Bordeaux v Leicester: Winners and losers as French star ‘majestic’ while English duo ‘woeful’ in one-sided affair
Bordeaux v Leicester: Winners and losers as French star 'majestic' while English duo 'woeful' in one-sided affair
The brilliant Bordeaux-Bègles were at their very best on Sunday when they defeated an underwhelming Leicester Tigers 64-14 in the Investec Champions Cup round of 16.
Here are our winners and losers from the match.
Winners
Matthieu Jalibert
The French number 10 was utterly majestic in every facet of his game. From calmly chipping the ball over the deflated Leicester defence, to stepping through weak shoulders and offloading the ball to onrushing teammates, the level of freedom displayed by Jalibert resulted in some of the finest front-foot 10 work we have ever seen. He tormented the Leicester defence throughout, appearing to have more time than anyone else on the field as he carried the ball a match-leading 21 times, making six line breaks and beating six players.
Louis Bielle-Biarrey
The 22-year-old proved he has more to him than just his try-scoring abilities. He received the player of the match award, not just for his try, his 179 metres made, five metres made or 13 players left in the dust, but also for his immense teamwork. Watching him stretch his legs is a sight to behold, but instead of disappearing beyond the horizon, he constantly utilised his teammates and it was his support play that truly set him apart.
Forward fluidity
Traditionally, forwards are trusted only to truck the ball up and provide a foundation for the brilliantly talented backs to work their magic, or that’s what a back would say. Well, tradition was thrown out of the window by Bordeaux, who were more than happy to allow their forward pack to experiment with ball in hand and excel using their own individual talents. What we saw as a result was a display of unfiltered, raw flair. Forwards offloading from the base, or in one case, as they were falling to the base only to offload to the oncoming Maxime Lamothe, who incidentally had thrown an out-the-back pass only moments prior, to initiate the attack. There are a maximum of 15 players from one side allowed on the pitch at any one time, but Bordeaux appear to have unleashed a hybrid squad that are capable of all doing each other’s jobs in one way or another to a quality standard.
Billy Searle
While he was perhaps undeservedly benched for this game, after being so instrumental in the pool stage matches, his presence was required at half-time. With Leicester 31 points down, he was given the reins at fly-half, as James O’Connor was pushed out into the centres. His arrival spawned an invigorated Tigers team, as he added greater control and initiated a flair that had not been seen all game. Although his side would still inevitably lose, he got on the scoresheet with a try of his own and proved to Geoff Parling that he is the man to retain control of the 10 shirt.
Maxime Lucu
It was a fantastic return for the French number nine, who has not played in the Champions Cup since round one in December, having missed the 2026 Six Nations through injury. Although he found his box kicks charged down a couple of times, his overall performance was impressive. He ordered the forwards with extreme precision and provided the backs with pinpoint ball. In terms of international selection, he faces the likes of Antoine Dupont and Nolann Le Garrec for the number nine shirt. His return ahead of the inaugural Nations Championship comes as a timely reminder for head coach Fabien Galthie that the Bordeaux star is still very much in the conversation.
Losers
Tigers defence
While Bordeaux were majestic in attack, Leicester was astonishingly poor in defence. They had a 67 per cent tackle success in the first half, making just 63 of their 94 attempted tackles, which led to Bordeaux making 291 post-contact metres. By the end of the match, Leicester had missed a total of 47 tackles, allowing Bordeaux to make a remarkable 525 post-contact metres.
Leicester lineout
Without a solid foundation in place, no team can expect to come out on top, not least against the all-singing, all-dancing Bordeaux. The hosts could play the flamboyant rugby they pride themselves on because they had a foundation laid down. They won their scrums and lineouts and were capable of keeping the ball in possession, whereas Leicester were not. They had just a 57 per cent lineout win rate in the first half, which rose to just 64 per cent by the end of the match.
Adam Radwan
Many fans have questioned why the former Newcastle speedster has been omitted from the England squad for so long. Well, Sunday’s match showed why. He missed four tackles in the first half, was shown up by his opposite wing, Bielle-Biarrey, and couldn’t add much in attack. His weakness in defence was highlighted during Bordeaux’s final try, when full-back Salesi Rayasi simply shrugged off his attempted tackle.
Freddie Steward
Another England player whose stock has deteriorated in recent times, and who won’t have been helped by this performance. His turning circle was violently exposed amid a woeful defensive effort, which saw him miss a game-high of six tackles, including a highlight moment which saw Bielle-Biarrey simply round him without Steward being able to get a finger on the zippy winger. Although he showed promise with ball in hand, his selling point has always been his reliability under the high ball, which counts for nothing if the rest of his defensive game is sub-par.