Maxime Lucu earns 14 points as Bordeaux-Bègles edge Bath — Champions Cup Rugby
Maxime Lucu was named man of the match in Bordeaux-Bègles' champions cup rugby semifinal against Bath after scoring 14 points and piling up tackles. The French side kept control late in the match, with Lucu again central when the score moved to 31-19.
Lucu drives Bordeaux-Bègles
Lucu’s 14 points came in a match that asked Bordeaux-Bègles to keep producing under pressure. He finished as the clearest individual factor in a semifinal that swung on field position, discipline, and one denied try.
One of his key moments came with a successful conversion between the posts for 31-19. That gave Bordeaux-Bègles another cushion after Ben Tameifuna had powered over between the posts for 29-19.
Bath lose ground
Bath’s problems deepened when Ewels received a yellow card for a foul in the maul before the disallowed Bordeaux try. That left the English side with 14 players against 15 at a point when Bordeaux were still pressing in Bath’s half.
The sanction came after Bordeaux had already forced territory through the forwards, including a lineout 5 meters from the line and a driving maul that ended with Barlot crossing near the English pack. The score did not change there, because the referee ruled that Barlot seemed to lose the ball just before grounding it with his forearm.
Key phases at Bordeaux's line
Earlier, Woki secured the ball in the air on the Bordeaux lineout, and the attack kept moving through Bielle-Biarrey on the right before a pass inside to Retière. Bordeaux kept possession and pushed into Bath’s 22 meters before eventually losing the ball after a lineout drive 7 meters from the line.
Bath did manage to clear long after defending the maul, but the damage had already been done in the scoreboard pressure and the disciplinary count. Hill also drew a sanction for an irregular clearout in Bordeaux’s 22 meters, another setback in a semifinal where every stoppage tilted the field toward Bordeaux-Bègles.
Lucu’s man-of-the-match award fits the match script: 14 points, repeated defensive work, and composure when the game tightened. For Bordeaux-Bègles, that sort of control is what carries a semifinal into the final passage of the competition.
