With the Bordeaux sun beating down on a sold-out Stade Chaban-Delmas, the stage was set for a memorable afternoon, and the supporters did not leave unhappy as the home team beat Ulster 43-31.
And it didn’t take long to create those memories either when Damian Penaud was on hand to go over with just six minutes on the clock.
He already had 10 tries under his belt from the pool stages, and Christ Ashton saw his record of 11 equalled when Penaud weaved in and out of the Ulster defenders to break through and soar home for the tie’s opener.
The crowd were hungry for more, though, and the UBB men were more than happy to oblige.
Ben Tameifuna bullied his way over from close distance on 15 minutes before Adam Coleman reached over at full stretch to join the festivities. Three tries in 20 minutes and Ulster were already under the cosh that they would’ve been dreading coming into it.
But the Irish side managed to stem their defensive bleeds by going forward before the half-hour mark through Tom O’Toole when the prop powered over to end a drawn-out move.
It was a similar story for the visitors’ second - Dave McCann edged it over which, with Carbery’s conversion, brought them to within seven.
Bordeaux wasn’t done, though, and Buros grabbed one before the break to keep the visitors at arm's length.
The flurry of tries in the final third of the first half didn’t set the tone for the restart as both sides settled into turnover exchanges as they found their feet.
An even first 10 minutes did culminate in another cross for the hosts courtesy of Maxime Lamothe, but Ulster hit right back five minutes later through Nick Timoney to restore the deficit.
Ulster thought they had another when Zac Ward chased down a pinpoint kicked through-ball to touchdown in the final inches of the in-goal. It was a false alarm, though, as a knock-on in the build-up ruled it out. However, it acted as a timely reminder of the Irish side’s threats.
Camped inside the UBB 22, Ulster made the next five minutes count to go over in the corner and mute the home fans’ once audible confidence.
Rohan Janse van Rensburg was on hand to restore the noise inside Chaban-Delmas though with 10 minutes from time. The South African’s 109kg strength proved too much for the Ulster defence, and he wriggled over to put breathing space between the two.
Ulster did get a consolation back five minutes from time for what was Ward’s brace, but it was too little, too late for the Ireland side.
Their second win in as many outings against Ulster, UBB, sealed their ticket for the quarterfinals, where they will come up against Munster Rugby.
Scorers:
Union Bordeaux-Begles: Tries: Damian Penaud, Ben Tameifuna, Adam Coleman, Romain Buros, Maxime Lamothe, Rohan Janse van Rensburg. Conversions: Joey Carbery (4), Matthieu Jalibert. Penalty: Maxime Lucu.
Ulster Rugby: Tries: Tom O'Toole, Dave McCann, Nick Timoney, Zac Ward (2). Conversions: John Cooney (2), Nathan Doak.
Teams:
Union Bordeaux-Begles: 15 Romain Buros, 14 Damian Penaud, 13 Yoram Moefana, 12 Ben Tapuai, 11 Pablo Uberti, 10 Joey Carbery, 9 Maxime Lucu (c), 8 Pete Samu, 7 Guido Petti, 6 Mahamadou Diaby, 5 Adam Coleman, 4 Cyril Cazeaux, 3 Ben Tameifuna, 2 Maxime Lamothe, 1 Jefferson Poirot. Replacements: 16 Romain Latterrade, 17 Matis Perchaud, 18 Sipili Falatea, 19 Pierre Bochaton, 20 Bastien Vergnes-Taillefer, 21 Yann Lesgourgues, 22 Rohan Janse van Rensburg, 23 Matthieu Jalibert.
Ulster Rugby: 15 Mike Lowry, 14 Zac Ward, 13 James Hume, 12 Stuart McCloskey, 11 Jacob Stockdale, 10 Jack Murphy, 9 John Cooney, 8 Dave McCann, 7 Nick Timoney, 6 James McNabney, 5 Kieran Treadwell, 4 Alan O’Connor (c), 3 Tom O’Toole, 2 Rob Herring, 1 Andrew Warwick. Replacements: 16 Tom Stewart, 17 Callum Reid, 18 Scott Wilson, 19 Matt Dalton, 20 Matty Rea, 21 Nathan Doak, 22 Aidan Morgan, 23 Stewart Moore.