Union Bordeaux Bègles 50 Northampton Saints 28: Tom Vickers' review and player ratings

Cries of ‘he’s in your head… Henry, Henry’ to the tune of Zombie by The Cranberries and ‘oh Tommy Freeman, I’d let you kiss my wife’ to the tune of Frankie Valli’s Can’t Take My Eyes Off You were mixed with conversations about what lay ahead at Stade Chaban-Delmas.

And whereas just a few years ago, Saints fans soaked up such occasions with little more than hope, now they have real belief that their side can conquer even the most formidable of European citadels.

That owes to the experiences of recent years, at Glasgow, at Munster, at Leinster.

And it owes to not only the talent in this team but the self-confidence, too - epitomised by incredibly talented tyro Henry Pollock.

On this occasion, it didn’t prove to be well-founded as Saints suffered the kind of sizeable defeat that many before them have done at Stade Chaban-Delmas, where Bordeaux have now won 24 of their past 27 matches.

But rather than going meekly into the night, the black, green and gold, inspired by the indefatigable chutzpah of Pollock, kept battling – and eventually they got their reward in the form of a try bonus point.

It won’t be enough to help them win their pool this season, but it should be enough to put some wind in their sails for the remainder of the campaign.

Because there are unlikely to be any games that are more difficult to navigate than the one they faced in Bordeaux.

They took on a home side who were fired up by the false pre-final narrative from last season and who kept that bee in their bonnet for this renewal of rivalries.

The creature continued to buzz furiously as Bordeaux used their shared dislike of Pollock - reminder: a young man who has never actually said a bad word about the French club or any of its players - to add fuel to their fire.

And with those flames roaring, this Bordeaux team are surely close to unstoppable on home soil, with the atmosphere whipped up by their vociferous supporters something truly special in European rugby.

Few grounds provide a noise like the one Saints walked into on Sunday afternoon.

And the impact that has on the Bordeaux players, their opposition and the officials should not be discounted.

Pollock, to his immense credit, handled the spotlight superbly, as he always does.

He thrived while others would simply try to survive the situation he found himself in, as even small children gleefully booed his name when it was announced prior to this game.

He was the ideal pantomime villain, and he played his part to perfection, booting the ball into the crowd after scoring a superb try early In the first half.

It was a cathartic reaction for the forward, who takes a lot of unmerited stick and is more than entitled to give it back.

But even his flair and strength of character couldn’t get Saints a victory on this occasion.

They weren’t anywhere near as sharp as they had been when running riot at Bath just before the turn of the year.

But this was a completely different occasion.

Whereas at The Rec, they were relieved of some pressure thanks to the narrative surrounding the fact they had made 10 changes, here the heat was cranked up to the maximum from the off.

Everyone expected a blockbuster battle between two brilliant sides, but it really unravelled as a contest in the two 10-minute periods either side of half-time.

At the half-hour mark, Bordeaux were just 12-7 up, but after Martin Page-Relo skipped in for the home side's third try, Saints had a chance to respond.

They missed a big opportunity and lineout losses came back to bite them as Bordeaux punished them in brutal fashion, scoring a fourth try that opened up some breathing space in a suffocating environment.

The French team added two more opportunistic tries in the first six minutes of the second half, ending any hope Saints would have had of a stunning comeback success.

From then on, it was not only damage limitation but the desperation to somehow salvage something from a difficult day.

Saints rolled up their sleeves and refused to go the same way that Racing 92 had on the previous weekend, when the star-studded Parisians had shipped 47 second-half points, replying with just seven of their own.

The second-half scoreline here actually read: Bordeaux 26 Saints 21, so it was definitely not all as bad as it may have seemed at the final whistle.

The point they secured has ensured the black, green and gold have earned a spot in the Champions Cup knockout stages for the third successive season.

And how distant a dream that seemed when they were on a run of 10 successive defeats in the competition before bringing that to an end with a fine win at Glasgow in December 2023.

This season's competition is far from over yet.

And who knows, these two teams may square up again.

If they do, Saints will hope to have more fortune with injuries than they have in the previous two contests, having lost three key men before half-time in the final last May and two in the build-up to this match, to add to the others that were already listed as absent.

Several players will playing through knocks - see George Hendy's heavily-strapped right leg and Anthony Belleau's badly-cut face - while JJ van der Mescht had been unwell and was a doubt for this renewal of rivalries.

Saints went in without key men who they will hope can return soon because, as we saw last season, when they have close to everyone available, they can turn over giants in their own backyard.

It didn't happen on this occasion, but you can be sure they will have learned a lot ahead of some more huge matches in the weeks and months ahead.

And few, if any, of those will carry the level of stress and strain they encountered in their salutary experience at Stade Chaban-Delmas on Sunday.

How they rated…

GEORGE HENDY - has been one of the stars of the season so far but this was such a tough ask as he often found himself isolated against big Bordeaux runners. Tried to make things happen in attack but Bordeaux were able to stop his threat in the key areas of the field... 5

EDOARDO TODARO – what an experience for the young Italy wing so early in his professional career and he will have learned a lot from playing against this level of opposition… 6

TOMMY FREEMAN - etched his name on the scoresheet yet again and charged around with real determination but didn’t quite see Pollock for a pass that would have got Saints a key first-half try. Bordeaux largely limited his opportunities to get into dangerous attacking positions… 6

RORY HUTCHINSON - was yellow carded during the first half and saw a pass picked off by Cameron Woki early in the second but responded by producing a lovely little grubber kick for Pollock's second try as he looked to create openings for his team throughout, and he also tried to make an impact defensively and at the breakdown… 6.5

OLLIE SLEIGHTHOLME – has been so unfortunate with injuries, stopping him from getting into a rhythm and it was a big ask for him to come back into the team for this one, but he tried to cause problems with his running and things just didn’t quite come off… 5.5

ANTHONY BELLEAU - was on the injured list during the week but came off it to play in this one at late notice and his bravery was incredible throughout as he showed what an important team member he is… 7

ALEX MITCHELL - with the Saints pack up against it in the first half, he found himself more on the back foot than front, having to work from deep and produce more clearance kicks than telling attacking passes... 6

DANILO FISCHETTI – found himself up against it against the Bordeaux pack at scrum time early on, failing to find favour with the referee, but returned to the action late on and bagged the bonus point try with some real determination… 5

CRAIG WRIGHT – was desperate to use his power to get his team on the front foot but Bordeaux stood tall… 5

TREVOR DAVISON – is having another strong season but the Bordeaux pack proved tough opposition and he came off early in the second half… 5

ALEX COLES – topped Saints’ tackle count on the day and, as ever, was in the thick of the action, seeing a try ruled out during the second half… 6

JJ VAN DER MESCHT - did well to even be on the field for this one as he was unwell and had to travel separately to his team-mates. A tough first half but he tried to carry hard when he got the chance... 5.5

CALLUM CHICK – got stuck in for his side, especially when they were defending for spells on their own line, and he did his best to get his point across to the referee… 5.5

TOM PEARSON - was able to make some good metres on a couple of occasions as he showcased his never-say-die approach to collisions… 6.5

HENRY POLLOCK - CHRON STAR MAN – this was a remarkable performance considering what he had to handle before and during the match. Two tries, a bulldozing run that forced a yellow card and a refusal to give up as he helped his team bag a try bonus point... 8

Replacements (who played more than 20 minutes)

MANNY IYOGUN (for Fischetti 17) – helped Saints to steady their scrum at a time when it was being heavily punished and he continued to plough on in impressive fashion before taking a knock that forced him off late on… 7.5

ROBBIE SMITH (for Wright 40) – scrambled really well late on to stop a Bordeaux try and was a secure presence… 6

ELLIOT MILLAR MILLS (for Davison 46) – a really good 40 minutes from the tighthead prop, who competed hard to win the ball back at the breakdown and provided some extra physicality and energy when his team really needed it… 7

ED PROWSE (for van der Mescht 40) – looked eager to get his hands on the ball and his physicality was impressive as he looked to help Saints respond in the second half… 6.5

ARCHIE MCPARLAND (for Mitchell 53) – didn’t look fazed by yet another big occasion and backed up his strong showing at Bath last month by helping his team to claim a try bonus point here.. 6.5

SAM GRAHAM (for Chick 58) – a really strong showing from the No.8 as he helped Saints to push Bordeaux back with some big carries… 7