Union Bordeuax Begles are your 2026 Champions Cup winners after beating Leinter 41-19 in yesterday’s Final in Bilbao. Leinster did start brightly scoring through Tommy O Brien and Harry Byrne converted but unfortunately from a Leinster point of view that is as good as it got barring a few late scores to gloss over the cracks and improve the scoreline.
Bordeaux flexed their muscles yesterday and put the defending URC champions to the sword. It is a 6th French winner over the past 6 years and that should really have all in the much vaunted Gallagher Prem and URC scratching their heads as to how the Champions Cup may end up back in the cabinet of one of their sides over the next couple of years.
The Top 14 has gotten a vice like grip on the Champions Cup and the Challenge Cup as Ulster’s challenge on Friday night also wilted in the Bilbao heat. The Champions Cup will of course be questioned again by plenty in terms of the whole set up and why the competition was altered back in 2014.
Leinster are yet again waking up and left pondering what may have been as that was a 10th appearance in the Champions Cup Final and worryingly for those hopeful contenders a 5th defeat in a row and as I mentioned a 6th consecutive French winner.
Leinster will have to wait until the season is ended to properly review what occurred in Bilbao but it’s another defeat and while winning the URC is special, this group seeminly hold themselves to those lofty high standards of winning in Europe year in and out.
Yes they have made a number of finals in recent times but have come out the wrong side to the result far too many times for it to be a “blip” and I don’t think “learnings” will work either, Questions have to be asked of the coaching group while certain big name players didn’t perform on the big day.
Reiko Ioane was brought in hot on the heels of Jordie Barrett from December of 2025 until now and may have 3 further games in blue if Leinster make in to the URC Grand Final on June 20th. Bordeaux are coached by Yannick Bru, he of course is assisted by men like Shaun Sowerby and Clare man Noel Mc Namara who looks after the Bordeaux backs.
Bordeaux’s win was built on solid defence, power up front in the set piece and attacking play that has seen them freely score tries from anywhere with the likes of Maxime Lucu and Mathieu Jailbert leading the way helped by Louie Bielle Biarrey, Damien Penaud who now goes one better than his father Alain who won a Heineken Cup in 97 with Brive by winning his 2nd medal yesterday.
The frightening this is, they went unbeaten again this campaign and will now have sights on a 3rd straight title in 2027.
No one would back against them doing it like Toulon did back in the mid 2000s. Like Toulon, they are backed heavily by a wealthy owner and have a strength in depth that others teams can only dream of no matter what may be said by those in public.
From an Irish point of view, yesterday was another sobering reminder of how far the 4 teams may still need to climb to reach the summit of Europe’s premier competition. Leinster have been to the big dance several times but have been beaten each time and yesterday they were dismantled by Bordeaux.
Leinster have something close to the strength in depth of the Top 14 but maybe the quality isn’t quite of the Top 14 standard in particular at this minute which is something that those in charge of at Leinster and the IRFU may need to look into at the end of the season.
The French strangle hold will be broken of course as other strangle holds were in years past but this will take some creative thinking from teams and coaches across the URC and Gallagher Prem to see who is good enough to come out of the pack and take the Trophy away from Bordeaux and the Top 14 sides.
Huge congratulations goes to Union Bordeaux Begles on winning the Champions Cup for a 2nd straight year, well done to Noel Mc Namara who recently signed a long term contract to stay in Bordeaux for another few years, his coaching stock has risen since his time with the Ireland under 20s and his time with the Leinster academy as manager. He spent time in the URC with the Sharks who are based in Durban.
He coaching expertise will be much sought after you can be sure so well done to Bordeaux for getting him to sign the aforementioned long term deal earlier in the campaign.
For Leinster, it’s back to the drawing board although I am sure that is getting harder to do as the years go by but they have to try and get going again to see can they defend the URC crown they won last year…..