Bordeaux-Begles player ratings vs Leinster | 2025/26 Investec Champions Cup final

Bordeaux-Begles player ratings: Bordeaux retained their Investec Champions Cup title on Saturday in devastating fashion, annihilating Leinster 41-19 at Bilbao’s San Mamés Stadium.

In the sweltering Spanish weather, the Bordelais brought the heat, rebounding from an early Leinster score to dominate almost every aspect of the game.

In truth, the match was over at half time, or even before then, with the reigning champions heading into the tunnel with a 35-7 lead. Leinster put up more of a fight after the break, but the damage had already been done. Here’s how the Bordeaux players rated:

15 Salesi Rayasi – 8
Put Pablo Uberti in for Bordeaux’s second try, drawing the defence in to give his wing an easy run-in. Plucked an interception after 50 minutes to completely shift the momentum of the match after Leinster had made a promising start to the second half.

14 Pablo Uberti – 7.5
Combative and physical on the right flank, and while he wasn’t gifted swathes of space – save for his try – he got a good return on the carries he made.

13 Damian Penaud – 7
Sometimes luck is just on your side, and the way the ball bounced kindly into Penaud’s hands — and away from Jamison Gibson-Park — after the hacked kick perfectly summed that up. Maybe wasn’t given the opportunities to be at his free-running best, but was still able to produce a defining intervention. An early tackle on Tommy O’Brien was one of the few mistakes Bordeaux made, though he was penalised again later in the half for being offside.

12 Yoram Moefana – 8.5
Flew out the line all match and was ruthless in cutting down his opposing carrier behind the gainline, and, even better, forcing knock-ons due to his pressure. His interception on the stroke of half time, giving a 35-7 lead, meant the engraver could get to work on the trophy 40 minutes early. Either side of the ball, he was industrious.

11 Louis Bielle-Biarrey – 8.5
Dotted over for Bordeaux’s third, stepping off his left foot twice to beat two scrambling Leinster defenders, and had his second shortly before half time, supporting Penaud after the ball fortuitously bounced into his hands. As soon as the ball was in his hands, every Leinster and Bordeaux fan knew a try was inevitable. Faultless in everything he did – even a fluffed kick that appeared to go dead actually came off a Leinster finger.

10 Matthieu Jalibert – 9
Picked Leinster’s defence apart with his wide pass, which put Uberti in for Bordeaux’s second try. Simply, Leinster could not contain him. Even when they were able to arrest him, he was more often than not able to get the ball away, shown in Bielle-Biarrey’s opening try.

9 Maxime Lucu – 9
Sniped over for Bordeaux’s first try minutes after he tried to scramble across to stop Tommy O’Brien’s try. Chipped in with plenty of tackles again around the fringes, although one tackle resulted in a yellow card (a controversial one) shortly after half time, and didn’t offer much resistance stopping Garry Ringrose late on. Leinster certainly had control of the match while he was off, although they only came away with five points, but he came back on to control the match entirely. On top of that, he kicked perfectly off the tee, including a 50 metre + howitzer.

1 Jefferson Poirot – 7
A contribution of 11 tackles, two of which were dominant tackles, and one turnover in little over a half of rugby is the kind of defensive effort Poirot has been making all season, all the more impressive in sapping conditions.

2 Maxime Lamothe – 7
Perfect in the lineout during his 55 minutes on the field, which would have been objective number one. Quietly effective elsewhere, hitting double figures in tackles, though there weren’t any flashy offloads or runs, which the hooker has in his locker.

3 Carlu Sadie – 7
Not at his incorrigible best at the scrum, and had been marched backwards – resulting in a penalty advantage – shortly before being substituted on the 50-minute mark.

4 Boris Palu – 8
The type of defensive effort which wins Championships, harrying Leinster carriers and ensuring the Irish outfit had little to no superiority in the exchanges in the tight. This was particularly important in the second half, as Bordeaux repelled wave after wave of Leinster attacks.

5 Adam Coleman – 6
Only managed the first half, and contributed adequately without any standout moments. An integral member of a pack that hit rucks continuously to allow Bordeaux to play with speed.

6 Pierre Bochaton – 7
Another key cog in Bordeaux’s brick wall-esque defensive shift in the second half, where the French outfit made significantly more tackles than Leinster, topping the tackle count for the match, with 17.

7 Cameron Woki – 7.5
Came close to an acrobatic finish in the corner in reply to Leinster’s early try. His presence in the lineout not only meant Bordeaux’s set-piece functioned smoothly, but he pressurised the Leinster pack throughout the match. Left the field after 50 minutes, appearing in serious pain.

8 Marko Gazzotti – 8
As flashy as Bordeaux are, they rely on players like Gazzotti carrying with tempo, and so too his team-mates clearing out with tempo. Hit double figures with both carries and tackles.

Points Flow Chart

Bordeaux win +22

Time in lead

8

Mins in lead

64

10%

% Of Game In Lead

79%

71%

Possession Last 10 min

29%

7

Points Last 10 min

0

Replacements
16 Gaëtan Barlot – 5
Had the lineout still functioning smoothly after entering with 25 minutes remaining. Penalised, and may have been wondering if a yellow was coming, after lifting a carrier above the horizontal, and then fluffed a throw.

17 Ugo Boniface – 4
Yellow-carded for a daft cheap shot on James Ryan in a ruck with Bordeaux in a promising position, the game already won and with only a few minutes on the clock.

18 Ben Tameifuna – 8
Came on with Bordeaux under a slight bit of pressure – albeit still 35-12 in the lead – and after a Bordeaux scrum had just gone backwards. Pulled off a huge turnover in his own 22 when Leinster were adding increasing pressure, and won another penalty over the ball on the hour mark.

19 Lachlan Swinton – 6
Came on for the second half, which was actually a half that Bordeaux lost 12-6. Contributed with tackles, which was the story of the second half.

20 Temo Matiu – 7
Ensured there was no dip in defensive pressure when he came on, chasing kicks and bringing line speed, putting in 11 tackles from the bench.

21 Bastien Vergnes-Taillefer – 6
Couldn’t stop Ringrose crashing over for a try in the closing stages, though the match was already won at that stage.

22 Arthur Retière – 6
Came on for the final 20 minutes, but there wasn’t much to write home about. It was a game where his predecessors had stolen the show,

23 Hugo Reus – 6
Given 10 minutes at the end and entered with a 29-point lead, which was a pressure-free situation he may not have been expecting.