Leinster ran into an inspired Bordeaux as their bid for a fifth Investec Champions Cup title was once again foiled by French opposition in a 41-19 defeat in the final at San Mames Stadium – a fifth Champions Cup final defeat since their most recent title in 2018.
Leo Cullen’s men paid the price for a poor first half which ended in a 35-7 deficit and was lit up by two thrilling tries from France star Louis Bielle-Biarrey and the all-round brilliance of Maxime Lucu.
Tommy O’Brien, Joe McCarthy and Garry Ringrose touched down and, while they made a fight of it after the interval, newly-crowned back-to-back champions Bordeaux had already galloped out of sight.
Lucu kicked two second-half penalties in the searing Bilbao heat to ruthlessly stamp out any prospect of a Leinster uprising to finish as player of the match, the award he also won in the semi-final.
It was a familiar scenario for underdogs Leinster, who since winning their fourth European title in 2018 have now fallen at the final hurdle on five occasions, with four of those against sides from the Top 14.
And it continued the theme of the weekend after another Irish province Ulster were swept away in the Challenge Cup final by Montpellier, underlining France’s dominance of European rugby
Like Ulster the previous evening, Leinster struck first in a promising start, only to have given up an unassailable lead by half-time in the face of irresistible play from French heavyweights.
O’Brien touched down in the right corner after a miss pass by Ringrose after the forwards had carried with intent, but Bordeaux soon delivered a reality check.
The response began with Lucu sniping through the middle after Cameron Woki had almost produced a finish of the season contender and in the 18th minute Leinster were unlocked by a strike move off a scrum scored by Pablo Uberti.
To compound the misery of being exposed off first phase, Cullen’s side were immediately back on the ropes, absorbing waves of attacks and starved of possession.
It was the moment that Bielle-Biarrey took centre stage, first showing dancing feet to jink over as Leinster’s midfield ran out of numbers and then taking the final pass after Matthieu Jalibert had hacked through.
A rare Leinster attack broke down in between Bielle-Biarrey’s double because of a Jack Conan dropped pass and, as they chased the game in first-half overtime, they were picked off by a Yoram Moefana intercept.
They had leaked five tries by half-time, but when play resumed they at least saw the back of Lucu for 10 minutes after the Bordeaux captain pulled Joe McCarthy’s hair.
McCarthy dived over from close range to ram home the advantage and, with Ciaran Frawley having replaced Harry Byrne at fly-half, Leinster looked more dangerous.
Recognising a comeback was still possible, Lucu rifled over a penalty and Bordeaux were seeing a big return from replacement prop Ben Tameifuna at the breakdown.
Over went another Lucu penalty and, while Ringrose added a third try for Leinster, Bordeaux fans had already started the victory celebrations.
