From bankruptcy to 'people's team' - Bordeaux set for Champions Cup final

Leinster boss Leo Cullen captained his home province to back-to-back Heineken Cups - now known as the Champions Cup - in 2011 and 2012, while Bordeaux won promotion and then finished eighth in France's top flight. Roll on 14 years and Bordeaux are favourites for the final, looking to emulate the Irish province by retaining the Champions Cup. It has been a remarkable rise for the French club that formed only in 2006 after the merger of Pro D2 side Stade Bordelais and Club Athletique Bordeaux Begles Gironde who, because of a pool-stage draw with Cardiff, agonisingly missed out on a semi-final place in the inaugural Heineken Cup in 1995-96.

After 90 years in France's top flight, financial struggles meant CA Bordeaux Begles Gironde were relegated to the third tier in 2003, before the club declared bankruptcy a year later. Two years on, Union Stade Bordelais-Club Athletique Bordeaux-Begles Gironde was formed after the two Bordeaux-based clubs joined forces. That mouthful was shortened to Union Bordeaux Begles (UBB) in 2008 - and their side now contains France stars Louis Bielle-Biarrey, Damian Penaud and Matthieu Jalibert.

Listen on BBC Sounds with live text on BBC Sport app & website Australian back Blair Connor, aged 21 at the time, got in touch with his agent to look at clubs overseas after struggling to break through as a regular at Queensland Reds. When second division Bordeaux Begles came up as an option for the 2010-11 campaign, a quick Google search of the coastline was enough to persuade the keen surfer. "I knew nothing.

I looked on the map and saw it was not far from the beach. I love surfing, so I thought, 'Sweet, I can surf once or twice a week. ' That is about how much I knew," Connor told BBC Sport.