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Investigates Investigates Money Diaries Daft.ie Property Magazine Allianz Home Magazine The 42 Sports Magazine The Journal TV Climate Crisis Cost of Living Road Safety Newsletters Temperature Check Inside the Newsroom The Journal Investigates The Explainer A deep dive into one big news story Sport meets news, current affairs, society & pop culture have your say Or create a free account to join the discussion Advertisement More Stories Bordeaux's Damian Penaud scores a try.Billy Stickland/INPHO Bordeaux overcome stubborn Saints to land first Champions Cup title The French side’s win marks a milestone achievement for their Irish attack coach, Noel McNamara. 4.49pm, 24 May 2025 Share options Northampton Saints 20 Union Bordeaux-Bègles 28 BORDEAUX-BEGLES ARE Champions Cup winners for the first time in their history, holding out to beat a doggedly determined Northampton Saints team in Cardiff. Bordeaux sprinkled the occasion with moments of brilliance as Northampton dug in to deliver a spirited, full-blooded performance. The sides were level after a gripping first half before a tense second period saw the Saints defend with their lives to keep in the contest. However their efforts ultimately came up short, with the English side failing to register a single point in the second period. Damian Penaud scored two first-half tries for Bordeaux, either side of Adam Coleman’s try, while Cyril Cazeaux supplied their fourth after the break. Alex Coles was the source of Northampton’s two tries, scoring at the start and close of the first half. Penalties from Bordeaux half-backs Matthieu Jalibert and Maxime Lucu also proved crucial as the French side – led by Irish attack coach Noel McNamara – capped a brilliant Champions Cup campaign with an historic victory. Northampton attacked the game from the off, swarming the Bordeaux 22 and moving the ball with speed and purpose. Within the opening two minutes they had landed the first blow, Coles barging over beside the posts with three defenders hanging off him, Fin Smith adding the conversion. It was a dream start for the Premiership team but adversity soon followed as James Ramm limped off with Ollie Sleightholme sent in as his replacement – coming off the bench to feature for the first time since December. The game rumbled along at a ferocious pace. Bordeaux’s first foray into the Northampton end saw them power toward the line before the outstanding Lucu swung a long crossfield in the direction of Penaud, who jumped to compete in the air alongside Northampton’s George Furbank. Neither player claimed the ball as they fell to ground, with Bordeaux fullback Romain Buros the next man on the scene. Buros’ knee collided with Furbank’s head as he chased the loose ball, resulting in a stop in play. Referee Nika Amashukeli saw no foul but the blow resulted in Furbank leaving on a stretcher after a long delay, meaning the Saints had lost two of their starting backs in the opening minutes. George Furbank leaves the pitch on a stretcher.Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo The incident happened with Bordeaux on penalty advantage, and from the lineout they moved the ball the width of the pitch, with Matthieu Jalibert linking with Buros before Penaud got Bordeaux on the board – his try meaning he’d scored in all eight rounds of this competition. Jalibert’s conversion struck the post. Bordeaux continued to look threatening, a knock-on on the deck from Smith inviting the French side to attack again. The scrum was solid and soon Bordeaux were breezing forward, Louis Bielle-Biarrey drifting across to link with Penaud, collecting the return pass to score. The celebrations were short-lived as Bielle-Biarrey’s initial pass to his France teammate was clearly forward. Another warning shot, but Northampton survived. A second Bordeaux try felt inevitable and it arrived on 20 minutes, Jalibert dancing across a handful of defenders in the Saints 22 before popping a pass out to Coleman in the five-meter channel, leaving the big lock with a simple finish. Jalibert clipped over the extras to push Bordeaux into a 12-7 lead. Northampton soon cut the deficit as Smith landed a monster kick after Bordeaux had given away a penalty on the floor. Bordeaux kept applying pressure, Jalibert doing brilliantly to free his hands before Penaud lost the ball in contact. From the scrum Bordeaux flooded in with numbers and forced another error, allowing Jalibert add his first penalty of the game. On the half hour mark Amashukeli went to the TMO to check a high hit from Bordeaux’s Mahamadou Diaby on Saints’ lock Temo Mayanavanua, landing on a yellow card for Diaby. Northampton's Alex Mitchell looks on as Louis Bielle-Biarrey kicks ahead.Billy Stickland / INPHO Billy Stickland / INPHO / INPHO Northampton went to the corner and carries from Sleightholme and Coles brought them within striking distance before the ball was turned over, with Bordeaux then immediately doing the same after Penaud had broken free. Saints went again but struggled to find space against 14-man Bordeaux, eventually winning another penalty which allowed Smith size up the posts and cut the lead to just two points. When the game broke loose, Saints were left scrambling. Bielle-Biarrey did brilliantly to win possession in the air and boot the ball down the field. Penaud went after the bouncing ball and was caught in the air by Tommy Freeman, resulting in a yellow card for the Northampton winger. Bordeaux went searching for try number three from the lineout but were initially held out. The French side then moved the ball from left to right and while Jalibert saw a kick through blocked on the ground, the out-half managed to win possession back and send Penaud over for his second. Jalbert’s conversion from the sideline drifted wide, but Bordeaux now led by seven with half-time fast approaching. Yet Northampton were hanging in and found a way to strike back with the clock in the red – a brilliant play that saw the ball move through the hands at speed before Coles bagged his second try. Smith’s conversion was inch-perfect and somehow, despite those early Saints injury setbacks and all of Bordeaux’s pressure, the sides went in level at 20-20. Advertisement Alex Coles celebrates a try with Alex Mitchell.Dan Sheridan / INPHO Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO Having started and finished the first half strongly, Northampton came flying out of the traps after the restart, Henry Pollock – who had had limited opportunities with ball in hand – breaking through and fending Lucu to score two minutes into the second period. His pulled out a trademark celebration but a TMO review deemed the back row had held back Ben Tameifuna off the ball. Amashukeli was being kept busy and was back with the TMO as Ed Prowse saw yellow for a high hit on Yoram Moefana. Prowse jogged to the sideline as Lucu took over kicking duties to score the first three points of the second half. Bordeaux had the momentum again but Pollock came up with a huge turnover under his own posts to hold the Top 14 side out. It felt like a big moment but Bordeaux quickly forced the ball back into their own hands. A lineout followed and Bordeaux mauled forward, seemingly barreling over. It looked, and should, have been a try, but the replays showed the ball was lost as hooker Maxime Lamothe shoved his way over. The decision was no try, but a penalty for a leg lift by Northampton hooker Curtis Langdon. Back at the lineout, Bordeaux went to maul again but Tom Lockett produced a big intervention to turn the ball over – the latest in a series of massive Northampton defensive plays. Bordeaux appeared to be wilting but sparked back into life, and on 55 minutes they finally broke the Saints’ resistance again – Cazeaux forcing a way through from close range, with Lucu’s conversion just shaving the post as it sailed wide. Bordeaux's Cyril Cazeaux tackled by Northampton's Henry Pollock.Billy Stickland / INPHO Billy Stickland / INPHO / INPHO The game was strictly being played in the Northampton half now but Bordeaux were being made work hard for everything. Entering the final quarter another Bordeaux maul drove toward the tryline but again, Saints managed to hold firm. The scrum provided Bordeaux with a second chance but Saints prop Emmanuel Iyogun won the scrum penalty under serious pressure. With less than 15 to play, Saints finally moved back into the Bordeaux 22 after winning a penalty for a collision in the air. The lineout was good and Sleightholme earned yards with a hard carry, but Bordeaux were patient in defence and won the ball back under their posts. They then turned defence into attack as Bielle-Biarrey went scampering after his own kick downfield, but Litchfield did well to get back and scoop up the ball. On 72 minutes Alex Mitchell was subject to a TMO review for catching Penaud’s arm in the air – no card, but another Bordeaux penalty. They went to the corner, but Coles managed to get a hand to the ball in the air and force a knock-on. Northampton’s defensive efforts couldn’t be faulted, but their failure to score across the second 40 proved costly as Bordeaux celebrated a landmark day in the club’s history. Northampton scorers: Tries – Coles (2) Conversions – Smith [2/2] Penalty – Smith [1/1] Bordeaux scorers: Tries – Penaud (2), Coleman, Cazeaux Conversions – Jalibert [1/3], Lucu [0/1] Penalties – Jalibert [1/1], Lucu [1/1] NORTHAMPTON SAINTS: George Furbank (Tom Litchfield, 6); Tommy Freeman, Fraser Dingwall (capt), Rory Hutchinson, James Ramm (Ollie Sleightholme, 3); Fin Smith, Alex Mitchell; Emmanuel Iyogun (Tarek Haffar, 66), Curtis Langdon (Craig Wright, 61-73), Trevor Davison (Elliot Millar-Mills, 60); Temo Mayanavanua (Ed Prowse, 29), Tom Lockett (Angus Scott-Young, 61); Alex Coles, Josh Kemeny, Henry Pollock. Yellow cards: Freeman 35, Ed Prowse 44 BORDEAUX-BEGLES: Romain Buros (Arthur Retiere, 20); Damian Penaud, Nicolas Depoortere, Yoram Moefana (Rohan Janse van Rensburg, 73), Louis Bielle-Biarrey; Matthieu Jalibert, Maxime Lucu (capt); Jefferson Poirot (Ugo Boniface, 59), Maxime Lamothe (Connor Sa, 62), Sipili Falatea (Ben Tameifuna, HT); Adam Coleman (Pierre Bochaton, 50), Cyril Cazeaux; Mahamadou Diaby (Marko Gazzotti, HT), Guido Petti, Pete Samu (Bastien Vergnes-Taillefer, 67). Yellow card: Diaby 29 Referee: Nika Amashukeli (GEO) Written by Ciarán Kennedy and originally published on The 42 whose award-winning team produces original content that you won’t find anywhere else: on GAA, League of Ireland, women’s sport and boxing, as well as our game-changing rugby coverage, all with an Irish eye. Subscribe here. 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