Bordeaux to target Saints' youngster

Bordeaux-Begles captain Maxime Lucu said on Friday the French club are planning to “neutralise” Northampton’s in-form loose forward Henry Pollock.

Youngster Pollock was named in the British and Irish Lions squad for this summer’s tour after some superb performances for club and country.

The 20-year-old crossed twice on his England debut in March before scoring an impressive solo try in the Champions Cup semifinal win at four-time winners Leinster earlier this month.

“He’s a very classy player. He has incredible qualities,” scrumhalf Lucu said before Saturday’s game in Cardiff.

“When you talk about big players like that it’s important to neutralise them.

“He’s a threat to us,” the 32-year-old added.

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In the build-up to the game, France scrumhalf Lucu has sent photos of Pollock to his Bordeaux-Begles loose forward teammates, including 20-year-old Marko Gazotti and Pierre Bochaton, to remind them of the task at hand this weekend.

“They’re little jokes we’ve shared this week,” Lucu said

“They were mainly for Marco Gazzotti, because they [Pollock] are part of the same generation.

“They’ll have a battle,” he added.

Some 10,000 empty seats are expected at the Millenium Stadium for the game, Bordeaux-Begles’ first Champions Cup Final.

Up to 15,000 Northampton fans will make the journey from the East Midlands, England while at least 2,500 fans will travel from south-west France.

The low number of French fans is down to a lack of travel connections and a meagre number of hotel rooms in the Welsh capital, inflating prices on match weekends.

However, tens of thousands are set to flood the streets of Bordeaux to watch the Final on big screens.

“We know it’s not easy to come here to Cardiff because it’s costly too,” Lucu said.

“We’re proud to have between 3,000-5,000 people from Bordeaux in Cardiff to support us because it’s a historic moment for the club, a first European Final.

“We have to give something back to them and also the supporters who have stayed in Bordeaux to watch the match,” he added.