Leicester Tigers given Champions Cup 'reality check' by Bordeaux Begles - 'We know we have a lot of work to do'

Leicester Tigers are out of the Champions Cup after a "tough" Easter Sunday defeat to Bordeaux Begles, the defending champions. The French side won 64-14 at the Stade Chaban-Delmas to progress to the last eight. In the day's other game, Leinster beat Edinburgh 49-31 to reach the quarter-finals, where they will face Gallagher PREM side Sale Sharks.

Leicester Tigers were given a Champions Cup "reality check" by Bordeaux Begles.

The Gallagher PREM side were well beaten on Easter Sunday, with the defending champions winning 64-14 at the Stade Chaban Delmas to progress to the quarter-finals of the competition.

In the day's other Champions Cup tie, Leinster beat Edinburgh 49-31 to reach the last eight.

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Leicester head coach Geoff Parling spoke about a "frustrating" performance from his team after the game.

”Very tough, to lose that second quarter 33-0, and allowing them to get in behind us, was tough," Parling told Premier Sports.

"We know how dangerous they are, but we allowed them to win collisions, get behind us. We were inaccurate in what we did, and that is the end result."

Highlights: Bath overcome spirited Sale Sharks effort to keep hold of second place

Video credit: TNT Sports

Parling, however, was pleased with the way Leicester tried to fight back, with the team scoring two tries after the break.

"Very frustrating, but I'm proud of some moments in that second half where we started to fight back," Parling said. "In that third quarter, we did some good things, but, overall, we know we have a lot of work to do.

"That was a really good reality check for us. When you go up against a top team, if you're 5-10% off, you will get hurt, so it is back to hard work for us."

Leinster lie in wait for Sale after beating Edinburgh

Sale Sharks booked their place in the quarter-finals on Saturday by beating fellow Gallager PREM side Harlequins, and they will face Leinster after the four-time champions beat Edinburgh 49-31 at the Aviva Stadium.

Edinburgh led the 12-try shootout with half an hour to go in Dublin when Darcy Graham touched down, but Leinster scored three tries in ten minutes shortly after to advance to the last eight, with Ross Thompson’s 60% success rate from the kicking tee contrasting sharply with the perfect Harry Byrne.

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An uncharacteristically sloppy Leinster went 14-0 up inside 10 minutes and were a sight to behold going forwards all game but their mistakes allowed Edinburgh to stay in touch during the first half that saw a brace for Thompson and tries for Charlie Shiel and Matt Currie in response to scores for Hugo Keenan, Jimmy O’Brien and two Tommy O’Brien five-pointers.

Yet Josh van der Flier responded to Graham’s sucker-punch almost immediately before Tom Clarkson and Reiko Ioane quickly put the game beyond all doubt.

It is another high point in an uncharacteristically inconsistent season for Leinster, who were unbeaten in the Champions Cup pool stage but only sit fourth in the United Rugby Championship having tasted defeat five times in 14 games.

Leinster and Sale have only met once before, in 2023 when the Irish side won 37-27, and Sharks have never advanced past the quarter-finals in Europe’s premier competition having been knocked out at that stage on three occasions.

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