Leinster have won the Investec Champions Cup four times, second only to France’s Toulouse, who have six stars on their jersey.
But the search for the fifth star has proved elusive; it has been eight years since Leinster owned European club rugby.
The Dublin-based club has consistently been among the top two teams in Europe but has not been number one, losing in four finals since the last title win.
Leinster’s players looked primed to find the fifth star last season. They were magnificent, not conceding a point in the last 16 and last eight play-offs. Then they got blown away in a 20-minute spell against Northampton Saints in the semifinal.
They fought valiantly, as champion teams do, but those 20 minutes of the Saints going on the march proved too much of a distance. Victory went to the English club, who would lose to Bordeaux in the final.
Bordeaux are back again, having shown marvellous form by winning seven in seven competition matches. They were particularly impressive in beating rivals Toulouse in the quarterfinal.
They were not as polished in the semifinal against Bath, but they were good enough to win by more than two scores.
Leinster’s form has been inconsistent and out of kilter with previous seasons. They have had narrow escapes, against La Rochelle in Dublin in Pool play and against Toulon in the semifinal at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.
They have done it tough to get to the final, whereas in previous years, they cruised and came unstuck in one quarter or one half of rugby.
Bordeaux doesn’t have as many Test players, but they have the most complete club match 23 in the sport. They have been the form 23 in the Champions Cup for the past two seasons.
I spoke recently to Leinster coach Jacques Nienaber, who guided the Springboks to the 2023 Rugby World Cup title as head coach. Nienaber, typical of his character, spoke about the realities of playoffs and finals and how easily those big matches can be lost in a poor 15-20 minute spell.
The key, he said, was ensuring consistency in performance that did not involve a peak and a trough.
Nienaber, shrewd and the best defensive coach in the sport, gives little away when discussing players or opponents. It is like his defensive systems, and he would have been pleased that this defensive system limited the free-scoring Lions to just one try in the URC a fortnight ago.
The Lions had scored more points than any team in the URC, but could manage only seven against a Leinster team resting 10 players for the Investec Champions Cup final.
Leinster has 21 internationals in the 23, including the core of the Irish national team.
Bordeaux doesn’t have as many Test players, but they have the most complete club match 23 in the sport. They have been the form 23 in the Champions Cup for the past two seasons.
They also possess four of the biggest backline influences: scrumhalf and captain Maxime Lucu, flyhalf Matthieu Jalibert, centre/wing Damian Penaud and the world’s best winger Louis Bielle-Biarrey.
Add a pack as good as any Test eight to the mix and it explains their results.
Carlu Sadie is their starting tighthead and he brings a South African flavour to the occasion along with Nienaber and Bordeaux’s assistant coaches Shaun Sowerby and Heini Adams. Both played for the Springboks and both have spent nearly 20 years in France as players and coaches.
It will be a brilliant final, equaling a World Cup play-off match in intensity and player quality.
I have Bordeaux to win and it is not a slight on Leinster’s qualities but a compliment to Bordeaux’s form and brilliance in the tournament this season.
Back Bordeaux, if not by double digits, then by at least eight points.
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