There’s something ancient in the way a British & Irish Lions tour begins.

It starts with a quiet rustling—whispers in rugby clubs from the Welsh Valleys to the Irish pubs of Limerick, in the granite towns of the Scottish Highlands and the rain-soaked lanes of northern England. There, in the corners of old bars and living rooms, people speak in reverent tones. “This might be the year,” someone says. “A new squad. A new land. A new chance.”

And then the names are called. Not just names, but dreams: Legends and upstarts, warriors and poets in the same breath. They’re not playing for just a nation now—but for four. For a legacy. For a red jersey that binds them in something greater than identity. A shirt that holds the sweat of McBride, the fire of Edwards, the bone-cracking grit of Johnson.

When the squad gathers, it’s a brotherhood forged from rivalries.

They arrive not as enemies, but as familiar strangers. Englishmen who once battered Irishmen in Six Nations slugfests now stand shoulder to shoulder in an Australian sunrise. Scots who once cursed Welsh counters now laugh over boots caked in the same foreign mud. There are jokes about accents. Banter sharp as a hooker’s throw. But beneath it all—trust begins to grow.

Training is war. Not against the opposition, but against expectation. Every pass, every ruck, every scrum in the camp is a reckoning. You’re not just playing for yourself anymore—you’re fighting to prove you belong in that jersey. The red one. The one that carries ghosts.

The Lions aren’t just a team. They are a myth that breathes. A tale told every four years that somehow always feels eternal. Wherever they tour—be it the high veldt of South Africa, the gold-cloaked fields of New Zealand, or the harsh edges of Australia—they are received like an invading storm. Admired. Hated. Respected.

And on match day, when the stadium trembles with anticipation, there is silence before the roar.

The red jerseys file out. The opposition stares them down. Locals chant. Flags fly. Yet when the anthem rings—not one, but many—something extraordinary happens. The Irish hum their hearts into “Ireland’s Call.” The Scots remember “Flower of Scotland.” The Welsh feel the pull of “Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau.” And the English—stoic, proud—tighten their shoulders with the memory of “God Save the Queen” or now “God Save the King.” But all that melts into one collective breath as the Lions stand together—not singing a song, but being the song.

Every match is a bruising glorious dogfight. You’ll see knees taped like scaffolding, eyes swollen, and breath taken in painful gasps. There are tackles that shake ribs. But then—magic. A flick off the boot. A break on the wing. A moment of brilliance that cuts through brutality like a hymn in a storm.

And win or lose—when it ends—something lingers.

Opponents come over and shake hands not out of duty, but with the weight of what just happened. They know what the Lions are. Not tourists. Not mercenaries. But messengers of an idea: that unity forged through rivalry can produce something greater than the sum of its parts.

Back home, pubs erupt. Boys and girls in playgrounds spin imaginary passes and wear oversized red jerseys. Old men cry in armchairs. Former Lions watch through clenched fists, reliving the ache of old tours. And for a few glorious weeks, the sport feels closer to a saga than a game. This is not just rugby. This is the roar that crosses oceans.

Lyon I discovered quite some time ago is not a place for the gastronomically feint hearted. Bouchons are traditional lace-curtained, wood-lined little bistros particular to a city often called the “stomach” of France.

They began as local inns that sprang up to serve simple home-cooked meals to Lyon’s silk workers (les canuts), in the 18th century. By the period between the world wars, the bouchons were run by “les meres” formidable women who had worked as cooks for the wealthy bourgeois families of the region.

Their menus were local, their tables check-clothed, with humble rooms, and relatively small bills.

The bouchon is all about tradition. Their ethos is that to dine properly, you must surrender to the god of pork fat, giving yourself over to it with full heart and empty belly. Well my heart is probably fairly full already, and not necessarily of health inducing material as I genuinely await a cardiology appointment, so my pre-match meals are of a much lighter variety, but I digress.

On the menu this weekend at Lyon’s sold out Groupama Stadium were two mouthwatering Top 14 semi-finals starting on Friday night with Toulouse v Bayonne.

58,741 perspiring souls watched the brave Basques give everything against a Toulouse side who by their standards are not exactly purring at the moment.

Fly half Joris Segonds’ six penalties kept Bayonne in touch, but their inability to convert a try scoring opportunities until the 84th minute proved to be their undoing.

Toulouse on the other hand took their limited chances with tries in the 12th and 33rd minute from Ntamack and Graou.

After the disappointment has subsided, Bayonne will be delighted with their season overall and can make the long 736 km journey home with their heads held high.

Twenty-four hours later it was the turn of Union Bordeaux Begles and Toulon to battle it out in the second semi-final.

With temperatures touching 31 degrees at the 9pm kick off time, Bordeaux’s star-studded back line were ready to turn up the heat, but it was hat trick hooker Maxime Lamothe who stole the show with three touchdowns.

Toulon were in contention at half-time following a try from Faingaanuku in the 40th minute that made the score 15-10 at the interval. Toulon Full back Melvyn Jaminet was in sparkling form, but Bordeaux were superior in all facets of the game and never looked like losing.

With Bordeaux leading 39-17 and twenty minutes remaining, they were cruising to victory. A 79th minute try by Gigashvili converted by Jaminet made the scoreline a little more respectable for Toulon.

So next Saturday night in Paris the Top 14 Final will be a repeat of last year’s showpiece which took place in Marseille as Stade de France was being prepared for the 2024 Olympic Games.

Bordeaux appear to be at the height of their powers whilst Toulouse one could argue are looking a shade below their best, hampered of course by injuries to star men Dupont, Mauvaka, Capuozzo and co. But you write them off at your peril.

Pumas are extremely athletic and are built for sprinting. They can run up to 50 mph over a short distance. The puma doesn’t have any natural predators in the wild. However, some pumas will have to compete for prey with large powerful predators including wolves and black and brown bears.

A Lion’s roar can be heard up to five miles away and can reach 114 decibels – that’s almost as loud as a chainsaw! They sleep around 20 hours a day and consume 7kgs of meat daily fortunately Andy Farrell’s ‘Pride’ are a bit more active and a bit less carnivorous.

However next Saturday night in Dublin the battle of the big cats takes place at the Aviva Stadium, the following day the British & Irish Lions touring party will jet off to Australia for their much anticipated 2025 tour.

An opportunity to see the Lions play on these shores is rare and one that many rugby fans will be overjoyed to have the opportunity to experience however with around fifteen of the squad unavailable due to the proximity of domestic finals it does somewhat devalue the fixture but maybe I’m just being churlish.

Argentina will also be missing a few stars due to the Top 14 knock out stages and due to recovery from the Gallagher Premiership final.

The lions spent most of last week on the Algarve at the Quinta Do Lago resort in Almancil bonding in glorious sunshine on Portugal’s southern coast. With three golf courses on site I’m happy to report that no one should be feeling under par on their flight to Dublin.

The Lions and the Pumas are not facing each other for the first time in these islands.

Clive Woodward’s British & Irish Lions wanted a warm-up match in 2005. They offered Argentina the opportunity of playing in Cardiff on May 23. Argentina accepted knowing that the date was far from ideal with many of their players involved in various cup finals around the globe.

Argentina were missing twenty-six front line players but managed to earn a creditable 25-25 draw and a moral victory against a lack lustre Lions team whose blushes were spared by 20 points from the boot of Jonny Wilkinson.

British & Irish Lions 25 (16) Tries: Smith Cons: Wilkinson Pens: Wilkinson 6

Argentina 25 (19) Tries: Piossek Cons: Todeschini Pens: Todeschini 6

Lions: G Murphy; D Hickie, O Smith, G D’Arcy, S Williams; J Wilkinson, G Cooper; G Rowntree, S Byrne, J Hayes; D O’Callaghan, D Grewcock; M Corry, L Moody, M Owen (capt).
Replacements: S Thompson, J White, B Kay, L Dallaglio, C Cusiter, R O’Gara, S Horgan.

Argentina: B Stortoni; J Nunez Piossek, L Arbizu, F Contepomi (capt), F Leonelli; F Todeschini, N Fernandez Miranda; F Mendez, M Ledesma, M Reggiardo, P Bouza, M Sambucetti, F Genoud, M Schusterman, J-M Leguizamon.
Replacements: E Guinazu, L de Chazal, M Carizza, S Sanz, F Bosch, L Borges, L Lopez Fleming

Referee: S Dickinson (Australia)

Friday night in Dublin will hopefully be an entertaining and perhaps more importantly an injury free affair as the Lions fly out to Australia the following day.

Playing in the Top 14 in France is a bit like painting the Forth Bridge, once you get to the very end, it is time to start again at the beginning.

A tournament that started on 7 September 2024 finished its league stage last night will now proceed to a knock-out format until it reaches the final in Paris on 28 June.

All this weekend’s Round 26 matches kicked off at the same time, 9pm (CET) in the interests of transparency. There was still plenty to play for, with the only certainty before the mass kick off’s began being the fact that Toulouse had topped the table and were guaranteed a semi-final in Lyon on 20/21 June, whatever happened on Saturday night.

The other guaranteed semi finalist still had to be settled, with only two teams in the frame, Bordeaux and Toulon.

With Bordeaux defeating bottom of the table Vannes they achieved second place in the table and along with it that other prized semi-final berth in Lyon.

Clubs ending up in the table between fourth and sixth will now play off in the ‘Barrages’ with the winners earning the two remaining semi-final spots… still with me ?

Well the outcome of a very late night in the Republic saw Toulon, Bayonne, Clermont and Castres qualifying for the barrages.

Following an intense night of action, Vannes were relegated to Pro D2 They will be sadly missed next season, as will their unique Breton identity and the warm welcome given to all and sundry at the ‘Rabine’.

Their place in the Top 14 will be taken by Montauban, who beat Grenoble 24-19 in the Pro D2 final.

Grenoble will now face the Top 14’s 13th place side Perpignan, who beat Toulouse 42-35 last night, with the winner getting a coveted top division spot for the 2025/2026 season.

So the knock-out stages of the top tier begin.

On Friday Bayonne face Clermont in the Barrages with the winner of that match playing Toulouse in the first semi-final in Lyon on Friday 20 June.

Next Saturday’s Barrage sees Toulon entertain Castres at the Mayol with the victor facing Bordeaux in the second Lyon semi on Saturday 21 June.

The final Top 14 table makes interesting reading La Rochelle missed out on the knock-out stages by a single point.

There will no doubt be plenty of spills and thrills ahead before the Final in Paris on Saturday 28 June.

The season that never ends is only just getting started.

Scarlet Fever is a terrible affliction, I first contracted it in October 1972, but the outcome was not All Black and the 9/3 chance of survival went in my favour.

Back in the olden days when I was young, Llanelli were the knock-out kings. They won the Welsh cup, which alternated in title between Schweppes, SWALEC, Konica Minolta, and Principality on ten occasions between 1985 and 2010, including four in a row between 1973 and 2010. 1976.

The knock-out kings also reached two European Champions Cup semi-finals, losing both to Northampton and Leinster respectively.

Then in 2017 the knock-out glory days returned with a bang with the men in red winning the Pro12 and in the process defeating Leinster in a semi-final in Dublin followed by victory over Munster in the final. This remarkable Dublin double is now permanently etched in Scarlet folklore.

Yesterday, those from West Wales and the exiled global fever suffers were hoping that lightning would strike twice, albeit with an eight-year gap between the flash and the bang.

But 2025 proved to be absent of any cumulonimbus activity and the charged activity emanating from the blue wave eventually washed away any Scarlet hopes of a repeat of that epic result in 2017, but boy were they were made to work for it.

Two Leinster tries in the opening nine minutes looked ominous for Scarlets, and there were plenty sitting in the Dublin sunshine thinking this may be a rout. But a try from Tom Rogers in the nineteenth minute and a length of the field effort on minute forty from Blair Murray meant there was only one point between the teams at half-time.

An early second half try from Osborne extended Leinster’s lead to 22-14, and Hugo Keenan’s unconverted effort made it 27-14 on 59 minutes.

Prendergast added a 65th minute penalty pen, but Scarlets refused to lie down, and a wonderful move ended with Johnny Williams touching down near the post Costelow’s conversation made it 30-21 and with ten minutes remaining you felt the game with a bit of Carmarthenshire sorcery could still be there for the taking, but another Prendergast pen on 73m sealed it for Leinster

Scarlets can go back across the Irish Sea with their heads held high they have qualified for next season’s Investec Champions Cup and their performances towards the latter part of the season have given a swell of optimism for next season on the field.

Off the field off course is a different matter in the turbulent world of welsh rugby administration but for now the Scarlet faithful can take pride in their knocked out knock out kings and there are worse places to drown your sorrows than Dublin

“Ah, but life is like that! It does not permit you to arrange and order it as you will” Hercule Poirot.

A quote from Poirot, but on this occasion it was from the fictional Belgian detective Hercule and not his thirty-six times capped French namesake and Union Bordeaux Bègles prop Jefferson.

Bordeaux had arranged, ordered and even prayed for some silverware this season and yesterday in the Welsh capital they were finally rewarded for their efforts.

With an empty trophy cabinet gathering dust back at Stade Chaban Delmas Jefferson Poirot was hoping to be a prime suspect to lift the Investec Champions Cup under the roof in Cardiff.

And in the end, the case of the missing trophy was finally solved, a who dunnit where in the final chapter it was Bordeaux who did it. The only crime committed was their profligacy in failing to convert the amount of chances they spurned in the second half.

It’s fair to say that this final was a tale of the unexpected. All bets were on a Toulouse v Leinster repeat, but those two epic semi-finals at the beginning of the month turned the tournament on its head. In the process, it gave us the mouthwatering prospect of two exciting running attacking teams facing each other for the honour of being declared European Champions.

The match did not disappoint. Finals can often be nervous, tight, scrappy affairs, but we knew from the moment Saints kicked off that this game was going to be something special.

A frantic start saw Alex Cole’s first minute try negated by Damian Penaud’s effort in the fifth. In between those two scores, Northampton lost Ramm and Furbank to injury.

Two further Bordeaux tries from Adam Coleman and a second from Penaud gave the French a 20-13 lead before Coles got his second for Northampton in the final minute of the first half. Smith’s conversion made it 20-20 as the half-time whistle blew.

The second half was a different story as Bordeaux’s power began to tell. A Maxime Lucu penalty on 44 minutes and a Cyril Cazeaux try eleven minutes later gave Bordeaux a 28-20 lead, and the last twenty-five minutes of the match remained scoreless.

Jalibert and Lucu’s little grey cells were working overtime as they combined to keep Northampton pegged back in their own half with wave after wave of astute tactical kicking.

Despite their valiant efforts, Saints were unable to get decent field position as the match drew to a close. 

The final whistle drew scenes of unadulterated joy from the UBB players, coaching staff and fans as their thirst for silverware had been finally sated. 

Bordeaux must quickly turn their attention to the Top 14 another chapter for Poirot and another ghost to bury following last season’s thumping in the Final by Toulouse.

The contents of their trophy cabinet might well have doubled come the end of June, although such is the size and weight of the Bouclier de Brennus shield awarded to the Top 14 winners it will need to be housed in a storage unit rather than a trophy cabinet.

As Poirot said in ‘Death on the Nile’ “It is not the past that matters, but the future” but for now Union Bordeaux Bègles are well and truly living in the present and loving every minute of it.

A Canelé is a small pastry flavoured with rum and vanilla, having a soft and tender custard centre and a dark thick caramelised crust. It is a speciality of the Bordeaux region.

Legend has it that the local nuns of the 16th century Annonciade Couvent in Bordeaux used to collect the egg yolks from the wine makers who had used the egg whites to clarify the wine and before adding extra vanilla, rum and sugar shipped back from the Caribbean, together with flour and milk. 

The pastry takes its name from the fluted copper mould in which it is still baked today.

Whether this Aquitaine speciality is as tasty and mouthwatering as the UBB backline is up for debate.

Rum and Vanillia or Bielle-Biarrey and Penaud ? All four Ingredients are guaranteed to satisfy the most discerning of pallets and leave you with a beautiful lingering aftertaste.

On the other hand, if you prefer something a bit more substantial, or dare I say stodgy, then a 140 kg portion of Tongan Ben Tameifuna will also be on the menu.

The club was founded in 2006 when two Bordeaux clubs merged, Stade Bordelais and Club Athlétique Bordeaux-Begles.

The club competed in the ProD2 until gaining promotion to the Top 14 in 2011.

They have not won a trophy under their current guise and having reached the Top 14 final last year whilst playing some wonderful rugby on the way, they were thumped 59-3 by Stade Toulousain in Marseille.

To say they are anxious to bury those ghosts would be an understatement, and Cardiff 2025 would be a perfect setting for them to do so.

They currently lie in second place in the Top 14 table behind Toulouse and are all but guaranteed a semi-final place, so their oefs are definitely not all in one basket.

Yesterday, UBB and Saints both decided against wrapping their players up in cotton and put out their strongest sides in their respective domestic league matches.

Whilst Bordeaux have a clean bill of health and the luxury of taking off Jalibert, Lucu, Poirot, Tatafu and Van Rensburg after 53 minutes, Northampton Saints have injury concerns over hooker Curtis Lang, full-back James Ramm, Temo Mayavanua, and Alex Coles was limping at the end of their last second 28-24 victory over Saracens. Plus, they are already without Furbank, Sleightholme, and Augustus.

But can Bordeaux do it against a Northampton Saints team will still have the roaring Lions that ran Leinster ragged in Dublin ? Well, the proof of the pudding as they say is in the eating.

Bon appétit

Six days ago the Stade Toulousain squad trudged off the field at Matmut Atlantique stadium, their European dreams in tatters.

They were well and truly beaten by Bordeaux in a brutal Investec European Champions Cup semi-final.

Heads bowed and with in an injury list growing by the day, they were faced with a daunting short turnaround before meeting Toulon in Marseille, a massive challenge both physically and mentally.

The Orange Velodrome though is an inspiring place with the mountains peaking through the gaps in the stands it is a wonderful sporting arena.

This annual Top 14 encounter encompasses a rugby festival and the whole area is in rugby party mood along with the sold out 67,000 capacity crowd at the stadium for a post 9pm kick off.

Toulouse injury list resembles a box set of ‘Casualty’. Arnold, Kinghorn, Ramos, Mauvaka, Dupont, Laulala and Banos are all out of action for varying time spans, whilst Bituniyata, Neti, Jack Willis and Juan Cruz Malia were rested due to their recent exertions.

But last night normal service was resumed as their depleted outfit put fifty points on arch rivals Toulon.

Toulon held all the cards in the first half, unfortunately they were yellow and red ones which scuppered any hopes of a victory.

Esteban Abadie received the first carton Jaune after just 8 minutes, followed by Baptiste Serin a minute later after collapsing a maul which resulted in a penalty try for the away side.

Castro-Ferreira and Alainu’uese traded tries for Toulouse and Toulon respectively, whilst Paul Costes received a yellow card for a spear tackle on Baptiste Serin which could easily have been a red.

Serin was the centre of attention again in the 39th minute, when he received his second yellow for interfering with the ball at a ruck in the red zone. Two yellows become a red card, and the talisman scrum-half left his team a man short for the rest of the game.

A scrappy first half ended with a narrow lead for Toulouse (14-13) but the second half was a totally different story.

With an extra man and with the introduction of Meafou and Theo Ntamack, Toulouse scored 36 points to Toulon’s three. Tries rained in from Chocobares, Costes, Lebel, Barassi, and two from Grauo who came on as a replacement for Romain Ntamack after he failed a head injury assessment.

Toulouse are now guaranteed a semi-final berth, which will hopefully give them a bit of time to rest recover and heal their long list of casualties.

Yesterday in front of 2,000 excited onlookers at the 02 arena the 2025 British & Irish Lions squad to tour Australia was announced.

Perhaps the worst kept secret was the identity of the Captain, Maro Itoje,which became common knowledge a long way before the official announcement was made.

Former Wales and Lions legend 2025 tour manager Ieuan Evans read out the names of the 38 players who head down under this summer.

Not too many shocks in selection but the fly half berth will be missing Owen Farrell and Sam Prendergast who were touted heavily for a tour place, and the man of the moment Northampton’s 20 year old Henry Pollock gains a Lions selection after setting the rugby world on fire this season.

Lions Head Coach Andy Farrell, said: “I want to congratulate Maro on being named captain of The British & Irish Lions. 

“This is a great honour for Maro, his family and everyone who has supported him throughout his career from Saracens to England – and on to The Lions in 2017 and 2021. 

“As a two-time tourist, Maro fully understands what The Lions is all about and also the role of the captain in helping the group achieve its goal of winning a Test Series this summer.”

Speaking about the squad, Farrell added: “Since we met as a coaching unit for the very first time six weeks ago we have been discussing more than 75 players of interest. 

“But the key job is getting that squad balance right as we prepare for a long and demanding tour that finishes with a Three Test Series against the Wallabies. 

“I am very excited about working with this group and believe they have the capacity to achieve something special and add to the Lions legacy.”

England captain Itoje, was the youngest player on the 2017 tour of New Zealand.

He has featured in all six of The Lions’ last Test matches and was voted as the Lions’ Player of the Series in South Africa, 2021.

The 2025 Lions Tour Captain Itoje said: “It feels amazing to be named Lions captain. I’m deeply honoured, humbled and I will do my best to do the role justice.

“I am very much looking forward to the challenge ahead, it’s going to be a great Tour. I know the appetite amongst the players is extremely high, everyone is hungry to be a Lion and I can’t wait to play my role.”

The Lions will face Argentina in the 1888 Cup in Dublin, Ireland on Friday, June 20 before heading down under. 

The Tour includes fixtures against Western Force, Queensland Reds, NSW Waratahs, ACT Brumbies, ANZAC Invitational XV, First Nations & Pasifika XV and three Tests against Joe Schmidt’s Wallabies.

The British & Irish Lions Chair and Tour Manager Ieuan Evans, MBE said: “It was my great privilege and thrill to announce the players selected by Andy Farrell and his coaching group for the 2025 Australia Tour. 

“I wish all the players and our new captain Maro Itoje the very best of luck. These are very special days and I am sure all the players will continue to show the qualities of a Lion for the final few weeks of the season before flying to Australia. 

“There is no higher honour in our sport than being selected for a Lions tour and this fantastic group will come together to represent the very best of our four Unions and seek to achieve greatness with a series win over the Wallabies.”

Lions CEO Ben Calveley said: “To be able to share the excitement of our first ever squad announcement amongst more than 2,000 fans at The O2 illustrates why the Lions is so unique. 

“The Sea of Red will now come together and get behind this young and impressive squad that Andy Farrell and his assistant coaches have selected. 

“The live broadcast on Sky Sports ensured a large audience had the opportunity to watch as each player was announced.

“Whilst our digital channels drive engagement around the world as excitement continues to build ahead of the tour.”

The British & Irish Lions Squad

Forwards: (21)
Tadhg Beirne (Munster Rugby/Ireland) #838
Ollie Chessum (Leicester Tigers/England)
Jack Conan (Leinster Rugby/Ireland) #839
Luke Cowan-Dickie (Sale Sharks/England) #851
Scott Cummings (Glasgow Warriors/ Scotland)
Tom Curry (Sale Sharks/England) #853
Ben Earl (Saracens/England)
Zander Fagerson (Glasgow Warriors/Scotland) #848
Tadhg Furlong (Leinster Rugby/Ireland) #818
Ellis Genge (Bristol Bears/England)
Maro Itoje (Saracens/England) #825 (C)
Ronan Kelleher (Leinster Rugby/Ireland)
Joe McCarthy (Leinster Rugby/Ireland)
Jac Morgan (Ospreys/Wales)
Henry Pollock (Northampton Saints/England)
Andrew Porter (Leinster Rugby/Ireland) 
James Ryan (Leinster Rugby/Ireland) 
Dan Sheehan (Leinster Rugby/Ireland)
Pierre Schoeman (Edinburgh Rugby/Scotland)
Will Stuart (Bath Rugby/England)
Josh van der Flier (Leinster Rugby/Ireland)

Backs: (17)
Bundee Aki (Connacht Rugby/Ireland) #837
Elliot Daly (Saracens/England) #822
Tommy Freeman (Northampton Saints/England)
Jamison Gibson-Park (Leinster Rugby/Ireland)
Mack Hansen (Connacht Rugby/Ireland)
Huw Jones (Glasgow Warriors/Scotland)
Hugo Keenan (Leinster Rugby/Ireland)
Blair Kinghorn (Toulouse/Scotland)
James Lowe (Leinster Rugby/Ireland)
Alex Mitchell (Northampton Saints/England)
Garry Ringrose (Leinster Rugby/Ireland)
Finn Russell (Bath Rugby/Scotland) #835
Fin Smith (Northampton Saints/England)
Marcus Smith (Harlequins/ England) #855
Sione Tuipulotu (Glasgow Warriors/Scotland)
Duhan van der Merwe (Edinburgh Rugby/Scotland) #841
Tomos Williams (Gloucester Rugby/Wales)

Wales only have two representatives which brings home the stark reality of their position in world order, their lowest ever representation in a lions squad.

Ireland have the largest representation of players with 15, England have 13 and Scotland 8.

There is still a fair bit of rugby to be played before the lions face Argentina in Dublin and sadly there will no doubt be some casualties before the tour party leave these shores, but for now these are men with the one of rugby’s greatest honours bestowed upon them.

Many years ago when my liver and I were much younger I spent a few nights in Saint-Émilion a beautiful medieval city situated in the Bordeaux wine region that produces one the world’s finest red wines.

In the early mornings I used to don my trainers and run through the cool fresh vineyards just as the sun began to rise I felt like I was in heaven.

It may not have been on a par with Theresa May’s wheat field frolics but I will never forget breathing in that sweet air before the heat of the day kicked in.

The Bordeaux wine region is divided by the Garonne and Dordogne rivers, with the left bank known for Cabernet Sauvignon-dominant wines and the right bank for Merlot-dominant ones.

The left and right divide in their rugby team has some equally tasty and mouth watering vintages and when Damian Penaud and Louis Bielle-Biarrey are uncorked then the beautiful aftertaste their artistry creates leaves you with a craving for more.

Toulouse is the heart of the South-West wine region, which encompasses a vast area with diverse terroirs and grape varieties. 

The region’s wines are known for their unique character producing a range including red, white, rosé, and sparkling as well as sweet and fortified wines.

In rugby terms their classic vintage grand cru, Antoine Dupont, is being forced to lie down like a fine wine to allow us to be able to savour him at a later date when he is ready to be uncorked and returned to full body status.

One man doesn’t make a team but there is no doubt that despite the other classics on the Stade Toulousain Cartes des vins his presence is sorely missed.

This Stade Toulousain vintage was definitely not full bodied yesterday with recent injury victims Peato Mauvaka Blair Kinghorn Rory Arnold and Thomas Ramos absent accompanying Monsieur Dupont on the treatment tables.

A blend of the Bordeaux and Toulouse teams would create the ultimate alchemy in rugby terms but yesterday it was time to decide which of the two would grace the top table with Northampton Saints under the closed gazebo in Cardiff on May 24.

At the magnificent Matmut Atlantique stadium on Cours Jules-Ladoumègue a full house of 40,000 enjoyed a pulsating match with the home team finally getting a knock out victory against their nemesis.

Storms were forecast in the area but under sunny blue skies the thunderous action that took place was on terra firma and the only lightning on show came from the audacious speed of Bordeaux wing Louis Bielle-Biarrey who grabbed a brace of tries to help his side to victory.

Fly half Mathieu Jalibert can veer from hero to villain in an instant but yesterday his body language from the start indicated that this would be a hero day as indeed in proved to be. His kicking and running game put France and Toulouse opposite number one number ten Romain Ntamack in the shade.

The match started at a blistering place and with only three minutes on the clock Jalibert scythed through the Toulouse midfield and offloaded to give the supporting Samu a run-in near the posts.

Jalibert and Juan-Cruz Mallia swapped penalties before Toulouse finally found their offloading game to put Delibes in at the corner.

A Mallia penalty gave Toulouse an 11-10 lead

That lead was short-lived as Bordeaux full-back Romain Buros cut through the defence out wide, and a Damian Penaud pass allowed Bielle-Biarrey to dive acrobatically in at the corner.

Maxime Lucu’s monstrous penalty kick from inside his own half gave Bordeaux an 18-11 half-time lead.

You felt the first score in the second half would be a vital one, and just nineteen seconds after the restart Bielle-Biarrey scored his second and the best try of the game, tiptoeing brilliantly past Graou near the touchline and exchanging passes with Samu before sprinting in beneath the posts.

At 25-11 Toulouse desperately tried to launch a fight back, and after Bordeaux’s Marko Gazzotti was yellow carded at a ruck for slowing the attack down, a resulting scrum allowed Barassi to cut back inside and touch down unopposed.

With fifty-four mins on the clock Toulouse were back within one score at 25-18.

However Bordeaux extended their lead with a try from Bochaton and made the game safe minutes later when Tameifuna crashed over from close range.

So Union Bordeaux-Bègles head to Cardiff for the final on 25 May, and the only downside of the day’s proceedings is the injury that resulted in Damian Penaud being helped from the field.

Whether his tears on the final whistle were ones of joy or sadness we shall have to wait and see.

So whilst Bordeaux’s evening glass of Saint-Émilion will have tasted all the sweeter last night, Toulouse will have probably drowned their sorrows with something more bitter, the aftertaste may linger for a while but they will be back.