Saracens suffer heaviest European defeat as ruthless Bordeaux-Begles run riot

Bordeaux-Begles produced a rugby masterclass in the Champions Cup on Sunday as they demolished Saracens 55-15 in a one-sided meeting at Stade Chaban-Delmas.

It truly was a hiding for Saracens and leaves them teetering on a pool stage exit in the competition with just one round to go as Bordeaux-Begles ran in nine tries on the night.

Louis Bielle-Biarrey (2), Romain Buros, Maxime Lamothe, Damian Penaud (2), Nicolas Depoortere, Matthieu Jalibert and Pablo Uberti all scored, to the delight of their fans.

Nick Tompkins and Theo Dan went over for Saracens but it was a hugely disappointing showing, with Owen Farrell one of many to struggle against the in-form French outfit.

Click here for scorers

An electric start saw the hosts score four tries in the first-half to secure the bonus point as Bielle-Biarrey and Penaud scored two tries each in a dominant display from Bordeaux, who remain unbeaten in Pool 1.

Farrell put the first points on the board with a penalty kick in the fourth minute, but Bordeaux instantly responded when Bielle-Biarrey sprinted on the wing to cross four minutes later and Jalibert added the extras.

They earned their second converted try of the game after 12 minutes when a great piece of pressure saw Buros charge through a gap in the Saracens’ defence and touch down to the right of the goalpost before Lamothe added a third just nine minutes later from the maul.

Bordeaux secured the bonus point after 35 minutes when Jalibert kicked off a brilliant team move, powering through the midfield as they caught Saracens on the break and France winger Penaud finished in the corner.

The hosts picked up where they left off just four minutes into the second half through Depoortere and a great move saw Jalibert come in from the inside to touch down between the posts with Maxime Lucu converting.

Penaud earned his second of the game just before the hour mark, with Lucu adding the extras.

A nine-try annihilation at Stade Chaban Delmas. Bordeaux-Begles waltzing into the last 16. Eight wins on the bounce, 10 in a row at home. Ferraris all over the backline and behemoths up front landing punches. Irrepressible tonight. Gorged themselves on every Saracens error.

— Jamie Lyall (@JLyall93) January 14, 2024

Saracens scored their first try of the match five minutes later through Tompkins – with Farrell converting – before adding a second just two minutes later when Dan burst down the left flank to cross.

However, Bordeaux easily reached 50 points with two minutes to go when Farrell’s kick was charged down and Uberti scored from the resulting move before Bielle-Biarrey capped off a dominant performance with the hosts’ ninth try of the evening.

The heavy loss means Saracens dropped below Bristol to fifth in the table with one round of Champions Cup pool games to go.

The teams

Bordeaux-Begles: 15 Romain Buros, 14 Damian Penaud, 13 Nicolas Depoortere, 12 Yoram Moefana, 11 Louis Bielle-Biarrey, 10 Matthieu Jalibert, 9 Maxime Lucu, 8 Pete Samu, 7 Marko Gazzotti, 6 Pierre Bochaton, 5 Adam Coleman, 4 Guido Petti, 3 Ben Tameifuna, 2 Maxime Lamothe, 1 Jefferson Poirot
Replacements: 16 Romain Latterrade, 17 Ugo Boniface, 18 Carlü Sadie, 19 Kane Douglas, 20 Mahamadou Diaby, 21 Antoine Miquel, 22 Paul Abadie, 23 Pablo Uberti

Saracens: 15 Alex Goode, 14 Alex Lewington, 13 Elliot Daly, 12 Nick Tompkins, 11 Sean Maitland, 10 Owen Farrell (c), 9 Ivan van Zyl, 8 Ben Earl, 7 Andy Christie, 6 Nick Isiekwe, 5 Hugh Tizard, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Christian Judge, 2 Theo Dan, 1 Logovi’i Mulipola
Replacements: 16 James Hadfield, 17 Sam Crean, 18 Alec Clarey, 19 Billy Vunipola, 20 Juan Martin Gonzalez, 21 Gareth Simpson, 22 Olly Hartley, 23 Rotimi Segun

Referee: Chris Busby (Ire)
Assistant Referees: Andrew Cole (Ire), Oisin Quinn (Ire)
TMO: Brian MacNeice (Ire)

READ MORE: Will Skelton and La Rochelle thrash Leicester Tigers in statement victory