Bordeaux player ratings: Front-row bullied as Romain Buros’ ‘blockbuster’ in vain in Champions Cup epic

Jared Wright 13 Apr 2024 5:00 PM

Following an epic Investec Champions Cup quarter-final, which saw Harlequins down Bordeaux 42-41, here is how we rated Yannick Bru’s charges in defeat.

Bordeaux player ratings v Harlequins

15 Romain Buros: Grabbed his fifth try of the Champions Cup and his sixth, seventh and eighth assist as he showed his class once again as he has done all season. France’s insane depth at full-back means he hasn’t been capped yet, but if he continues to perform like this, then surely he will be rewarded. This should have been a blockbuster match-winning performance; he did everything in his power to get his team over the line, but his efforts were in vain. 9

14 Pablo Uberti: Struggled to contain Harlequins flyer Cadan Murley as he came into the starting XV replacing Damian Penaud. He had few opportunities with the ball in hand, and did gain ground, but overall, it was a rather quiet shift and was replaced before the hour. 5

13 Nicolas Depoortere: Brilliantly plucked the ball by his ankles to sprint through and score a stunner. The youngster is still rough around the edges and displayed that with a handful of lapses on defence and with his passes. Still far more positives than negatives. 8

12 Yoram Moefana: A mixed bag for the centre who shot up and created gaps in the defence often getting his read wrong, including for Tyrone Green’s try. He was a force when carrying the ball to the line but also threw a couple of poor passes. 6

11 Louis Bielle-Biarrey: Looked to create with every touch of the ball he got and did so brilliantly as he got his name on the scoresheet. He covered the backfield well, too. 7

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Planet Rugby player ratings key 10 - Career defining performance 9 - Outright blockbuster effort 8 - Significantly influenced the result of the game 7 - Committed and effective outing 6 - Flashes of brilliance outside of executing fundamentals 5 - Fulfilling the role required by position (base level) 4 - Poor execution of fundamentals 3 - Costly errors and/or discipline in the game 2 - Poor performance that directly impacted the result 1 - Grossly ineffective throughout 0 - Should have carried water instead

Planet Rugby’s player ratings key.

Half-backs

10 Mateo Garcia: From round of 16 hero to quarter-final zero for the young playmaker. He lunged out of the line to deny Quins a try but got it all wrong and cost his side a penalty try and himself ten minutes in the sin bin. A few poor passes and lapses in defence meant he did not return from the shed for the second half. 3

9 Maxime Lucu: There have been doubts over his ability after his struggles in the Six Nations, but he showed his world-class credentials today at scrum-half and fly-half. A sensational pass inside set up a try that should have resulted in a win, but he narrowly missed the clutch kick. He dragged his team back into the game on several occasions despite his pack backtracking. 8

Loose forwards

8 Tevita Tatafu: Far less impactful than he was last week against Saracens, and while he did have a few soft moments on defence, he still managed to influence the attack. Gained over 20 metres from his four carries but was replaced early in the second half. 5

7 Pete Samu: Combative and energetic outing from the Wallaby, which is standard from him. Got over the advantage line regularly and was solid on defence. 7

6 Antoine Miquel: It was his ruck clearance that opened Lucu’s route to the try line and was solid throughout the game. Got through a ton of work around the park. 6

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Tight five

5 Adam Coleman: Abrasive as ever on defence and a safe lineout option while pressuring Quins’ set-piece. He did what was required of him in an accurate individual performance. 6

4 Cyril Cazeaux: A rather quiet shift on the whole from the second-rower. He made his tackles but offered little going forward. 5

3 Ben Tameifuna: A few telling moments with his ability to draw in multiple defenders, including Lucu’s try in the first half but his bread and butter is scrummaging and today he was bettered by Quins youngster Fin Baxter. 3

2 Maxime Lamothe: Livewire performance as per usual from the hooker, who made some good metres from his carries. He got stuck in on defence, too, and his lineout throws were accurate. However, he was part of a front-row that got beaten up in the scrums, and he has to shoulder some of the responsibility of that, too. 4

1 Lekso Kaulashvili: Underwhelmed in the absence of veteran Jefferson Poirot as Will Collier got the better of him at scrum time. He conceded two penalties, offered little going forward and missed two of his six tackles. 3

Replacement: The introduction of Yann Lesgourgues was a game-changer for Bordeaux while Madosh Tambwe looked to have scored the winning try and even attempted to make the kick easier for Lucu but it was not to be. Some standout performers lifted Bordeaux, but the front-row couldn’t turn the tide in the scrums. 5