Bordeaux Begles held off a spirited Bath side to secure a 38-26 victory in the Investec Champions Cup semi-final at Stade Atlantique Bordeaux Metropole, setting up a final showdown with Leinster.
Match Overview
The defending champions were forced to work hard for their win, with Bath refusing to go down without a fight. Wing Will Muir scored two tries, including a sublime finish, and Louie Hennessey added another to keep the game alive in the final quarter, but Bath's mistakes proved costly.
Early Exchanges
Kick-off was delayed by 10 minutes to allow fans to enter the stadium, and Bath appeared caught off guard when Bordeaux breached their line after just 110 seconds. Damian Penaud exploited a lack of outside defence before Marko Gazzotti crashed over for the first try. England scrum-half Ben Spencer responded with kicks to each wing, the second picking out Muir for an easy run-in.
Bordeaux Strike Back
Bordeaux exposed Bath's defence again as Louis Bielle-Biarrey scored in the left corner, following a line-out drive that softened up the defence. Alfie Barbeary was prominent as Bath pounded the home whitewash, but their second try came through backs handling, with Henry Arundell's clever run setting up Muir's superb diving finish. Bordeaux struck back immediately with Maxime Lucu scoring after brilliant ball retention, and Lucu added a penalty to establish a 24-12 half-time lead.
Second Half Drama
Bath needed to score next and nearly did, but an inaccurate pass from Finn Russell to Santiago Carreras prevented them crossing in the right corner. Bordeaux's defence scrambled desperately until Hennessey side-stepped over in the 51st minute, ignoring the overlap. Matthieu Jalibert became increasingly influential, and Bordeaux cut loose with more frequency, but Bath hustled effectively, trailing by just five points with 15 minutes remaining.
Late Tries Seal Victory
A powerful Bordeaux line-out drive appeared to produce a try, but Gaetan Barlot lost the ball as he went over. Charlie Ewels received a yellow card for pulling down the maul, and Bordeaux finally cracked when giant prop Ben Tameifuna surged over in the 69th minute. Temo Matiu and Tom Carr-Smith exchanged late tries, but Bordeaux held on for a deserved victory.
Bordeaux advance to the final in Bilbao on 23 May, where they will aim to retain their title against Leinster, who beat Toulon in the other semi-final.
