These are peculiar times of relative prosperity for the Premiership. Senior figures are privately delighted with a new and improved television deal signed with TNT Sports that came despite a rights market proving increasingly difficult to navigate; a reshaped second tier appears better suited to the top-flight’s desires; a franchising-type revamp of the Premiership could well be soon to follow, with an admission that the league needs to do so something differently to match on-field thrills with off-field sustainability. To that end, encouraging rumours abound of interest from Red Bull in investing in Newcastle, a cash injection that would give necessary new wings to the flagging Falcons.
Behind the scenes, then, there is plenty to be optimistic about but on the field, the English clubs are going well, too. For the first time since the Covid-ravaged competitions of 2020, and since 2004 before that, the Premiership could end finals weekend with the two European trophies in their possession, an outcome that would defy the conventional logic of the modern club game. Northampton’s battle with Bordeaux Begles on Saturday afternoon in the Investec Champions Cup final follows a Bath side bouncing along the M4 to Cardiff to take on Lyon in the Friday night Challenge Cup curtain-raiser – each club live and lively contenders for their respective crowns despite the financial might of the French.
An unexpected English resurgence had ramifications for the British and Irish Lions, with Northampton’s Henry Pollock, Alex Mitchell, Tommy Freeman and Fin Smith plus Bath’s Will Stuart and Finn Russell departing the first get-together in Richmond early to rejoin their club colleagues. Andy Farrell might well have been anticipating losing his Leinster lot under similar circumstances, but the Saints’ stunning win in Dublin has unbalanced the presumed equilibrium of European rugby. It will not at all be solace for Leo Cullen and co that they will not have to fret over a fourth final defeat in succession; Northampton’s task is to succeed where Leinster have failed in conquering a French giant as they seek another Champions Cup 25 years on from a Twickenham triumph.
“We want to make sure – and I am sure Bordeaux are saying exactly the same thing – that (semi-final) is not the summit of our season, that this game is our best performance and our most exciting one,” director of rugby Phil Dowson said this week, rallying the troops.
“We don’t want to get too caught up in ‘it has been 25 years and are we going to do something different?’. We have got to make sure, actually, that it’s a great occasion. We’ve got the opportunity to do something special as a group.”
Do not be fooled by Northampton’s lowly league position when assessing their chances; they are no Tottenham or Manchester United. While the defence of their domestic title never got going, theirs is a squad that has felt capable of strutting into the spotlight on this sort of stage. Mitchell, Freeman, Smith and the increasingly-impressive Fraser Dingwall lead a backline that has grown together, while Henry Pollock has emerged with fine timing as the sort of talent to instil new energy even into a champion group. There are echoes, perhaps, with Saracens a decade ago, with Maro Itoje helping turn Premiership winners into conquerors of the continent.
Memories of Pat Lam, Paul Grayson and 2000 will come flooding back for Saints fans as they target a second success in this competition but this is the finest vintage in Bordeaux’s relatively short history. Les Girondins are one of the underplayed success stories in recent rugby, the merger of two historic clubs in 2006 creating an entity of greater power that have taken over a town from a football club now languishing in the third tier after recent financial strife.
There have been no such issues for UBB, who have accentuated their developed talent with several splashy signings. The capture of Damian Penaud just before a home World Cup in 2023 was a statement of intent and ambition, one the France wing has helped fulfil. The burl of Jefferson Poirot, Ben Tameifuna and young gun Marko Gazzotti is balanced with the boldness of Yoram Moefana, Penaud and Louis Bielle-Biarrey out wide. Matthieu Jalibert, meanwhile, may not be the fancy of the French national team but there has been no better fly half at club level over the last couple of seasons, his ability to illustrate and orchestrate key in unlocking those that lie beyond. Bielle-Biarrey is not 22 for another month yet could add another chapter to a bulging book of brilliance with a final star-turn. Since 2025 began, the wing has 19 tries for club and country, failing to register in only a single game – full credit to La Rochelle’s flood defences for holding back a blue wave that has swept over all others.
For all of the faults with this competition, this showpiece occasion almost always delivers and is likely to captivate again. Two of the most vibrant teams in the competition are unlikely to embrace a cagey affair, while Sam Vesty and Noel McNamara, head and attack coach at Northampton and Bordeaux respectively, are two of the most gifted attacking schemers in Europe.
The Saints’ last Champions Cup triumph helped herald an era of English dominance, four titles in five years encompassing a World Cup win, too. One would be surprised if the strength of France and Ireland does not show again and again but another canonisation could well be on the cards.
