Another vintage year for Bordeaux, another bitter final loss for Leinster. On a hot, unforgiving afternoon in Bilbao there was never the slightest doubt who would be hoisting the trophy into a cloudless Basque sky, such was the clear superiority of the reigning champions. Only Leinster have racked up more points in a Champions Cup final and the scoreboard did not lie.
That reality will not sit easily with anyone connected with an outgunned Leinster. This was their fifth final defeat in eight years, but there was some mitigation. No club side in the world possesses a sharper attacking edge than Bordeaux nor a deadlier finisher than Louis Bielle-Biarrey. The French wing added another two tries to his tally, which now stands at 34 in 30 games this season, and was later confirmed as the player of the year. Factor in the artistic direction of Maxime Lucu and Matthieu Jalibert and their back-to-back titles are not remotely a coincidence.
