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L'Union Bordeaux-Bègles sera immédiatement dans le bain pour sa première journée en Amlin Challenge Cup
Bordeaux-Begles coach Raphael Ibanez insists his side are not getting carried away with their Top 14 form as they head into European Rugby Challenge Cup action.
Ibanez’s men have been in stunning form of late, running in 15 tries and scoring 110 points in wins over Clermont Auvergne and Castres Olympique over the past two weekends.
Bordeaux are currently occupying third spot in the Top 14 but Ibanez remains cautious about his side’s chances this season as they prepare to welcome Edinburgh to France on Friday night.
“We are only a third of the way through the season,” said Ibanez. “So there is still a very long way to go. I am fully aware that we were up against a Castres side that was weakened by several absences, particularly some key players.
“We have had the good fortune to put together two good performances at home. We are expecting a very difficult game in Europe.”
Bordeaux forwards coach Regis Sonnes said there would be no chance of them taking the competition lightly because of their progress in the Top 14. Sonnes said: “It also allows us to work the accuracy of our launches and to develop new strategies for offensive moves. In elite sport, if we do not try to change, if it stagnates, it regresses. We must always try to move.
“It is not like two or three years where there was a majority of second-string players who were playing. These are players who train every day, professionals who have already played games in the Top 14.”
Bordeaux have won three of their last five games in the competition but before that had lost their previous nine. This season’s return to the Challenge Cup is Edinburgh’s first appearance in the tournament since 1997/98, when they lost four of their six pool games.
Match Facts
- Edinburgh have not appeared in this competition since 1997/98, that season they lost four of their six pool games.
- Bordeaux-Begles have won three of their last five games in this competition but before that had lost their previous nine.
- Only one player made more clean breaks than Charles Brousse (12) last season.
- Edinburgh made the most tackles per game and had the best tackle success rate (90%) in the Heineken Cup last season.
Toujours invaincu dans la compétition
A late penalty try saw Edinburgh snatch a dramatic 15-13 victory against high-flying Bordeaux-Begles in France – only their third win in Europe on French soil in 20 games.
Welsh official Neil Hennessy binned Bordeaux’s New Zealand flanker Matt Graham for infringing as Edinburgh’s scrum edged forward and awarded a penalty try. And replacement Tom Heatcote held his nerve to add the winning conversion front in front of the posts.
Dougie Fyfe had earlier crossed while Bordeaux looked to have the game won after Baptiste Serin scored and Lionel Beauxis added three kicks. The victory at Stade Andre Moga provided Edinburgh with the perfect start to their Pool 4 campaign, though it was tempered by an ankle injury to captain Mike Coman.
The skipper hobbled off after just six minutes during a lively opening yet the only points of a first half that steadily wore down to a fractious game were provided by a solitary Beauxis penalty.
Trailing just 3-0 at half-time at Stade Andre Moga, Edinburgh came out for the second-half sensing an opportunity and took the lead within five minutes through Scotland wing Fyfe. However, the conversion drifted wide and the visitors looked to have let the initiative slip when Taisasina Tuifua, Beauxis and full-back Darly Domvo combined to hand scrum-half Serin a try.
Beauxis converted to lead 10-5 before it was extended further when Phil Burleigh was binned for a foul on Romain Lonca. But Edinburgh’s 14 men rallied and Heathcote clawed back three points before the late drama.
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