Bordeaux Begles 'took inspiration' from Rory McIlroy to thrash Leinster in Champions Cup final

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Bordeaux Begles beat Leinster in style to retain their European title, winning 41-19 at San Mames in Bilbao after drawing inspiration from double Masters champion Rory McIlroy.

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Despite conceding an early try through winger Tommy O'Brien, the French outfit hit back with five of their own to blow their Irish opponents away in Saturday's Champions Cup final.

Captain Maxime Lucu, Paolo Uberti, Yoram Moefana and a double from Louis Bielle-Biarrey got the job done as Bordeaux cruised to their second successive title - and only their second of all time.

Bordeaux achieved the feat just like McIlroy did to claim his Masters double. McIlroy retained the prestigious golf title last month, defending the crown he won for the first time last year.

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"We took motivation from that and spoke about Rory McIlroy in the lead-up to the quarter-final against Toulouse," Bordeaux assistant coach Noel McNamara told BBC Sport.

"Good players win one green jacket, great players win two. We have fantastic players. They made the decision that one Champions Cup is not enough."

Bordeaux's success continued France's dominance in the competition.

A French club has won each of the past six editions of the tournament, with Toulouse reigning supreme in 2021 and 2024 while La Rochelle took home the trophy in both years in between.

Toulouse are the record six-time champions, while Leinster - four-time winners of the competition - missed the chance to close the gap with a fifth title.

As for the Irish outfit, they have now lost five Champions Cup finals since they last triumphed in 2018.

"You have to credit Bordeaux," Leinster captain Caelan Doris conceded. "Some of their attack in that first half was incredibly hard to deal with.

"It's an incredibly tough competition to win. I'm proud of the boys for the resilience they showed to keep coming back, and no doubt we'll be back better again next year.

"We've got to stay together. There's a special group of players, and there are some lads moving on, so we're going to have to celebrate them over the next couple of days before turning the page to finish the season with silverware."

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