Union Bordeaux-Bègles beat the English Leicester this Sunday (42-28) despite a complicated first period.
Bordeaux-Bègles, thanks to a resounding return from the locker room, ideally launched its Champions Cup campaign by dominating Leicester (42-28), with six tries, Sunday at the Chaban stadium (pool 1).
Three years after a frustrating setback against the Tigers (13-16) remembered for its 113 recorded kicks, the UBB found its dormant wings this fall and Leicester paid the bill upon returning from the locker room.
In five minutes, Yannick Bru's men, trailing at the break (14-21), scored three tries including a double from chief sprinter Louis Bielle-Biarrey to completely reverse the score (35-21) and once again delight their loyal audience, going through all the feelings until then. Because at the end of the first act, it was annoyance that dominated on the meadow and in the bays following certain decisions by Nika Amashukeli at the whistle and excessive haste in the Girondin game.
Supersonic Bielle-Biarrey
As Leicester surprised by not occupying the foot but by playing, this gave an alert match with Bordeaux responding to each try scored by the English Harry Wells (6th), Josh Bassett (15th) and Côme Joussain, the only Frenchman playing in the Premiership (35). In turn, Samu following an inside return from Matthieu Jalibert (7th) and Guido Petti on a combination in touch (28th) had responded but he had missed a trigger to complete the whole.
He intervened at the break. With the wind at their backs, the UBB took the Tigers in a magical whirlwind of five minutes – double LBB and Pete Samu's try alerted by a cross at the foot of Jalibert – before erecting the barbed wire and allowing almost nothing to pass during long minutes.
Success was definitively acquired seven minutes from time when Nicolas Depoortere, after yet another comeback, went to throw himself into the visiting goal. Leicester, in a disjointed end to the match, ended up being rewarded for their very good first act by in turn recovering an offensive bonus two minutes after the end of regulation time by Izaia Perese, the best player of his team.
