Bordeaux-Begles v Toulouse: Five takeaways as ‘rugby genius’ Louis Bielle-Biarrey stars to end champions’ ‘magnificent reign’

Following a 35-18 victory for Bordeaux-Begles against Toulouse in the Investec Champions Cup semi-final, here’s our five takeaways from Sunday’s game.

The king is dead

The king is dead as proud champions of Europe, Stade Toulousain, finally came to the end of their magnificent reign as Bordeaux defeated them in an epic encounter on the Atlantic Coast.

Five tries came from Pete Samu, Louis Bielle-Biarrey (2), Pierre Bochaton and Ben Tameifuna as Bordeaux overcame set-piece issues to deliver knockout blows in the backline from a glittering array of talent led by the brilliance of Matthieu Jalibert and the pragmatism of Maxime Lucu.

Toulouse stayed in the fight as long as they could, grabbing two tries through Dmitri Delibes and Pierre Louis Barassi but there’s little doubt that their ever lengthening injury list took a toll on their depth and effectiveness in attack.

Bordeaux have booked themselves a final place against Northampton Saints on May 24 in Cardiff, overturning the popular fan and pundit opinions that suggest this season would see a repeat of Leinster against Toulouse.

It was another epic battle, one that underlined the standard of both Top 14 and European and the 42,000 lucky enough to witness it will go home fully satisfied that both teams left nothing out there on the immaculate Matmut pitch.

UBB front up

There’s always been a question about the mental frailties of Bordeaux – a parallel theme with the emotionally driven precocity of their mercurial fly-half, Player of the Match Jalibert. But today, in front a packed Matmut Stadium, both myths were laid to rest as Jalibert delivered a brilliant display to steer his team home.

But with opponents of the calibre of Toulouse, you won’t beat them many times unless your forwards front up and UBB did exactly that, led by a storming performance from hooker Maxime Lamothe, who grabbed three crucial turnovers in a fantastically mobile display around the park. Alongside him, Guido Petti was a towering carrying presence, there to straighten things up and clear messes when his team most needed it.

With Samu, Cyril Cazeaux and Mahamadou Diaby also delivering some big moments, whilst much will be talked about in terms of the brilliance of Jalibert, Bielle-Biarrey and Lucu, this was a win that came from the work of the big men up front, men that lost both set-piece battles but hung on for dear life around ruck and breakdowns to take their team home and to glory.

Electric start

The 2024/25 Investec Champions Cup semi-final round provided an electric match in Dublin on Saturday and it seems that both UBB and Toulouse decided to continue exactly where Leinster and Saints left off in their epic tussle.

A packed Matmut Stadium reached a crescendo as once again France showed that no country does club rugby better than they do, and the players responded to their fans fervour with a thrill a minute first half.

Bordeaux clearly had spent a lot of time focusing on two key themes; competing against the brilliance of Francois Cros, Jack Willis and Julien Marchand at ruck time and, crucially, working a way to stop the human planet that is Emmanuel Meafou. The visitors are prone to use Meafou as their banker to drive out and exit under pressure, but the big lock wasn’t at his best in terms of handling. However, as Toulouse threatened in attack, so the second -ow knocked forward in contact, Nicolas Deportiere threw a magnificent 30m pass in transition and Jalibert simply ignited the afterburners to gas the entire scrambling Toulouse defence to set up on the five metre, where UBB recycled to send Samu over.

It was breathtaking stuff, rugby played at the highest pace and with exquisite handling skills under pressure and a couple of moments later, the visitors replied as a lineout maul gave Romain Ntamack the space to come around on the loop and fire a lovely pass for Delibes to cross on the right flank.

LBB

Bielle-Biarrey is in danger of emptying dictionaries in terms of available superlatives this year and once again he created a try that will feature on virtually every highlights reel of the season. Grabbing the ball on his own 10m line, he gassed around the wide Toulouse defence, before dummying and cutting back to go through one of the world’s finest and best organised systems as if it wasn’t there.

It was a moment where the whole stadium simply watching in amazement at a man who is fast becoming the best winger in the game – and given the competition around at this moment in time in the game, that’s really saying something.

The little maestro might not have Penaud’s ability to find work from nowhere, but there’s a classical shape in the manner he plays – a perfect foil to finish the brilliance of the UBB midfield creativity. He also grabbed another, in the first half, as a scything run by Romain Buros through the middle of the visitors defence allowed UBB to camp on the line, creating the pressure that saw the defence get narrow – and Bielle-Biarrey needed no second invitation to cartwheel over in the corner.

It was a sumptuous display by a world class exponent of his art – and whether you are a red and black or a claret and blue, you could do nothing more than stand and applaud a true rugby genius at the top of his game.

Toulouse underpowered

Stade Toulousain have ruled rugby for a glorious period and if there’s one thing you wouldn’t accuse them of is lacking backline firepower.

However, with an injury list as long as the Channel Tunnel, one that includes superstars of the game like Antoine Dupont, Thomas Ramos, Blair Kinghorn, Peato Mauvaka and three or four others, the finesse and hallmark direct line attacking of the champions was simply not at the levels that they themselves set.

It was a bridge too far for them in rugby terms, proud title holders that simply had nothing left in their legs to give as the pressure of a long season and the absence of so many world class performers left them short of the cutting edge needed to unlock the brilliant Bordeaux defensive effort.

Up front, the brilliant double act of Cros and Willis gave absolutely everything, putting in shifts from the highest possible drawer, and those two, alongside firstly Roumat, but then a monumental impact performance from Anthony Jelonch, did everything they could to keep their Champions Cup record intact – but despite the set-piece dominance, despite the breakdown toil, the simple truth was the Bordeaux backs simply had too much variety and ambition for a generational Toulouse side that have been wonderful and worthy champions.

READ MORE: Investec Champions Cup 2024/25: Finalists decided, kick-off time, venue and date confirmed