Sunday will see Bordeaux and Toulouse bring the curtain down of the 2024/25 Champions Cup semi-final stage, and this one could be an absolute cracker as these two sides have been the best attacking teams on show this year.
Darry Worthington explains why he expects fireworks at the Stade de Bordeaux and also gives his opinion on which markets are worth putting a bit of cash on.
Bordeaux Begles v Toulouse | Sunday 4 May | Stade de Bordeaux
To Win (80 Mins)
21/20 Bordeaux | Draw 22/1 | Toulouse 8/10
We should be in for a stellar French derby here with neither of these sides afraid to put the ball through the hands and both possessing some serious attacking talent with the likes of Ange Capuozzo, Romain Ntamack and Louis Bielle-Biarrey all set to light up the Stade Bordeaux this Sunday.
As alluded to above, the two teams were the standout attacking units during the pool phase, with Toulouse scoring 225 points across their four pool games while Bordeaux managed to bag 217.
The duo finished first and second in Pool 1 without tasting defeat, with Bordeaux topping the pool due to their superior points differential, which came courtesy of a better defensive showing.
As the old Australian saying goes, the two sides were not there ‘to fuck spiders’ in the Round of 16 either with Bordeaux recording a 43-31 win against Ulster while Toulouse beat Sale 38-15.
The quarter-finals were slightly tighter for the two French giants with this weekend’s hosts recording a 47-29 win over Munter side that had their on the rope for part of the 80-minutes, while Toulouse came from behind to beat Toulon 18-21 in an absolute classic.
The duo have already met twice on the domestic front this term, with Bordeaux winning both clashes, with the first seeing them bag a 12-16 win on Toulouse’s turf last September and the second coming this March, where they ran out 32-24 victors on home soil.
Looking at the team news for this one, Toulouse will be without hooker Peato Mauvaka due to a serious knee injury, while Blair Kinghorn is also out with a knee injury. For Bordeaux, it looks like they have a pretty clean bill of health.
Verdict: Bordeaux (21/20)
Toulouse pulled off a great escape against Toulon, but I think they’ll fall short here. The loss of Kinghorn and Mauvaka are a big blow to the side. Money is on the hosts taking the honours here. I would also be tempted on any over total points market around the 55-point mark.
