Bordeaux-Begles banking on French 'discard' in Euro Final

SPOTLIGHT: Bordeaux-Begles’ Matthieu Jalibert made his France debut as a teenager in 2018 with expectations of a big future for the flyhalf, for club and country.

Since then, he has been restricted to 22 Test starts due to a serious knee injury suffered on his Les Bleus bow and falling behind Romain Ntamack and Thomas Ramos in Fabien Galthie’s pecking order.

For Bordeaux-Begles, however, he has played a crucial role in taking them to the top table of the club game, with the culmination being this Saturday’s Champions Cup Final against Northampton Saints.

Their run to the decider in Cardiff included a superb semi-final performance from Jalibert as the club founded in 2006 put six-time champions Toulouse and Ntamack to the sword.

“He was decisive against Toulouse,” Castres coach Xavier Sadourny told reporters after losing to Bordeaux-Begles last Saturday.

“It’s nothing new, but you get the impression since the semi-final against Toulouse, he’s full of confidence.

“He also gives off that confidence to his teammates.

“He’s a great player, who’s there at the important moments, it’s priceless.”

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‘No easy ride’

Despite Jalibert’s impressive club form, his relationship with the national team has been fraught since his debut seven years ago.

The 26-year-old was the first-choice flyhalf during the 2023 World Cup with Ntamack injured, but he has often been overlooked for the No.10 jersey by Galthie since then.

Jalibert has come under criticism from supporters for his perceived weak defensive efforts and lack of leadership.

He even left the French camp in November, citing mental health issues.

“No one gives him an easy ride,” Sadourny said.

“People are hard on him, but he’s still here.”

His only France appearance in this year’s Six Nations was a lacklustre performance during the defeat to England.

He has been in red-hot form since that loss, scoring 74 points in nine club games.

As well as the Toulouse win, the highlight was setting up half-back partner Maxime Lucu for a try and crossing for a sublime solo effort from 40 metres out against Castres last weekend.

His performance led to him being on Monday’s cover of specialist newspaper Midi Olympique, who described him as a “maestro”.

“It’s true that he’s worked a lot on the aspects of his game that have been criticised,” Bordeaux-Begles fullback Romain Buros said.

“I don’t have the statistics in my head but I don’t think he’s missed many tackles in recent weeks.

“It’s good for him and the squad.

“The fact that he works on things make him confident.”

Jalibert’s ability to orchestrate Bordeaux-Begles’ star-studded backline will have a big impact on the final outcome of this weekend’s match.

He is tasked with getting the best out of speedster wingers Louis Bielle-Biarrey and Damian Penaud as well as Buros, who have contributed a huge 45 tries for Bordeaux-Begles this season.

“His performances speak for themselves, seeing he’s in a good place mentally and on form,” Buros said.

“I hope he’ll keep showing the standards he’s been hitting this weekend.”

* Picture credit: @ChampionsCup