The Champions Cup has concluded, and European rugby’s premier competition delivered some great moments.
We saw plenty of drama in the pool stages, a lot of shocks in the knockouts and a very evenly matched final between two quality teams.
Lots happened on and off the pitch, with plenty of interesting storylines.
From a first-time winner to a truly bizarre reason behind a game starting late, here are some of the best moments from a memorable season.
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Bordeaux Win First Title
Bordeaux Begles’ 28-20 win over Northampton Saints in Cardiff meant that they won their first ever Champions Cup title.
Following success over Ulster, Munster and Toulouse in the knockouts, they stepped up when it mattered at the Principality Stadium.
With some dynamic and entertaining rugby played on the way to their success, it was a great campaign for Yannick Bru’s side.
A historical and well-earned moment for all involved in UBB, the celebrations in the city following the success showed just how much the victory meant to the club and the area.
Penaud Breaks Record
UBB winger Damian Penaud has been a man on a mission this Champions Cup campaign, breaking a couple of huge records.
He scored a mammoth 14 tries in total, which eclipses Chris Ashton’s previous record of 11.
Given that he played eight games, that is almost two tries a game.
Another record broken was the most in a single game, when he scored six in one game against the Sharks in the pool stage.
Clearly one of the best wingers in the world right now, it will be very hard for anyone to even come close to Penaud’s records.
Parachutist Drama
This moment gets in by virtue of being one of the most random things to ever happen in a rugby stadium.
Toulouse’s game against Sale Sharks had to kick off later than usual, but for a very bizarre reason.
A parachutist had managed to get his parachute stuck on the roof of the stadium, so he was hanging on by a thread.
With the crowd below needing to be evacuated, eventually he was retrieved and they got him down safely.
The game went ahead, and Toulouse ended up winning, but it will always be remembered for the pre-match antics.
Northampton Saints’ win at Leinster
On the way to the final, Northampton Saints pulled off one of the biggest shocks when they beat Leinster 37-34 in Dublin.
Nobody gave Northampton a chance at coming away with a win in the semis, but they rallied together and put in an absolute shift to beat the star-studded Leinster team.
Tommy Freeman’s hat-trick and Henry Pollock’s celebrations will forever be etched in the memories of Saints fans.
The mini-documentary posted after the game by the media team at the club also gave a great insight into the passion that came with the win.
Castres away win over Sarries
An extremely underrated moment was when Castres beat Saracens at the StoneX Stadium for their first away win in Europe for 12 years.
Not only that, but the Top 14 team were heavily rotated and somehow managed to beat a very strong Sarries lineup.
It was also the first time that they had reached the knockout stage since 2002, finishing the pool in second place.
A great bit of history for the French club and an embarrassing moment for Saracens.
Glasgow make history
Somewhat surprisingly, Glasgow Warriors won their first-ever European knockout stage this season, when they comprehensively beat Leicester Tigers at Scotstoun in the round of 16.
Franco Smith’s side absolutely dominated the Tigers and were deserved winners that night.
Given that they won the URC last season, it was a bit of a surprise that it has taken so long for them to win a knockout game in the competition.
It set up a game against Leinster, which they got battered 52-0, but their win before that was a nice bit of history and one that will be remembered fondly in Glasgow.
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