Champions Cup final: How Bordeaux are leading French rugby’s golden era

Six Nations. Champions Cup. Challenge Cup.

Bordeaux Begles’ demolition job over Leinster completed the European clean sweep for French men’s rugby teams.

Leinster, a side full to the brim of Irish internationals, did not have an answer as Bordeaux romped to a 41-19 victory in Bilbao to become only the sixth side to retain their European crown.

That came less than 24 hours after Montpellier put in a similar showing against Ulster in the Challenge Cup final as they won the competition for the third time.

Earlier in the year, after a dramatic conclusion to a thrilling tournament, France also retained their Six Nations title at the expense of Ireland.

For Bordeaux, according to their Irish attack coach Noel McNamara, their inspiration came from Rory McIlroy, who won the Masters for the second time in April as he backed up his historic wait for the Green Jacket.

The irony of a player from Northern Ireland being used as motivation will not be lost.

“We spoke about Rory McIlroy in the lead-up to the quarter-final against Toulouse,” McNamara told the BBC’s Rugby Union Weekly podcast.

“There’s a beautiful ad that said good players want one Green Jacket and really good players want two, and we’ve got fantastic players.

“That’s what makes the game of rugby wonderful. They made a decision that one isn’t enough. The challenge for us now is we’re a young club, we’re a new club and it’s continuing to set that standard.”