Investec Champions Cup Barometer: Bordeaux battle to victory
In the lead up to the 2024-25 Investec Champions Cup round of 16, Morning Wire has put together a barometer in partnership with to assess which teams are hot – and which are not – ahead of April’s knockouts.
Team of the week: Bordeaux
France may have been unstoppable against Italy in the Six Nations but Investec Champions Cup round of 16 contenders Bordeaux were brilliant – without their international contingent – in toppling fellow knockout qualifiers Clermont.
Sipili Falatea, Ben Tameifuna and Damian Penaud – the latter dropped by Les Bleus – crossed the try line in a 22-18 victory over their fellow French team.
And the result ensured that Bordeaux pushed on in the domestic table, where they’re with fellow Champions Cup knockout qualifiers Toulouse and Toulon.
In the knockouts Bordeaux will host Ulster, a club who have lost in the round of 16 in two of the last three seasons, against Toulouse in 2022 and Leinster in 2023.
And the French side will be favourites to reach the last eight when they clash at the Stade Chaban-Delmas in April.
Champions Cup who’s hot…
Castres famously qualified for their round of 16 tie with Benetton by beating Saracens away from home but it is their home form that they’re revered for. They toppled Lyon 30-25 at their Stade Pierre Fabre stronghold this weekend.
Toulouse are top of the French Top 14 for a reason and, despite having a lot of players with France, continued their impressive winning run against Bayonne, beating the Basque club 41-6 on Saturday. They face Sale in the last 16.
…and who’s not
La Rochelle may be struggling at the moment, with an additional 26-21 defeat to Racing 92 at the weekend adding to their woes, but they cannot be counted out in Europe. They face head coach Ronan O’Gara’s Munster in the knockouts.
Clermont needed a response after defeat to Toulouse in their last game but they couldn’t do that, instead losing 22-18 to Bordeaux. Their away tie against English champions Northampton Saints was already looking like a difficult test, but the pressure is ramping up on La Yellow Army.