Champions Cup final: How Bordeaux lead French rugby’s golden age

six nations Champions Cup. Challenge Cup

Bordeaux Bagels’ demolition of Leinster completed a European clean sweep for the French men’s rugby team.

A team packed to the brim with the Irish international had no answer for Leinster as Bordeaux became only the sixth team to retain their European crown with a 41-19 win in Bilbao.

It came less than 24 hours later Montpellier had a similar display against Ulster They won the competition for the third time in the Challenge Cup final.

Earlier in the year, after a dramatic end to a thrilling tournament, France also retained their Six Nations title at the expense of Ireland.

For Bordeaux, according to their Irish attack coach Noel McNamara, their inspiration came from Rory McIlroy, who won the Masters for the second time in April as he backed up his historic wait for the green jacket.

The irony of using a Northern Ireland player as inspiration will not be lost.

“We spoke about Rory McIlroy in the quarter-final against Toulouse,” McNamara told the BBC’s Rugby Union Weekly podcast.

“There’s a nice ad that said good players want one green jacket and really good players want two, and we’ve got great players.

“That’s what makes rugby great. They’ve decided that one is not enough. The challenge for us now is we’re a young club, we’re a new club and it continues to set that standard.”