Chiefs humbled by brilliant Bordeaux

Exeter Chiefs were given a lesson in attacking rugby by visiting Bordeaux, going down to a brutal 17-69 defeat to effectively end their hopes of reaching the knock-out stages in the European Champions Cup.

It was always going to be a tough ask for the Chiefs, suffering a rotten campaign in the Gallagher Premiership, but they were given an unexpected early boost when Paul Brown-Bampoe ran the full length of the field to score a scintillating early try.

Unfortunately, it was all downhill from there for the Chiefs.

Bordeaux responded in a flash with a score from Maxime Lucu and Damian Penaud, who would go on to bag a hat-trick, pushed the visitors into a deserved lead with a sweetly-taken try.

Penaud was simply too good for the Chiefs, weaving past defenders to open space for Lucu to dive over for his second. The pace and precision of Bordeaux’s attacking rugby was relentless, with Louis Bielle-Biarrey and hooker Maxime Lamothe also touching down to leave Exeter trailing 5-31 at the break.

There was no respite for the Chiefs in the second period. Penaud and Bielle-Biarrey added to the Bordeaux try count before Cyril Cazeaux took the away tally to a painful eight scores.

Brown-Bampoe provided some cheer with his second try on his European debut but the superb Penaud then teed up Mathhieu Jalibert with a delicious pass. Substitute Yann Lesgourgues added more salt to a gaping home wound.

A reckless challenge from Toma Taufa saw the Bordeaux man dismissed from the field and a neat score by Ben Hammersley gave the Chiefs some hope of a losing bonus point but it was perhaps fitting that Penaud rounded off a complete performance with his hat-trick try.

The Chiefs travel to Ulster in the Champions Cup on Friday.