Bordeaux dazzle against Ulster to set up Carbery reunion for Munster
Bordeaux-Begles' Joey Carbery calls a mark as he is tackled by Mike Lowry of Ulster. Pic: ©INPHO/Ben Brady
Joey Carbery and Bordeaux-Begles served notice of the size of the challenge facing Munster in the Champions Cup quarter-finals this weekend when the turned on the style to bring Ulster’s European campaign to an end on Sunday.
UBB fly-half Carbery had moved to Bordeaux from Munster last summer after losing the number 10 jersey to Jack Crowley but his performance at the heart of a dazzling backline at Stade Chaban-Delmas suggested the switch to France is serving him very well.
Preferred to French star Matthieu Jalibert, the former Ireland international pulled the strings in 22-degree heat as UBB jumped into a 21-0 lead and despite a second-quarter rally from Ulster sparked by Jacob Stockdale’s pace and power, Carbery finished the first half with four conversions to help his team to a 28-14 interval lead.
A big hit high on his chest from Ulster replacement Stewart Moore ended Carbery’s afternoon on 46 minutes but after on-field treatment the fly-half looked comfortable as he left the field and Munster may well be facing their former team-mate back here next Saturday.
First-half converted tries from Damien Penaud, Ben Tameifuna and Adam Coleman in front of a noisy full house of 32,215 had given the home side their 21-0 lead after as many minutes and though Ulster rallied impressively with tries from forwards Tom O’Toole and Dave McCann, both converted by John Cooney, Bordeaux ended the half with momentum regathered thanks to a wonderful, Carbery-instigated and converted Roman Buros try on 40 minutes for a 28-14 interval lead.
A penalty from Maxime Lucu and try from Maxime Lamothe restored a healthy lead for UBB early in the second half at 36-14 but Ulster kept making inroads and fought back once more with tries from Nick Timoney and Zac Ward before Rohan Janse van Rensburg finally put the game beyond the game visitors. Ward grabbed his second of the match with five minutes to go but it was too little too late and Bordeaux now face a battle-hardened and confident Munster team back at Chaban-Delmas next weekend.
The top seeds kicked off with a home quarter-final draw in their sights and knowing the identity of their opponents with Munster having beaten La Rochelle some 180 kilometres north of them on Saturday evening, while Ulster needed a win against the odds to set up a trip to Thomond Park for an all-Irish last eight tie next weekend.
The omens were not good when James Hume knocked on Carbery’s deep kick-off, conceding a scrum inside the Ulster 22 and though Richie Murphy’s side escaped an instant setback, they conceded the opening try after just six minutes.
UBB broke down the right touchline with the ball finding Damien Penaud who continued his Six Nations-winning form with France with a piece of wing magic, cutting inside and rounding full-back Mike Lowry to score next to the posts.
The second and third tries on 15 and 21 minutes were more industrial from Bordeaux, with prop Ben Tameifuna and lock Adam Coleman scoring from close range and to their credit Ulster fought back impressively, Stockdale troubling the home defence with a break that got his side on the front foot, eventually leading to their opening try from prop Tom O’Toole on 28 minutes. A second from No.8 McCann further diminished UBB’s lead on 36 minutes and Ulster looked to see out the first half just seven points in arrears.
They almost managed it, but with 20 seconds to the break, a loose kick upfield fell to Carbery, whose injection of tempo inside his own half laid the foundations for a wonderful try, as UBB kept the ball alive wonderfully to reach the tryline with four offloads in succession to set up full-back Buros for a simple finish in the left corner.
The swing back in Bordeaux’s favour continued into the second half with captain and scrum-half Maxime Lucu slotting a penalty on 46 minutes followed shortly after by a try from hooker Maxime Lamothe, Jalibert missing the touchline conversion in Carbery’s absence.
Again, Ulster responded with Nick Timoney and Zac Ward claiming tries either side of another ruled out for a ruck infringement but UBB were not about to throw a potential run on home soil to the final in Cardiff away lightly.
A scrum penalty inside their own half got them upfield and with another penalty advantage they wrapped things up on 70 minutes with their sixth try, from replacement Rohan Janse van Rensburg, converted by Lucu, to get their supporters bouncing again. Not even a later second try from Ward could stop the party and Munster are the next team into the fire.
R Buros; D Penaud, Y Moefana, B Tapuai (R Janse van Rensburg, 61), P Uberti; J Carbery (M Jalibert, 46), M Lucu – captain (Y Lesgourgues, 71); J Poirot (R Latterrade, 40), M Lamothe (M Perchaud, 61), B Tameifuna (S Falatea, 46); C Cazeaux, A Coleman (P Bochaton, 46); M Diaby (B Vergnes-Taillefer, 55), G Petti, P SamuÂ
M Lowry; Z Ward, J Hume (S Moore, 40), S McCloskey, J Stockdale; J Murphy (A Morgan, 61), J Cooney (N Doak, 51); A Warwick (C Reid, 44), R Herring (T Stewart, 58), T O'Toole (S Wilson, 56): A O'Connor – captain (M Dalton, 56), K Treadwell; J McNabney, N Timoney, D McCann (Matty Rea, 65).
Luke Pearce (England)Â Â
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
