They know a thing or two about producing mouth-watering products on the banks of the Garonne but as this particular Bordeaux vintage also travels very well as was shown further south on the edge of the Nervión river in Bilbao.

The reigning Investec Champions Cup holders Union Bordeaux Bègles to give them their full title dispatched the River Liffey challengers Leinster with a display that will result in a few hangovers this morning as celebrations and commiserations continue to ebb and flow much like those beautiful waterways.

With temperatures above thirty degrees, red-hot Bordeaux demolished Leinster with their five first half tries giving them a 35-7 half-time lead despite the Irishmen taking the lead with an O’Brien try after just six minutes.

Three Bordeaux tries in 10 first half minutes were the killer blow, and Leinster had no answer to the broken play carnage caused by the French side.

Man of the match brilliant Basque Maxime Lucu controlled the game magnificently, scoring a first half try and receiving a ludicrous second half yellow card for making contact with the mullet of Joe McCarthy simultaneously with his shirt collar. Hair pulling was apparently deemed to be the sin binning offence.

A try from McCarthy himself whilst Lucu was in the bin was the best Leinster could muster with an extra man advantage.

Lucu’s two penalties after leaving the ‘naughty step’ added gloss to the scoreline and despite Leinster’s efforts in limiting Bordeaux to six second half points and scoring two tries themselves, this was a comprehensive win for the now back to back European champions.

Bordeaux are a joy to watch and in the boiling Basque sunshine they lit up this final, they are a very special team indeed.