The 2025/26 Investec Champions Cup reaches its conclusion on Saturday the 23rd of May when Leinster take on Union Bordeaux Bègles at San Mamés Stadium in Bilbao. Leinster are chasing a fifth European title and a first since 2018, while Bordeaux are bidding to defend the title they won last season in what will be their second straight final.
Bet: Leinster v Bordeaux
Posted 23 May 08h50
2 units (1-5) under 55.5 points at 9/10 at BetXchange
There has been some interesting betting movement on this final during the week. Leinster were around +6.5, drifted to +7.5, but have since been backed back into +5.5.
I’ll be watching this game in a pub alongside a Leinster supporter and will be wearing my Leinster jersey myself, so even though I was leaning towards Bordeaux earlier in the week, I’m going to stick to the points markets here.
Last night’s Montpellier v Ulster final turned into a high-scoring affair and conditions for this game do not now appear to be quite as hot as originally forecast.
That being said, I’m expecting a huge defensive effort from Leinster and I’m going to side with the recent trend in Champions Cup finals, which have generally been lower scoring than many of the knockout matches leading up to them.
You have to go all the way back to the 2019/20 season for the last time overs would have landed at this sort of line in a final.
At the same time, these matches are seldom extremely low scoring, so hopefully we can thread the needle and keep this one below the 56-point mark.
The teams and officials
Posted 23 May 08h33
Venue: San Mames Stadium, Bilbao
Kick-off: 15.45 local (14:45 BST, 13:45 GMT)
Referee: Andrew Brace (IRFU) 116th game
Assistant Referees: Ben Connor (WRU), Lucas Yendle (WRU)
TMO: Olly Hodges (IRFU)
Leinster: 15 Hugo Keenan, 14 Tommy O’Brien, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Robbie Henshaw, 11 Rieko Ioane, 10 Harry Byrne, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Caelan Doris (c), 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Jack Conan, 5 James Ryan, 4 Joe McCarthy, 3 Thomas Clarkson, 2 Dan Sheehan, 1 Andrew Porter
Replacements: 16 Rónan Kelleher, 17 Paddy McCarthy, 18 Tadhg Furlong, 19 Diarmuid Mangan, 20 Max Deegan, 21 Luke McGrath, 22 Ciarán Frawley, 23 Jamie Osborne
Bordeaux-Begles: 15 Salesi Rayasi, 14 Pablo Uberti, 13 Damian Penaud, 12 Yoram Moefana, 11 Louis Bielle-Biarrey, 10 Matthieu Jalibert, 9 Maxime Lucu (c), 8 Marko Gazzotti, 7 Cameron Woki, 6 Pierre Bochaton, 5 Adam Coleman, 4 Boris Palu, 3 Carlü Sadie, 2 Maxime Lamothe, 1 Jefferson Poirot
Replacements: 16 Gaetan Barlot, 17 Ugo Boniface, 18 Ben Tameifuna, 19 Lachie Swinton, 20 Temo Matiu, 21 Bastien Vergnes-Taillefer, 22 Arthur Retiere, 23 Hugo Reus
Weather and betting update
Posted 21 May 10h46
The weather in Bilbao on Saturday is forecast to be around 31 degrees at kick off - click here for the hourly forecast at Time and Date
Bordeaux are currently -7.5 from -6.5 suggesting some money for the defending champions.
The points line is 55.5
We will discuss this game on our rugby betting show "The Handicap" live at 21h00 SAST - click here to set a reminder
This preview will be updated with betting moves, team news, weather and a suggest bet(s) throughout the week.
Betting - Posted 17 May
Leinster 12/5
Draw 22/1
Bordeaux 4/10
Handicap: Leinster +6.5
ROUTE TO THE FINAL
Leinster
Leinster once again underlined their consistency in Europe by topping Pool 3 with a perfect four wins from four matches. They finished ahead of Harlequins, Stormers, Leicester Tigers and Bayonne, scoring 115 points and conceding just 80 in the pool phase.
Their knockout campaign has been hugely impressive. They hammered Edinburgh 49-31 in Dublin in the Round of 16 before dismantling Sale Sharks 43-13 in the quarter-finals.
The semi-final against Toulon was far tougher, but Leinster dug deep to win 29-25 at the Aviva Stadium in a high-quality contest.
This will be Leinster’s ninth Champions Cup final and remarkably their fourth final in five seasons.
Union Bordeaux Bègles
Bordeaux were outstanding in the pool phase, topping Pool 4 with four wins from four matches. They scored a massive 173 points in those four fixtures and secured the No.1 overall seed for the knockout rounds.
Their Round of 16 performance was one of the statements of the season as they crushed Leicester Tigers 64-14.
That was followed by a huge all-French quarter-final clash against Toulouse, which Bordeaux won 30-15 despite facing a side packed with international quality.
In the semi-finals they beat Bath 38-26 in front of a passionate crowd of 42,105 supporters in Bordeaux.
Early Thoughts
This feels like the final many neutrals wanted. Leinster have probably been the most consistent side in Europe over the last five years, but they have repeatedly fallen short in the biggest games, losing their last 4 finals. Bordeaux, meanwhile, have developed into an explosive attacking side capable of blowing anyone away.
I would also have priced Bordeaux as favourites but I don’t see this line moving and I will be back later in the week with any betting moves and also a look at the points lines