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.”
- Magnificent Bordeaux thrash Leinster to retain Champions Cup
- ‘Too high a mountain’ as Leinster’s wait goes on
Bordeaux did it the hard way. They beat the United Rugby Championship holders Leinster in the final.
Before that, they battled past reigning English Prem champions Bath in the last four and disposed of Top 14 champions Toulouse in the quarter-finals.
That impressive run of wins underlines how far Bordeaux – who were only formed in 2006 after the merger of Pro D2 side Stade Bordelais and Club Athletique Bordeaux Begles Gironde – are ahead of the rest of Europe.
Behind a powerful yet athletic pack, Louis Bielle-Biarrey’s ability to conjure magic out of nowhere translates as well from the French jersey to his club colours.
In Maxime Lucu, they have arguably the best scrum-half currently playing rugby, which is saying something when Antoine Dupont is the national team captain, and in fly-half Mathieu Jalibert they have a world-class operator to pull the strings.
For McNamara, Lucu and Jalibert’s partnership – which shone for France when Dupont was sidelined with a knee injury – goes beyond what you see on the pitch.
“It’s no happy accident,” he said. They make the effort to connect. They’ve been together for quite a long time.
“I think there’s a really nice symbiosis between the two of them, but honestly a lot of it is work, it’s connecting off the pitch, it’s preparation and it’s understanding what they see.”
Behind it all, says McNamara, is a “very straightforward mindset” and “part of our identity” to celebrate the player who wins a big collision or a crucial turnover as much as the team-mate who scores the try.
“It’s something that really suits our profile and something we’ve worked really hard to build good habits around,” he added.
“I think that’s probably where we’ve probably come on a little bit even this year, just understanding the effort and the work that goes in to create those moments where we’re going to strike, rather than just when that moment comes.”
It is those habits that will drive Bordeaux’s bid to match the great Toulon side of 203-2015 who won three successive Champions Cups.
Can Ireland bridge gap?
Such is France’s stranglehold in the Champions Cup, Top 14 sides have lifted the trophy in each of the last six seasons, with Bordeaux’s double joining two each for La Rochelle and Toulouse.
Leinster have been the losers in four of those deciders, and their wait for a fifth European star will go on.
McNamara, who used to coach at Leinster and with Ireland’s underage set-up, said his former side have shown “remarkable consistency to keep coming back”.
“I think lesser people and lesser teams probably wouldn’t be able to do that, so it’s tough for them. I hope to see them back in the fight next year,” he said.
“It’s an incredibly competitive competition and it creates tough times and tough people.”
Being second best has been a theme this season, too, with Andy Farrell’s Ireland and Ulster also the best of the rest in the other competitions.
Tony McWhirter, a 1999 European Cup winner with Ulster, feels French rugby “is completely different” as sides target European glory as a priority.
He said France have the money to build their club structure around the best players in the game, while Ireland’s focus is on developing the international side.
“You could see what it meant to Bordeaux to win it, and the same with Montpellier,” McWhirter said on the Ireland Rugby Social podcast.
“The issue is we are talking about taking ourselves from being second, and the problem from the weekend is that it shows we are probably not close enough to make that move to be number one.
“We’re not too far away and we’re building to get there, but French rugby is in a different place at the minute.”