two down the left wing, then for Lucu after wriggling through a narrow gap in midfield – before inevitably he scored one of his own. Before the half-time whistle sounded, Matthieu Jalibert scythed through the Tigers’ white wall on the 22 and played a simple inside ball for the hooker Maxime Lamothe.
It was a 40-minute exhibition that reaffirmed some harsh truths. The first was that French club rugby operates on a different plane to its competitors. A Sunday report in L’Équipe revealed the latest TV deal between Canal+ and the Top 14 and Pro D2 is worth more than £120m annually, meaning teams near the top end of the league pull in sums only seen in football elsewhere.
The second was that any team that treat this competition lightly won’t last long. While there is no question that some of Leicester’s internationals deserve a rest, Tigers fans could be forgiven for feeling frustrated by the pre-match lineup given their next league game is at home against the bottom-placed Newcastle Red Bulls in a fortnight. Especially as the two-time European champions offered glimpses of their potential after the restart.
Aggressive defence on halfway had Izaia Perese snatch an intercept and beat Bielle-Biarrey to the line. And after big Ben Tameifuna charged over two tacklers to score a famous prop’s try, the impressive Billy Searle, on as a substitute, rounded off a clinical move down the blind side after some tenacious work at the breakdown inside Bordeaux’s 22 just before the hour.
Both coaches emptied their benches and the game lost much of its continuity. The shrill blast of Andrew Brace’s whistle, used sparsely in the first period, became a regular feature. Sensing the creeping ennui settling over the place, Bordeaux shifted gears, like only the best teams can, and produced another stunner at will. Tameifuna once again steamrolled over a hapless tackler to provide go‑forward. Hugo Reus then dinked a delicious grubber that flat-footed Leicester’s defence and found the onrushing Rayasi.
That knocked the stuffing out of the Tigers. How many more did Bordeaux want? Arthur Retière notched one when Temo Matiu popped an offload close to the line, capping off his team’s relentless continuity in close contact. Rayasi completed his hat-trick – his second of the season against Midlands opposition, after doing the same against Northampton in January – as he made Adam Radwan and Freddie Stewart look like mannequins, sidestepping them down the right wing en route to the try-line.
Leinster booked their place in the quarter-finals of the Champions Cup with an entertaining 49-31 victory over Edinburgh in a 12-try affair at the Aviva Stadium. Leinster scored twice in the first six minutes to give them an early 14-point advantage courtesy of a couple of tries from Tommy O’Brien but Edinburgh replied with two of their own, firstly when Charlie Shiel raced away before Ross Thompson crossed over to cut the deficit back to two points.
Leinster hit straight back with their third try when Jimmy O’Brien stretched out in the corner but Edinburgh were not going away, and they replied with their third try when Thompson went over for his second of the afternoon.
Both sides still had time to get another try in an electric first half. Hugo Keenan re-extended Leinster’s nine-point advantage before Matt Currie cut the lead back to two again in a breathtaking opening half.
Edinburgh hit the front for the first time in the game 11 minutes into the second half through a moment of magic from Darcy Graham, who dinked the ball over the top and had the beating of Jamison Gibson-Park to touch down.
However, the hosts retook the lead through Josh van der Flier and scored twice more in the space of two minutes courtesy of Thomas Clarkson and Rieko Ioane, who sold the dummy on Graham to finish off a chaotic afternoon. PA Media
“It’s one thing to win a title, it’s another to go back to back,” Tameifuna said, speaking to Premier Sports who pressed him to say more about his try. “I was screaming for the ball and there was only one way to go and that was forward. So I just put my head down and had a crack.”
That sums up Bordeaux’s attacking spirit, one that is setting new heights and getting pundits such as John Barclay to talk about Bielle-Biarrey and Jonah Lomu in the same breath. This was the team placed fourth in France against the side ranked third in England. The evidence suggests the gap between the two ecosystems is only getting bigger.
Quarter-final draw
Bordeaux v Toulouse, Sun 12 April, 3pm
Bath v Northampton, Fri 10 April, 8pm
Glasgow v Toulon, Sat 11 April, 3pm
Leinster v Sale, Sat 11 April, 5.30pm
