Bordeaux Beat Bath to Reach Champions Cup Final
Maxime Lucu scored 18 points as Bordeaux Bègles beat Bath 38-26 and set up a final against Leinster.
Bordeaux Bègles moved one win from back-to-back Champions Cup titles by beating Bath 38-26 in the semi-final, with Maxime Lucu driving the holders through on an 18-point haul. Bath came to Bordeaux with 1998 in the air and a chance to drag old European memory into the present. The Premiership side had history to lean on, but Bordeaux had the better rugby where it mattered: cleaner control, sharper finishing and the nerve to keep the scoreboard moving.
Lucu’s points gave Bordeaux a steady grip on the match, and the home side used that pressure to keep Bath chasing. The scoreline gave Bath enough room to believe, but not enough room to take command. That was the gap between the sides.
Bath had enough quality to stay attached, enough belief to make the semi-final uncomfortable, but Bordeaux kept turning territory and pressure into points. In knockout rugby, that is the difference between threat and damage. For Bordeaux, the win also hardened the shape of their title defence.
