21 mins – And again! Bielle-Biarrey rises highest to snatch a kick from the sky and give Bordeaux good go-forward ball inside Leinster territory.

20 mins – Lucu’s kicking game has been an absolute sight to behold in these opening 20 minutes. Phenomenal.

Time for a quick – and very necessary – water break.

TRY FOR BORDEAUX! Leinster 7-14 Bordeaux (Uberti, 18′)

Bordeaux take full advantage of that stroke of good fortune, and punish Leinster with a slick first-phase play. Jalibert is the key man, sucking in the Leinster cover before unlocking the space with a brilliant pass to Rayasi. He sends it right and wide to Uberti who runs it in.

Lucu’s conversion is bang on the money, and the champions lead by seven.

17 mins – And now Bielle-Biarrey kicks it dead as he lofts it over a diving Keenan. The in-goal areas at the San Mames are very small for what it’s worth.

But wait! Replays show that it got the slightest of touches from Keenan and so we’ll restart with a five-metre scrum for Bordeaux. That’s a huge momentum swing.

15 mins – Bad mistake by Harry Byrne, who sends his restart long and dead.

TRY FOR BORDEAUX! Leinster 7-7 Bordeaux (Lucu, 14′)

Bordeaux get themselves back on terms at the second time of asking. As their attack develops, Robbie Henshaw is pinged for offside, but Bordeaux turn down the simple three and get their reward – Lucu dives over and scores at the foot of the posts, and then converts.

All square. What a start.

TMO DECISION – NO TRY

Big let-off for Leinster – Woki’s left hand just touched the ground as he slammed the ball down with his right.

Back for the penalty advantage.

11 mins — TRY FOR BORDEAUX!

What a response from Bordeaux – and what a finish from Cameron Woki.

Bielle-Biarrey brings the French fans to their feet with a dart down the left, and it takes a big tackle from van der Flier to bring the attack to a halt. Advantage Bordeaux, and they spray it right where Woki flies through the air to touch down one-handed in the corner as Harry Byrne tackles him into touch.

On-field decision is try, Karl Dickson confirms, but it’s a game of inches. The TMO is having a look…

TRY FOR LEINSTER! Leinster 7-0 Bordeaux (O’Brien, 9′)

First blood to Leinster – and it’s the man who was an injury doubt earlier this week: Tommy O’Brien!

A few big phases and carries from Leinster off the back of the scrum. Henshaw pops it back inside to Bryne, who loses his footing, his momentum, but crucially, not the possession. Leinster come forward in waves, and Gibson-Park snipes off the base of a ruck to bring them within six or seven metres. Bordeaux’s defence stands firm but the Leinster pressure is relentless, and it’s Ringrose who sends O’Brien over in the corner.

Byrne adds a tricky conversion and it’s 7-0 Leinster.

5 mins – And another big moment for Leinster as Tom Clarkson puts huge pressure on the Bordeaux maul, and Leinster hold them up to force a turnover. Scrum just outside the Bordeaux 22.

4 mins – Big exit from Leinster as they win a lineout on their own throw inside the 22 and then Gibson-Park judges his kick perfectly, bouncing into touch a few yards short of the Bordeaux 22.

3 mins –  Bordeaux take to the skies again, and this time, manage to drive over the Leinster ruck to win a clean steal. It’s a frenetic start.

2 mins – Off the back of the scrum, the ball goes to ground and Josh van der Flier is first to pounce. Leinster cancel out that early mistake quickly with no damage done.

1 min – First mistake of the day, and it’s Hugo Keenan with just 25 seconds on the clock. Lucu kicks deep right down the line, and Keenan – likely worried about stepping into touch – knocks it on. Bordeaux scrum about 30 metres out.

KICK OFF: Harry Byrne gets us underway, kicking deep into the Bordeaux 22.

The teams are out on the pitch under the Bilbao sun. In case you need reminding, Karl Dickson is our match referee today.

If you’re looking for a distraction while you’re counting down these final few minutes to kick-off, here’s Gavan Casey’s final pre-match preview from Bilbao:

AT THE TOP table following Leinster’s buoyant captain’s run at Estadio de San Mamés on Friday, Leo Cullen stresses that he has fond memories not only of the stadium but of the very conference room in which he sits, where eight years ago he celebrated Leinster’s fourth Champions Cup success alongside Johnny Sexton and Isa Nacewa. 

Cullen, however, returned to Bilbao as recently as November for what he describes, with a chuckle, as “a busman’s holiday”. He both basked in fond memories and his cast his mind forward to the tune of seven months.

The Leinster fans are certainly making their presence felt around Bilbao – let’s hope everyone has remembered the sun cream.

Nick Elliott / INPHO Nick Elliott / INPHO / INPHO

TEAM NEWS: AND FOR LEINSTERRRRRR… Tommy O’Brien is fit to start on the right wing, and he’ll be the man tasked with containing Louis Bielle-Biarrey. Robbie Henshaw gets the nod in midfield, and it’s Thomas Clarkson over Tadhg Furlong at tighthead.

Leinster

15. Hugo Keenan
14. Tommy O’Brien
13. Garry Ringrose
12. Robbie Henshaw
11. Rieko loane
10. Harry Byrne
9. Jamison Gibson-Park

1. Andrew Porter
2. Dan Sheehan
3. Thomas Clarkson
4. Joe McCarthy
5. James Ryan
6. Jack Conan
7. Josh Van der Flier
8. Caelan Doris (Captain)

Replacements:

16. Rónan Kelleher
17. Paddy McCarthy
18. Tadhg Furlong
19. Diarmuid Mangan
20. Max Deegan
21. Luke McGrath
22. Ciarán Frawley
23. Jamie Osborne

TEAM NEWS: First up, the champions. Here’s how UBB will line out today. You may recognise a few of those names in the backs, and the red scrum cap of their number 11…

Union Bordeaux-Bègles

15. Salesi Rayasi
14. Pablo Uberti
13. Damian Penaud
12. Yoram Moefana
11. Louis Bielle-Biarrey
10. Mathieu Jalibert
9. Maxime Lucu (captain)

1. Jefferson Poirot
2. Maxime Lamothe
3. Carlú Sadie
4. Boris Palu
5. Adam Coleman
6. Pierre Bochaton
7. Cameron Woki
8. Marko Gazzotti

Replacements:

16. Gaetan Barlot
17. Ugo Boniface
18. Ben Tameifuna
19. Lachie Swinton
20. Temo Matiu
21. Bastien Vergnes-Taillefer
22. Arthur Retiere
23. Hugo Reus

It really doesn’t get more box office than this.

Defending champions Union Bordeaux-Bègles, bidding to go back-to-back, against a Leinster side hoping to put a string of near-misses and heartbreak behind them and finally claim their fifth European title, in the Champions Cup final.

The mercury’s hitting the high 20s in a sweltering Bilbao – and kick-off is a little over 20 minutes.

Stay with us and you won’t miss a moment.