Match Report: Exeter Chiefs 17 – 69 Bordeaux Begles

Eleven tries scored by Bordeaux Begles at Sandy Park saw the Frenchman secure a dominant victory over Exeter Chiefs in today’s Round Three Investec Champions Cup match.

It was a storybook start to the match for competition debutant, Paul Brown-Bampoe when he scored a length of the field try to open the scoring.

Chiefs were being put under pressure by repeated infringements within five metres of their own line. The scrum held up for the first barrage when a second defensive set forced a fumble from Bordeaux.

Brown-Bampoe scrambled to recover the ball off the floor and looked up to find one man stood between him and an empty backfield. He trusted his pace, broke through contact and sprinted the length of the touchline to cross much to the rapturous applause of his teammates and supporters.

Bordeaux immediately returned the favour when quick offloads in the midfield put them on the front foot. Yoram Moefana broke into the Chiefs 22 with Maxime Lucu his support runner. In a two-on-one with Stu Townsend, Moefana held the pass long enough to put his scrum half in beneath the posts.

Mathieu Jalibert converted the score to take his side ahead on the scoreboard.

Lucu was again the dangerman when Bordeaux scored a second after 15 minutes. With a three man overlap in the five-metre channel, he gave the offload. Damian Penaud took the final pass to glide over for the try.

As the clock ticked passed 30 minutes played, Penaud returned the favour. The international winger gave an offload 10 metres out to send Lucu over for his second. Jalibert converted to take Bordeaux into the 20s.

On the field early for an injury to Romain Buros, speedy replacement Louis Bielle-Biarrey scored the bonus point try before the half was finished. Taking a quick tap from a penalty given five metres out, the Frenchmen fired the ball through the phases across field.

Bielle-Biarrey took the pass and a tackle from Tamati Tua but was able to roll over in contact over the line to dot the ball down for the all-important score.

There was just enough time left in the half for hooker Maxime Lamothe to score a fifth from the bottom of a maul to make Bordeaux’s half-time lead a convincing one. Jalibert’s conversion pulled wide as the sides returned to the changing rooms.

Half-time: Chiefs 5 – 31 Bordeaux

There was heartbreak for Chiefs at the start of the second half when Brown-Bampoe misjudged his marked man, thinking him in touch when in fact he was able to chip the ball back into play at the corner flag. Penaud dived upon the live ball and the try was given after a TMO check.

It may have been small in the grand scheme of the points difference between the two sides, but Brown-Bampoe scored a brace-securing try on 48 minutes. Chiefs worked quickly off the back of a lineout pick and the young winger once again put faith in his footwork. Wrestling out of an attempted tackle, he crossed the line for the score.

Henry Slade added the conversion to top up the points.

Bordeaux breached the 40-point mark before an hour was played. Chiefs held up the first three attacks on their line but there was a weight disadvantage when Ben Hammersley was forced to attempt to hold up second row Cyril Cazeaux in the corner.

The Frenchman forced his weight into the winger and found a gap of space to place the ball down for the score.

Another try came just minutes later. A penalty just inside their own half was taken quickly by Bordeaux and as Chiefs players desperately tried to retreat as to not infringe again by tackling too early, Jalibert streaked through and into the Chiefs half. Bielle-Biarrey took the pass in the 22 to run in the score before his fly-half added the extras.

Just as Chiefs were on the counterattack from the restart, an intercepted pass allowed Penaud to run down the wing before putting in a long pass to give Jalibert the score underneath the posts. The fly half took the simple conversion himself.

As Chiefs feverishly tried to not give away more penalties, Bordeaux broke through the line for another try on 65 minutes with Lucu’s replacement Yann Lesgourgues the scorer.

Bordeaux were reduced to 14 men for the closing 12 minutes of the encounter when replacement tighthead prop Toma Taufa was shown a red card for a high tackle on Hammersley.

The Chiefs winger recovered to immediately score a retaliating try for Chiefs.

The last score of the game was to be a Bordeaux one. Penaud was the man on the end of it, securing a try hattrick for himself and scoring his side’s tenth of the match. Jalibert’s conversion took Bordeaux’s tally to a single point shy of 70 scored and put the sealant on their dominant win.

Full-time: Chiefs 17 – 69 Bordeaux

Chiefs: T Wyatt; B Hammersley (Rigg 26’, Hammersley 40’), Z Wimbush (Rigg 68’), T Tua (Haydon-Wood 55’), P Brown-Bampoe; H Slade, S Townsend (Cairns 55’); S Sio (Goodrick-Clarke 48’), D Frost (Norey 48’), J Iosefa-Scott (J Roots 48’), D Jenkins (c), F Molina (Tshiunza 48’), E Roots, J Vermeulen Tuima 55’), G Fisilau.

Tries: Brown-Bampoe 2, Hammersley Conversions: Slade

Bordeaux: R Buros (Bielle-Biarrey 26’); D Penaud, Y Moefana, R Janse Van Rensburg, P Ubertu; M Jalibert, M Lucu (Lesgourgues 64’); U Boniface (Poirot 47’), M Lamothe (Latterrade 55’), C Sadie (Taufa 55’), G Petti (Ricard 55’), C Cazeaux (Sadie 73’), L Swinton (Vergnes 60’), T Matiu, T Tatafu (Gazzotti 47’).

Tries: Lucu 2, Penaud 3, Bielle-Biarrey 2, Lamothe, Cazeaux, Jalibert, Lesgourgues Conversions: Jalibert 6

Red card: Toma Taufa

Referee: Ben Whitehouse

Attendance: 10,234