BORDEAUX-BÈGLES ARE IN the Champions Cup final on Saturday again, looking to go back-to-back after winning their first title 12 months ago
Leinster stand in their way, returning to the scene of their most recent Champions Cup win (2018), and the match-up of Bordeaux’s lightening attack against the province’s blitz defence promises to create a thrilling spectacle at the San Mamés.
Leo Cullen’s side face a challenge in trying to contain a Bordeaux attack which has once again lit up the tournament this year.
No team scored more tries in the pool stages, with Bordeaux notching up 27 across their four pool wins.
The French side remained highly prolific across the knock-out rounds, scoring nine tries in their 64-14 defeat of Leicester in the round of 16, four in the 30-15 quarter-final win over Toulouse and five as they saw off Bath 38-26 in the semi-finals.
In total, Bordeaux have racked up a competition-leading 305 points on their way to the final, averaging 43.6 points per match (1st) – making them the highest-scoring team in the competition by a clear margin.
A more free-flowing side than Leinster, they average 6.4 tries per game to Leinster’s 4.7. While Leinster average more carries (135.6 to 125.1), Bordeaux average more clean breaks (16.9 to 11.6), offloads (15 to 6.9), and defenders beaten (34.3 to 24.4).
Known for their ability to produce moments of magic and prove lethal on counter-attack, some of Bordeaux’s tries in this season’s Champions Cup have been scintillating, but there’s far more to their game than those joué moments.
Here, we take a closer look at how Yannick Bru’s men have scored their tries along their route to Saturday’s final in Bilbao.
********
As defending champions, Bordeaux kicked-off their pool campaign with a high-scoring win away to the Bulls, where the visitors supplied seven of the 12 tries in a 46-33 win.
Damian Penaud was the first over the line for Bordeaux, and while the winger and Matthieu Jalibert both showed good strength and footwork the Bulls should do better with some of their tackle efforts.
Their second had more of that beautiful Bordeaux flair, propelled by instinctive passing and ‘heads-up’ rugby.
“For us, we would try and stay away as much as possible from just straightforward passing waves and try to find solutions because the reality is, if you don’t catch the ball the way you want to catch it, does that mean you can’t pass it?” McNamara said.
“Ultimately the defence are trying to pose you a problem, and if you don’t catch it in the best possible way, well then it’s ‘Ah, we’ll just go another phase’, whereas we probably look at it a slightly different way where that’s not necessarily what we’re trying to do.
“We’re trying to find the quickest possible way to get the ball to the space.”
This is evident in that second try against the Bulls, where Jalibert is being closed down by two defenders, but instead of carrying into contact he manages to free his hands above his head and pop a basketball-style pass out to Louis Bielle-Biarrey, who does the rest.
That basketball-style pass is a common option used by Bordeaux. In the round three win over Northampton (50-28), centre Yoram Moefana throws a similar pass as Bordeaux counter from a stolen Saints lineout.
And in the round of 16 defeat of Leicester Tigers, Bielle-Biarrey went for the pop-pass inside as Salesi Rayasi finished a weaving team move.
The passage started with a Bordeaux scrum on half-way, where scrum-half Maxime Lucu wants to quickly get his team playing.
While some of the passing is slightly loose, Bordeaux always manage to retain possession and keep the attack flowing, with Rayasi eventually diving over.
Bordeaux can bring that invention to their set-piece plays, too.
Their third try against the Bulls came from a lineout, but instead of looking to power through with their maul, a trick play saw the ball delivered to the short side, where hooker Maxmime Lamothe was waiting to take possession and score.
And of course, Bordeaux were clinical on counter-attack. Their fourth try in Pretoria saw Rayasi make a break before trading offloads with Penaud, the winger then stepping in as scrum-half to send lock Boris Palu over.
Against Northampton, Bordeaux were clinical on kick return. Penaud initially gathers a Saints kick, and steps the first defender before moving the ball inside – always looking to keep the ball moving, making it more difficult for Saints to get set defensively.
Northampton are immediately in trouble, and Rayasi uses his speed and footwork to break from inside his own half and score.
Leicester would also be punished off their own kick when they visited the Stade Chaban-Delmas, Bielle-Biarrey slicing through after collecting a restart.
After cutting into space, the winger then steps through the line before a simple pass inside allows support runner Lucu score under the posts, as the Tigers are ripped open to devastating effect.
Bristol were punished in the same fashion in round four. Louis Rees-Zammit kicks loosely down the middle of the pitch, creating the type of scenario where the French side thrive. Bordeaux gather, and in a flash Jalibert is running into space – a running 10, it’s no surprise he leads the way for defenders beaten in this season’s Champions Cup (34), in the team that top the charts for the same stat (240).
With Bielle-Biarrey on Jalibert’s shoulder, the ending is inevitable. The French winger is the top try-scorer in this season’s Champions Cup, on eight.
Mistakes gets punished in ruthless fashion. Later in the half, a dropped Bristol pass leads to another run-in for Bielle-Biarrey.
Bielle-Biarrey was particularly impactful against the Bears. Here, his tackle knocks a ball loose, leading to another kick, chase and try for his team – their third from turnovers in the game.
The 22-year-old would finish that trip to Ashton Gate with a hat-trick, his third try coming after Bristol failed to deal with a contestable kick as Bordeaux flooded through.
And anyone who watches Bordeaux or France will know the familiar sight of Bielle-Biarrey chasing a low kick behind the defensive line.
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This is how Bordeaux’s fifth try arrived against the Bulls, moving the ball wide from a scrum in their own half before Jalibert invited Bielle-Biarrey to chase, with the winger reading a tricky bounce to control the ball with his knee and finish.
Leinster players can watch Bulls winger Sebastien de Klerk and note how any moment of hesitation can be ruthlessly punished when Bielle-Biarrey is around.
Jalibert’s ability with the boot is a huge part of Bordeaux’s attacking threat.
In the round two win over Scarlets, a dropped Bordeaux pass threatened to break down an attack before the out-half was alert to latch onto the loose ball. Where most players would be looking to just secure possession, Jalibert had the skill and quick-thinking to execute a smart chip, squeeze through and score.
Jalibert’s quick thinking makes him a constant threat. In the Northampton game, the out-half seized on another loose ball to run in a score just seconds after the Saints were setting up to attack off their own scrum.
Always ready to pounce, the out-half rarely switches off, as evident in Bordeaux’s second try in the quarter-final defeat of Toulouse. After Jalibert kicked through for Arthur Retière to chase, many 10s would just watch the play unfold, but instead Jalibert chased and used his athleticism to turn the ungathered kick into a try of his own – with no Toulouse defender staying on the Bordeaux 10 after he put boot to ball.
That speed of thought isn’t reserved for flair players in the backline. Moments after Jalibert’s score against Scarlets, prop Jefferson Poirot took advantage of some slow-to-react Scarlets defenders to sneak in and score from close range.
Indeed, the forwards aren’t just battering rams, and are encouraged to use their hands when the opportunity arises. Ben Tameifuna’s try against Leicester ended with hard ball-carrying, but started with the prop showing soft hands to keep the ball alive.
Defending Bordeaux, you have to remain alert no matter how far down the pitch the French side are. Against the Scarlets, a quick-tap penalty from the Bordeaux half saw the ball fired through the hands as Jalibert scored his second. Later in the game, another quick-tap on halfway would lead to Jalibert chipping over the top and kick-starting the move that led to Tiaan Jacobs’ try.
In the semi-final win against Bath, Bordeaux create a try from a relatively low-percentage opportunity. Starting from a scrum between the halfway and Bath 22, they carve Bath open on first phase with a Jalibert break and more of that fast offloading – again, it’s worth noting the excellent handling as Lucu juggles the ball but avoids knocking-on.
Bordeaux pour forward with Bath exposed, and Lucu finishes a clinical score.
Not to say it’s all pedal to the floor. At times, Bordeaux are able to slow it down in the 22, assessing their options before punching a hole. Take the below example against Leicester, where there’s a touch of chaos as a behind-the-back pass leads to another juggled catch. Yet Jalibert doesn’t panic, almost standing still to scan the picture before hitting the accelerator, creating another assist.
And when the situation calls for it, Bordeaux can turn to a power game that can trouble Europe’s best teams.
The quarter-final defeat of Toulouse was always going to be a tighter affair than those high-scoring pool games, so when Bordeaux were presented with an attacking lineout following a tight, scoreless opening quarter, they turned to their pack and went through Toulouse with a powerful driving maul.
They would turn to that power game again as Toulouse momentarily went down to 13 men. Lamothe joins the play after his throw and manages to bulldoze through, despite Toulouse initially defending the maul well.
And when Bordeaux situate themselves just short of the tryline, there’s only going to be one outcome as Tameifuna barges over.
If Bordeaux don’t have the space to stretch teams out wide, Tameifuna is a go-to option in the central positions as the 150kg tighthead is so difficult to stop from close range – as Bath found out in their semi-final – a crucial score as Bordeaux extended their lead in a five-point game entering the final 10 minutes.
Bordeaux can stress teams by building pressure with the speed of their play in the 22. Cameron Woki’s try against Northampton is a good illustration of this.
After blitzing a breakdown around halfway, Rayasi attacks down the left wing, before a good covering tackle by Tommy Freeman. Yet after contact, Rayasi works hard to quickly release the ball.
This triggers a lightening Bordeaux attack powered by quick ruck ball as Saints scramble back into the shape.
The French side make the most of the opportunity through a series of sharp passes to move the play from left to right, finishing with a score for Woki, another dangerous ball-carrier in the Bordeaux pack.
There was similar against Leicester, Bordeaux scoring through keeping possession after the Tigers restart following Lucu’s try.
While Lucu has a kick blocked at the beginning off the passage, Bordeaux never panic and retain possession, holding the ball through some familiar kick and pass options. First, Jalibert uses a chip to get himself out of danger and put Leicester on the back foot, before Rayasi throws a wonderful one-hand flick pass.
Having initially made good ground up the pitch, Bordeaux actually get pushed back but remain committed to playing the ball through the hands, rather than kicking for territory.
They get their reward after working the ball wide to Bielle-Biarrey, who even from deep in his own half, only has one thing on his mind.
Bordeaux added a couple more tries through similar passages against Leicester. In the second half, an over-the-head offload followed by Tameifuna’s punchy carry created space as Bordeaux profited from more fast ruck ball and sharp offloading.
This allowed them build phases as Tigers struggled to slow their flow, before Bielle-Biarrey steps in at scrum-half and the space opens for a kick behind to send Rayasi through.
Rayasi would score again by side-stepping two Tigers defenders down the right flank – but we’d back Leinster to have a bit more conviction in the tackle should a similar situation present itself on Saturday.
And that’s what it takes to contain Bordeaux; conviction, concentration and organisation for the full 80 minutes.
Even then, the best sides can be exposed against this wonderfully inventive, talented Bordeaux team.
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Quick counters, clever kicking and the occasional maul – how Bordeaux score their tries
BORDEAUX-BÈGLES ARE IN the Champions Cup final on Saturday again, looking to go back-to-back after winning their first title 12 months ago
Leinster stand in their way, returning to the scene of their most recent Champions Cup win (2018), and the match-up of Bordeaux’s lightening attack against the province’s blitz defence promises to create a thrilling spectacle at the San Mamés.
Leo Cullen’s side face a challenge in trying to contain a Bordeaux attack which has once again lit up the tournament this year.
No team scored more tries in the pool stages, with Bordeaux notching up 27 across their four pool wins.
The French side remained highly prolific across the knock-out rounds, scoring nine tries in their 64-14 defeat of Leicester in the round of 16, four in the 30-15 quarter-final win over Toulouse and five as they saw off Bath 38-26 in the semi-finals.
In total, Bordeaux have racked up a competition-leading 305 points on their way to the final, averaging 43.6 points per match (1st) – making them the highest-scoring team in the competition by a clear margin.
A more free-flowing side than Leinster, they average 6.4 tries per game to Leinster’s 4.7. While Leinster average more carries (135.6 to 125.1), Bordeaux average more clean breaks (16.9 to 11.6), offloads (15 to 6.9), and defenders beaten (34.3 to 24.4).
Known for their ability to produce moments of magic and prove lethal on counter-attack, some of Bordeaux’s tries in this season’s Champions Cup have been scintillating, but there’s far more to their game than those joué moments.
Here, we take a closer look at how Yannick Bru’s men have scored their tries along their route to Saturday’s final in Bilbao.
********
As defending champions, Bordeaux kicked-off their pool campaign with a high-scoring win away to the Bulls, where the visitors supplied seven of the 12 tries in a 46-33 win.
Damian Penaud was the first over the line for Bordeaux, and while the winger and Matthieu Jalibert both showed good strength and footwork the Bulls should do better with some of their tackle efforts.
Their second had more of that beautiful Bordeaux flair, propelled by instinctive passing and ‘heads-up’ rugby.
In a piece with The 42 earlier this year, Bordeaux attack coach Noel McNamara explained the mindset around how his team view their attacking passing.
“For us, we would try and stay away as much as possible from just straightforward passing waves and try to find solutions because the reality is, if you don’t catch the ball the way you want to catch it, does that mean you can’t pass it?” McNamara said.
“Ultimately the defence are trying to pose you a problem, and if you don’t catch it in the best possible way, well then it’s ‘Ah, we’ll just go another phase’, whereas we probably look at it a slightly different way where that’s not necessarily what we’re trying to do.
“We’re trying to find the quickest possible way to get the ball to the space.”
This is evident in that second try against the Bulls, where Jalibert is being closed down by two defenders, but instead of carrying into contact he manages to free his hands above his head and pop a basketball-style pass out to Louis Bielle-Biarrey, who does the rest.
That basketball-style pass is a common option used by Bordeaux. In the round three win over Northampton (50-28), centre Yoram Moefana throws a similar pass as Bordeaux counter from a stolen Saints lineout.
And in the round of 16 defeat of Leicester Tigers, Bielle-Biarrey went for the pop-pass inside as Salesi Rayasi finished a weaving team move.
The passage started with a Bordeaux scrum on half-way, where scrum-half Maxime Lucu wants to quickly get his team playing.
While some of the passing is slightly loose, Bordeaux always manage to retain possession and keep the attack flowing, with Rayasi eventually diving over.
Bordeaux can bring that invention to their set-piece plays, too.
Their third try against the Bulls came from a lineout, but instead of looking to power through with their maul, a trick play saw the ball delivered to the short side, where hooker Maxmime Lamothe was waiting to take possession and score.
And of course, Bordeaux were clinical on counter-attack. Their fourth try in Pretoria saw Rayasi make a break before trading offloads with Penaud, the winger then stepping in as scrum-half to send lock Boris Palu over.
Against Northampton, Bordeaux were clinical on kick return. Penaud initially gathers a Saints kick, and steps the first defender before moving the ball inside – always looking to keep the ball moving, making it more difficult for Saints to get set defensively.
Northampton are immediately in trouble, and Rayasi uses his speed and footwork to break from inside his own half and score.
Leicester would also be punished off their own kick when they visited the Stade Chaban-Delmas, Bielle-Biarrey slicing through after collecting a restart.
After cutting into space, the winger then steps through the line before a simple pass inside allows support runner Lucu score under the posts, as the Tigers are ripped open to devastating effect.
Bristol were punished in the same fashion in round four. Louis Rees-Zammit kicks loosely down the middle of the pitch, creating the type of scenario where the French side thrive. Bordeaux gather, and in a flash Jalibert is running into space – a running 10, it’s no surprise he leads the way for defenders beaten in this season’s Champions Cup (34), in the team that top the charts for the same stat (240).
With Bielle-Biarrey on Jalibert’s shoulder, the ending is inevitable. The French winger is the top try-scorer in this season’s Champions Cup, on eight.
Mistakes gets punished in ruthless fashion. Later in the half, a dropped Bristol pass leads to another run-in for Bielle-Biarrey.
Bielle-Biarrey was particularly impactful against the Bears. Here, his tackle knocks a ball loose, leading to another kick, chase and try for his team – their third from turnovers in the game.
The 22-year-old would finish that trip to Ashton Gate with a hat-trick, his third try coming after Bristol failed to deal with a contestable kick as Bordeaux flooded through.
And anyone who watches Bordeaux or France will know the familiar sight of Bielle-Biarrey chasing a low kick behind the defensive line.
This is how Bordeaux’s fifth try arrived against the Bulls, moving the ball wide from a scrum in their own half before Jalibert invited Bielle-Biarrey to chase, with the winger reading a tricky bounce to control the ball with his knee and finish.
Leinster players can watch Bulls winger Sebastien de Klerk and note how any moment of hesitation can be ruthlessly punished when Bielle-Biarrey is around.
Jalibert’s ability with the boot is a huge part of Bordeaux’s attacking threat.
In the round two win over Scarlets, a dropped Bordeaux pass threatened to break down an attack before the out-half was alert to latch onto the loose ball. Where most players would be looking to just secure possession, Jalibert had the skill and quick-thinking to execute a smart chip, squeeze through and score.
Jalibert’s quick thinking makes him a constant threat. In the Northampton game, the out-half seized on another loose ball to run in a score just seconds after the Saints were setting up to attack off their own scrum.
Always ready to pounce, the out-half rarely switches off, as evident in Bordeaux’s second try in the quarter-final defeat of Toulouse. After Jalibert kicked through for Arthur Retière to chase, many 10s would just watch the play unfold, but instead Jalibert chased and used his athleticism to turn the ungathered kick into a try of his own – with no Toulouse defender staying on the Bordeaux 10 after he put boot to ball.
That speed of thought isn’t reserved for flair players in the backline. Moments after Jalibert’s score against Scarlets, prop Jefferson Poirot took advantage of some slow-to-react Scarlets defenders to sneak in and score from close range.
Indeed, the forwards aren’t just battering rams, and are encouraged to use their hands when the opportunity arises. Ben Tameifuna’s try against Leicester ended with hard ball-carrying, but started with the prop showing soft hands to keep the ball alive.
Defending Bordeaux, you have to remain alert no matter how far down the pitch the French side are. Against the Scarlets, a quick-tap penalty from the Bordeaux half saw the ball fired through the hands as Jalibert scored his second. Later in the game, another quick-tap on halfway would lead to Jalibert chipping over the top and kick-starting the move that led to Tiaan Jacobs’ try.
In the semi-final win against Bath, Bordeaux create a try from a relatively low-percentage opportunity. Starting from a scrum between the halfway and Bath 22, they carve Bath open on first phase with a Jalibert break and more of that fast offloading – again, it’s worth noting the excellent handling as Lucu juggles the ball but avoids knocking-on.
Bordeaux pour forward with Bath exposed, and Lucu finishes a clinical score.
Not to say it’s all pedal to the floor. At times, Bordeaux are able to slow it down in the 22, assessing their options before punching a hole. Take the below example against Leicester, where there’s a touch of chaos as a behind-the-back pass leads to another juggled catch. Yet Jalibert doesn’t panic, almost standing still to scan the picture before hitting the accelerator, creating another assist.
And when the situation calls for it, Bordeaux can turn to a power game that can trouble Europe’s best teams.
The quarter-final defeat of Toulouse was always going to be a tighter affair than those high-scoring pool games, so when Bordeaux were presented with an attacking lineout following a tight, scoreless opening quarter, they turned to their pack and went through Toulouse with a powerful driving maul.
They would turn to that power game again as Toulouse momentarily went down to 13 men. Lamothe joins the play after his throw and manages to bulldoze through, despite Toulouse initially defending the maul well.
And when Bordeaux situate themselves just short of the tryline, there’s only going to be one outcome as Tameifuna barges over.
If Bordeaux don’t have the space to stretch teams out wide, Tameifuna is a go-to option in the central positions as the 150kg tighthead is so difficult to stop from close range – as Bath found out in their semi-final – a crucial score as Bordeaux extended their lead in a five-point game entering the final 10 minutes.
Bordeaux can stress teams by building pressure with the speed of their play in the 22. Cameron Woki’s try against Northampton is a good illustration of this.
After blitzing a breakdown around halfway, Rayasi attacks down the left wing, before a good covering tackle by Tommy Freeman. Yet after contact, Rayasi works hard to quickly release the ball.
This triggers a lightening Bordeaux attack powered by quick ruck ball as Saints scramble back into the shape.
The French side make the most of the opportunity through a series of sharp passes to move the play from left to right, finishing with a score for Woki, another dangerous ball-carrier in the Bordeaux pack.
There was similar against Leicester, Bordeaux scoring through keeping possession after the Tigers restart following Lucu’s try.
While Lucu has a kick blocked at the beginning off the passage, Bordeaux never panic and retain possession, holding the ball through some familiar kick and pass options. First, Jalibert uses a chip to get himself out of danger and put Leicester on the back foot, before Rayasi throws a wonderful one-hand flick pass.
Having initially made good ground up the pitch, Bordeaux actually get pushed back but remain committed to playing the ball through the hands, rather than kicking for territory.
They get their reward after working the ball wide to Bielle-Biarrey, who even from deep in his own half, only has one thing on his mind.
Bordeaux added a couple more tries through similar passages against Leicester. In the second half, an over-the-head offload followed by Tameifuna’s punchy carry created space as Bordeaux profited from more fast ruck ball and sharp offloading.
This allowed them build phases as Tigers struggled to slow their flow, before Bielle-Biarrey steps in at scrum-half and the space opens for a kick behind to send Rayasi through.
Rayasi would score again by side-stepping two Tigers defenders down the right flank – but we’d back Leinster to have a bit more conviction in the tackle should a similar situation present itself on Saturday.
And that’s what it takes to contain Bordeaux; conviction, concentration and organisation for the full 80 minutes.
Even then, the best sides can be exposed against this wonderfully inventive, talented Bordeaux team.
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Analysis Champions Cup Rugby Bordeaux-Bègles