3 min: What a shame. Ramm is hobbling off. Sleightholme replaces him. Coles gets there! What a start from the Saints. Bordeaux haven’t touched the ball from the kick-off. Mitchell kept the tempo going after the penalty advantage and after hammering the line, big Coles bust over the gainline and reached out to dot down. Smith slots the extras. Breathless start. 2 min: Langdon is a metre out. They’re hammering the line. Coles reaches out… 1 min: Saints kick off and secure the ball. Coles has a charge. So does Davison. Now they go down the line, Fuerbank floats one out to Hutchinson who is held up by Bielle-Biarey. Jalibert nicks it but there’s an advantage that Mitchell takes quickly… The players are in the tunnel. Oh, Bordeaux have gone with a 6-2 split. Northampton are sticking with a 5-3. Is that a sign of how they intend to go about their business? Out they come to fireworks and loud music and manic cheers. This feels like a serious event. Lawrence Dallaglio on Premier Sports has the final word of the build up. He’s backing Saints to win. If you’re going to press me to make a prediction I think that Bordeaux’s pack will be the difference. Both sides have the firepower out wide and through midfield, but it’ll come down to the heavies and their ability to get the flyers enough ball. Then again, I thought the same in the Leinster game and Northampton proved me wrong there. Aaaah! I just don’t know. OK, time to make a call. Bordeaux to edge a thriller by less than a score. The only way Northampton win this (in my humble opinion) is if they storm to a 10+ point lead early doors and manage to match Bordeaux score for score thereafter. But I don’t see it happening. Quick, get your predictions in before the game starts. Phil Dowson is chatting with Premier Sports: Are we a team that is more than the sum of its parts? I believe that we are. We’re blessed to have guys who have come through [the academy] together. We need to make sure we focus on our performance. The players have spoken how [beating Leinster] can’t be the pinnacle of our season. STAT ALERT! Bordeaux have scored more tries from their own half than they have from moves starting in the opposition’s territory. Maybe read that again. That is staggering! Perhaps it’s no surprise when they have Louis Bielle-Biarrey who this week won the Pat Marshall Memorial Award, handed out by the Rugby Union Writers’ Club. The 21-year-old is the youngest to ever win this prestigious gong but he’s more than deserving, having dotted down for 31 tries for club and country this season. Naturally so much of the prematch chat has focussed on Henry Pollock. His England coach, Steve Borthwick, reckons he’s in with a shout of starting for the Lions this summer. I’m not so sure myself – though I’d have him coming off the bench. He’s a game changer. But can he handle the extra heft of this Bordeaux pack? His personal battle with Samu could be the difference maker in this contest. Here’s Borthwick on the starboy of the moment: Shout out to Paul Moody in Brazil who has written in: “Am excited. About this too. Drama awaits” A man of few words. But what else needs to be said? Things are hotting up! While we wait, get stuck into some more top writing. Here’s Ugo Monye encouraging Northampton to let rip and attack, attack, ATTACK! No surprise from the former Quins, England and Lions winger – that’s his attitude more or less with every rugby match. But on this one he’s spot on. No sense in the Saints going away from what’s brought them so much success over the past two seasons. The backline is littered with superstars. But don’t sleep on that pack. This bunch of heavies got the better of Toulouse three times this season and the Australian Pete Samu is – for my money – one of the form loose forwards in the world. If the forwards get go-forward ball, those backs will have freedom to do their stuff. Bordeaux-Begles: Buros; Penaud, Depoortere, Moefana, Bielle-Biarrey; Jalibert, Lucu (c); Poirot, Lamothe, Falatea, Coleman, Cazeaux, Diaby, Petti, Samu. Replacements: Sa, Boniface, Tameifuna, Bochaton, Vergnes, Gazzotti, Retiere, Janse van Rensberg. A couple of Northampton players are undergoing fitness tests as we speak. Alex Coles in particular is a small doubt, but right now he’s scheduled to start. Henry Pollock slots in at 8 after Juarno Augustus was injured in the win against Leinster. George Furbank returns to 15 which means James Ramm slots in on the wing. Northampton: Furbank; Freeman, Dingwall (c), Hutchinson, Ramm; Smith, Mitchell; Iyogun, Langdon, Davison, Mayanavanua, Lockett, Coles, Kemeny, Pollock. Replacements: Wright, Haffar, Millar Mills, Prose, Scott-Young, James, Litchfield, Sleightholme There’s loads of great reading to get you in the mood for this one. Let’s kick off with a ripping chat between Fin Smith and Don McRae: And when you’re done with that, here’s Rob Kitson on Northampton’s ‘mix of ingredients’: This could be an iconic day for English rugby. With Bath lifting the Challenge Cup last night, with Ben Spencer and Finn Russell leading the way, a Northampton win would mark a historic double for the Premiership. Read Rob Kitson’s report here: It’s the most glittering prize in club rugby, staged at one of the sport’s great cathedrals, contested by two of the most dynamic teams in the competition. You don’t always get what you want but sometimes you do. And here in Cardiff, the rugby gods have played ball. Bordeaux Bègles head into this final in red hot form. They top the Champions Cup across a range of metrics including points scored, tries notched, metres made and line breaks. Worryingly – as far as their opponents are concerned - they also occupy first place when it comes to turnovers procured, which means the likes of Damien Penaud, Louis Bielle-Biarrey, Mathiew Jalibert and Maxime Lucu can wreak havoc from broken play. But Northampton Saints have a few ballers of their own, including four British & Irish Lions recruits in Henry Pollock, Fin Smith, Alex Mitchell and Tommy Freeman. They upset the bookmakers by beating Leinster in the semis and won’t fear their mighty French foes. I’ll eat my hat if this is a stodgy game of attrition. My guess is that the winner will need at least 30 points to triumph. Tries, off-loads, side-steps, mazy runs and last ditch ankle taps; this promises to be one for the romantics. In case it wasn’t clear I’m positively buzzing for this. Hope you are too. If you fancy writing in I’d love to hear from you. Even better if you’re writing in from Cardiff where things will kick off at 2:45 BST.
Author: Daniel Gallan