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J. Bouraux (26'), L. Vermeulen (46'), B. Delguy (57')
Tries
H. Avogadro (23'), M. Lucu (53')
H. Plummer (27', 58')
Conversions
M. Lucu (24', 54')
H. Plummer (19')
Penalties
M. Lucu (2', 35'), H. Reus (65')
This was the night Union Bordeaux Bègles proved they can win on the road without their fireworks. With their manager daring them midweek to show they’d learned from early season thumpings, they leaned on control, contest and a cool head at nine. It wasn’t expansive. It was smarter.
ASM Clermont Auvergne offered ball, territory and plenty of industry, but not enough sting. The old problem returned: a lot of phases for not many punches through the line. They led late and still lost, which says more about their decision-making and accuracy under pressure than about any refereeing bounce. When the game narrowed to detail, Bordeaux were tidier.
If you want the hinge, it was the period either side of Cameron Woki’s yellow. Clermont did the first part well, cashing in quickly through Louis Vermeulen to edge in front. The second part belonged to Maxime Lucu. The scrum-half controlled exit after exit, picked his moment to snipe for a crucial try, and then kept Bordeaux calm as the rain of carries came. He left with 15 points and 19 tackles, which tells you who ran the game and who tidied up when it got loose.
Numbers back the feel. Clermont had more ball and more runs, but made zero clean breaks. Bordeaux beat far more defenders, pinched 10 turnovers and were perfect on their own lineout. That’s the shape of a road win built around denying front-foot ball and cashing the few chances you do get.
CARRIES
CLEAN BREAK
DEFENDER BEATEN
TACKLE
MISSED TACKLE
TURNOVER WON
TURNOVERS CONCEDED
PENALTY CONCEDED
YELLOW CARD
POSSESSION
SCRUMS
LINEOUTS
The late blow came from the bench. Hugo Reus stepped in at 65 minutes and buried the penalty that nudged Bordeaux ahead for good. Before that, Arthur Retière had justified the faith to steer at ten in Matthieu Jalibert’s absence, not with a quarterbacking clinic but with threat on the carry and good tempo selection. Between them, and with Lucu’s tempo control, UBB had enough brains at the hinge to win a one-score game in a hostile place.
Out wide, Romain Buros’ touch on the first-half score for Hugo Avogadro mattered because it was one of the few times either back three found grass. That was the pattern: Bordeaux’s midfield – Daniel du Plessis and Yoram Moefana – made dents without overplaying, and the back-row trio harried the ruck just enough to keep Clermont off rhythm. You don’t win 10 turnovers by accident; there was work rate and timing across the eight, with Temo Matiu and Tom Willis cleaning up a lot of mess. Woki’s bin was a black mark, but the reaction afterwards – Lucu’s try, then the defensive set to close – told you plenty about the group’s nerve.
Clermont’s effort can’t be knocked. Killian Tixeront and Thibaud Lanen churned through tackles, and Harry Plummer looked composed, kicked his goals and put people into the line with a neat assist. Bautista Delguy finished sharply and Justin Bouraux picked a good line for his try. The set piece was largely sound and gave them the territory to work with. But 24 missed tackles and 16 turnovers conceded is the anatomy of a one-point defeat at home. Too many slips in contact, too much looseness after two, three, four phases when the carry needed to be straighter and the cleanout angrier. Darcy Swain’s five misses and Baptiste Jauneau’s three turnovers against don’t make them the villains – they just underline where Clermont frayed when Bordeaux asked questions around the gain line.
Did the margin flatter anyone? No. A point either way felt right for a game where one side had more of the ball and the other had more of the answers. Bordeaux’s edge at the breakdown and their accuracy at the key moments – Lucu’s snipe, Reus from the tee – were worth a win. Clermont’s better patches brought them tries but not sustained pressure, and when they needed field position in the final five they were repelled by a defence that missed only 14 tackles all night.
For UBB, this is exactly the away tick they’d put in red after those early hidings. They won ugly, with their captain at nine calling a shrewd game and a bench 10 landing the decisive shot. It keeps them in the leading pack and, more importantly, hands them a template for tight trips: contest hard, trust the lineout, and let Lucu manage the clock. For Clermont, the second-half drift that cost them at La Rochelle hasn’t been chased out yet. The platform is fine; the incision and composure are not. Sort the red-zone speed and be braver through contact, and these become four-point nights instead of one-point lessons.
Pre-match, Yannick Bru said: "Si les choses se passent comme elles sont habituées à se passer, on devrait prendre 30 points à Clermont." His team gave him the best rebuttal: clear heads, hard contests, and just enough class at half-back to make sure habit didn’t win.
