Northampton Saints player ratings: 2025 Champions Cup final vs Bordeaux-Begles
Rugby NewsSaturday, 24 May 2025 at 16:48
Northampton Saints players ratings as the Premiership side fell to a narrow defeat against Bordeaux-Begles in the Champions Cup final.
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Bordeaux-Begles have won the 2025 Investec Champions Cup, after an incredible final in Cardiff. Bordeaux take home the trophy for the first time in their history, after a six-try 'classique' against Northampton Saints finished 28-20 in the Princiaplity Stadium.
Scroll down for Northampton Saints player ratings.
Northampton were off to the races, with a try in the Champions Cup Final after just three minutes of play. England forward Alex Coles was the man to get the Saints on the board, as he muscled his way over the line from close range. Fin Smith's calm head led to the full seven points being collected from the Saints first trip down-field.
Double injury jeopardy would then strike the Saints, as James Ramm and George Furbank departed after three and five minutes. Ramm exited the final after a heavy hit in the build up to Coles' try, whilst Furbank's return from an arm injury was devastatingly short, as he was knocked unconscious from a nasty collision with Nicolas Depoortere's knee.
Ollie Sleightholme made his own return from injury, after being previously written out for the rest of the season with an ankle injury. He entered the fray alongside Tom Litchfield, but the disjointed Saints proved the perfect opening for Damien Penaud to score his side's first of the afternoon.
It was a simple score in the corner for the experienced French wing, as he collected a pass from Yoram Moefana. Matthieu Jalibert's first effort off the tee hit the post, as Saints clung on to the lead. Louis Bielle-Biarrey then had a try dissallowed for a forward pass, as Bordeaux built solid first half momentum.
The French club struck again at the 20 minute mark. This is no exaggeration, Jalibert beat six Northampton players, before he found Adam Coleman out wide with a classy basketball style pass. The Australian cantered over the line to score and Jalibert nailed his first effort off the tee for a five point lead.
Fin Smith and Jalibert then went tee-to-tee, with the halfbacks each striking home well taken penalties to keep their respective score-boards ticking over.
Henry Pollock thought he'd scored at the half hour mark, yet his run into the back-field to chase Smith's searching kick was adjudged as offside. The first cards of the final were brandished, as Bordeaux back row Mohamadou Diaby was sin-binned for a high shot on Saints lock Temo Mayanavanua, who failed a subsequent HIA. Tommy Freeman soon joined Diaby in the bin, after tackling Penaud whilst the French wing was air-born.
Penaud would bag his second try three minutes before the break, in what was a scruffy score from Bordeaux's immaculate standards. The flying Frenchman caught a skewed pass from Jalibert after a failed grubber bounced awkwardly for the Saints defenders to clear. No conversion from out-wide, which opened the door for Saints to draw level on the stroke of half-time.
It was Alex Coles who popped up for his second try, with the move Started by prop Trevor Davison's turnover. The Saints pinned Bordeaux in the corner, before quick hands found Sleightholme, who offloaded back inside to Coles to secure a brace. Smith nailed the extras for the score-line to read 20-20 at the interval. Fin nails the extras for a level score-line at half-time. 20-20.
The second half began with Henry Pollock once again convinced he'd scored, along with everyone in the sold-out Principality Stadium. Pollock capped off his try with a new 'calm down' celebration, before it was ruled out, as the ball was lost forward in the build up.
Then, much like how Bath had done the night before, Northampton had to defend with 13 men as replacement lock Ed Prowse was sin binned for a high hit on Moefana. Maxime Lucu nailed the following penalty for a three point lead. Another disallowed try then followed in the dramatic final, as Bordeaux hooker Maxime Lamothe's grounding of a rolling maul was not under his own control.
Bordeaux remained in the driver's seat, with their fourth try coming after 55 minutes. Despite a dubiously forward pass in the build-up from Bielle-Biarrey, lock Cyril Cazeaux forced his way forward and across the whitewash. Lucu missed the conversion out wide, yet Bordeaux still led by a score at 28-20.
The deficit would remain until the final whistle, as Bordeaux were crowned champions of Europe for the first time in their history.
NORTHAMPTON SAINTS: 20
TRIES: 2 (Coles 3' 40')
CONVERSIONS: 2 (Smith 3' 40')
PENALTIES: 2 (Smith 24', 31')
DROP GOALS: 0
YELLOW CARDS: 2 (Freeman 36', Prowse 43')
RED CARDS: 0
STARTING XV: 15. George Furbank 14. Tommy Freeman 13. Fraser Dingwall 12. Rory Hutchinson 11. James Ramm 10. Fin Smith 9. Alex Mitchell 1. Emmanuel Iyogun 2. Curtis Langdon 3. Trevor Davison 4. Temo Mayanavanua 5. Tom Lockett 6. Alex Coles 7. Josh Kemeny 8. Henry Pollock
REPLACEMENTS: 16. Craig Wright 17. Tarek Haffar 18. Elliot Millar Mills 19. Ed Prowse 20. Angus Scott-Young 21. Tom James 22. Tom Litchfield 23. Ollie Sleightholme
UNION BORDEAUX-BEGLES: 28
TRIES: 4 (Penaud 6', 37', Coleman 21', Cazeaux 55')
CONVERSIONS: 1 (Jalibert 21')
PENALTIES: 2 (Jalibert 28', Lucu 43',)
DROP GOALS: 0
YELLOW CARDS: 1 (Diaby 30')
RED CARDS: 0
STARTING XV: 15. Romain Buros; 14. Damian Penaud, 13. Nicolas Depoortere, 12. Yoram Moefana, 11. Louis Bielle-Biarrey; 10. Matthieu Jalibert, 9. Maxime Lucu (c); 1. Jefferson Poirot, 2. Maxime Lamothe, 3. Sipili Falatea; 4. Adam Coleman, 5. Cyril Cazeaux; 6. Mahamadou Diaby, 7. Guido Petti, 8. Pete Samu.
Replacements: 16. Connor Sa, 17. Ugo Boniface, 18. Ben Tameifuna, 19. Pierre Bochaton, 20. Bastien Vergnes-Taillefer, 21. Marko Gazzotti, 22. Arthur Retiere, 23. Rohan Janse van Rensburg.
NORTHAMPTON SAINTS PLAYER RATINGS
15. George Furbank (Off for Tom Litchfield) – 5
Setting the high tempo with rapid wide passes upon his return from injury. Swept up the coverage as Jalibert punted a grubber for Bielle-Biarrey to chase. Knocked out cold by Nicholas Depoortere's knee, in a frantic frenzy for the loose ball. Such a shame upon his return from injury.
14. Tommy Freeman – 7
Fell victim to some unpunished obstruction, as Maxime Lucu and Adam Coleman blocked his kick return path. Great sweeping, as Jalibert took any chance he could to unleash his electric outside backs with a grubber kick. In the scrutiny spotlight after tackling Penaud in the air at 35 minutes, with a yellow card given. Returning to the pitch with a new-found fire, Freeman lit up the second half with searching solo runs.
13. Fraser Dingwall – 7
Brought his customary intensity to each carry, yet was squandered by a couple of Bordeaux defenders in the early goings. Kept the heart of the Saints back-line beating to the very end, as the Saints skipper rallied his side with many hard-fought meters.
12. Rory Hutchinson – 6
The Scotsman brought his regular fire to the hotly contested match. Chased down every loose ball, with his 31st minute press on Bielle-Biarrey forcing a squandered clearance kick.
11. James Ramm (Off for Ollie Sleightholme) – 4
Off after just three minutes, as he's withdrawn following the Saints try.
10. Fin Smith – 7
Kept a calm head to slot the opening effort off the tee, as his adrenaline must have been flying for the final. An uncharacteristic knock-on handed possession over to Bordeaux for Bielle-Biarrey to attack. Off feet for a 27th minute penalty on his own 5m line, gifted Bordeaux three points.
9. Alex Mitchell – 7.5
Hunting for the early try with the quick tap, as Saints piled on masses of early pressure. Clever offload over his own try-line to Freeman at 25 minutes, to clear yet another grubber kick threat. Was excellent from the boot all day with well-weighted box kicks. Disrupted a key aerial battle with Penaud at 72 minutes, to win back possession with the Saints under pressure. Caught up in the TMO after a mid-air battle saw him up-end Penaud, no more than a penalty.
1. Emmanuel Iyogun (Off for Tarek Haffar) – 6.5
Plenty of scrum resets from the opening 16-man shunts. Excellent drive on a 12th minute scrum that sent Falatea backwards. Safe to say that the prop emptied the tank in the Welsh capital.
2. Curtis Langdon (Off for Craig Wright) – 7
Great to see the England hooker back to full flight, with his white scrum cap everywhere from the scrums to carrying in the loose. Provided the assist for Henry Pollock's second disallowed try, Brought back on for the last eight minutes as Craig Wright sustained an injury.
3. Trevor Davison (Off for Elliott Millar-Mills) – 7
Bordeaux would not allow Saints an easy ride at the early scrums, with the first few packs reset. Big turnover at the 39th minute, to quell Bordeaux's momentum and pin the French club downfield for a last attacking drive that led to Alex Coles' second try.
4. Temo Mayanavanua – 6
Head down carries for the short and sharp yards, Mayanavanua proved invaluable as a guaranteed metre-maker. Took a head shot from Diaby at the half hour mark, but muscled on as the Bordeaux man was sent to the sin bin. Mayanavanua departed for a HIA, which he subsequently failed.
5. Tom Lockett (Off for Angus Scott-Young) – 7
Wrestled for the aerial dominance, as Bordeaux took a stronger start at the set-piece. Lockett was key as Northampton kept the basics right in the high-stakes affair. Made a textbook hit on Penaud at the 26th minute, that saw the French wing spill the ball forward as Saints escaped danger.
6. Alex Coles – 8
Popped up for the first try of the match, as he muscled his way over from close range. The regular lock was slow to get up at the line-out at times. Tireless engine saw him support Ollie Sleightholme's carry, and take the supporting offload to power over for his second try.
7. Josh Kemeny – 7.5
Tireless workhorse around the park, who was seen breaking his shoulders into the UBB carriers. The back row has been a hero of the season for the Saints Champions Cup campaign, with another strong showing this afternoon in Cardiff.
8. Henry Pollock – 6.5
Bordeaux knew who Northampton's dangerous back row was. Not given an inch of space in the early exchanges, as the new Lion is Saints' worst kept secret. Thunderous defensive effort from the eight-man. Had a first-half try chalked off for offside, as he chased Fin Smith's kick to the back-field. His second trip across the whitewash was also written off, due to a forward pass from Curtis Langdon in the build-up. A shame as his 'calm down' celebration was quite the conversation starter. The red-hot 20-year-old looked a step off his best this afternoon.
Replacements
16. Craig Wright (On 62) – 7
On for an exhausted Curtis Langdon, who left it all on the line. Gave the Saints scrum the added shift it needed, to stay in gear with the bulkier Bordeaux pack. Won a scrum penalty against the hulking Ben Tameifuna to set the tone for the last 20 minutes. Hit in a 64th minute double tackle and lost the ball. He was then hit whilst mid-air, which enraged the Saints fans. Injured with eight minutes left on the clock.
17. Tarek Haffar (On at 63) – 6.5
The saviour against Saracens, Haffar was flung on to save the Saints at scrum-time. Given the unenviable task of packing down against all 148kgs of Tameifuna. Won a huge scrum penalty against the Tongan titan, as Saints cleared the lines at 71 minutes.
18. Elliot Millar-Mills (On 60) – 6
On to lift the scrum-time intensity after Trevor Davison had emptied the tank. Pivotal in the Saints' second half scrummaging resurgence, with key scrum penalties won alongside Haffar.
19. Ed Prowse – 5.5
On at the half hour mark for Mayanavanua's HIA. Caught up in the replay cameras after a head-to-head collision with Moefana at 43 minutes sent him to the sin-bin.
20. Angus Scott-Young (On 62) – 6
Massive turnover to halt a Bordeaux rolling maul that was bound for the try-line. Tremendous work as soon as he came on.
21. Tom James – n/a
22. Tom Litchfield (On 5') – 7
Flung on early for George Furbank, Litchfield was ready for a fight and brought aggression to the gain-line battle. Plenty of jeers for his 38th minute clearance kick that didn't go out the half. Won an edge-of-your-seat foot-race against Bielle-Biarrey, to deny the wing the ball in the Saints back-field.
23. Ollie Sleightholme (On 3') – 7.5
On immediately to mark his return from injury, as Ramm makes way after a few minutes following the opening try. Provided a strong carry and assist for Alex Coles' try on the stroke of half-time. Quick hands was a key element of his game, as he was targeted out wide.
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