Leinster 19-41 Bordeaux-Begles: ‘Too high a mountain’ as Leinster’s wait goes on

Leinster went to Bilbao with dreams of adding a fifth European star to their badge.

They were hoping for redemption in the Basque city, which hosted the last Champions Cup victory in 2018 and where they could erase the pain of four previous defeats.

But after being stunned by Bordeaux’s superb first-half performance, this game is likely to sting more than most.

Players and staff had talked about the “subtle differences” in previous final defeats, but the gulf could not have been clearer on Saturday.

Tommy O’Brien went through early but this was followed by a display of power and poise dictated largely by Maxime Lucu, Mathieu Jalibert and Louis Bielle-Biarrey.

At the end of the first half, when Yoram Moefana intercepted Harry Byrne’s pass and went under the posts, the game was over and Bordeaux was ahead 35-7.

Leinster improved after the restart and Bordeaux were not as fluent, but the damage was done and the Top 14 team prevailed 41-19.

“I think a theme of the season is finding a way,” captain Caelan Doris told BBC Radio 5Live.

“We fell behind a few times, showed composure and found a way, but despite our good efforts in the second half it was too high a mountain to climb.”