Bordeaux-Bègles secondrow ready for tough challenge in a decider where ‘small moments matter’Bordeaux-Bègles' Adam Coleman said the pain of losing can be a good teacher. Photograph: Romain Perrocheau/AFP via Getty Images) Wed May 20 2026 - 15:03 • 4 MIN READBordeaux-Bègles and Adam Coleman took a chance on one another in the summer of 2023. The Tasmanian-born secondrow was without a club after London Irish folded, while the French club were midtable in the Top 14. The timing was serendipitous but neither party would have envisaged at that precise moment just how harmonious and, ultimately, successful the hastily arranged marriage would prove. The 34-year-old wasn’t cowed by the challenge, even as a non-French speaker.His career had taken him from the Force and the Rebels in Super Rugby to London Irish, and from Test match rugby with the Wallabies where he won 38 caps before transferring allegiance in 2023 to Tonga, who his father, Pau’u Lolohea-Afeaki, had captained. Rugby heritage is plentiful in the family, his cousins include Wallaby Rodney Blake, former Hurricane and Tonga captain Inoke Afeaki and All Black Ben Afeaki. Coleman is a key player in so many aspects of the game, his power and size being key attributes. He said at the time: “When London Irish went down, I genuinely didn’t know what was going to happen next for my career. But to come here, to meet the people and live in Bordeaux, it’s an incredible place. You get this incredible lifestyle and the opportunity to play with so many great French internationals. They are all the benefits of playing overseas.”He’s unpacked quite a lot in the interim, coming up short in a couple of French Top 14 campaigns but then winning a first ever Champions Cup title last season. Looking fit and relaxed, the 6ft 9in, 19 stone secondrow offered an appraisal of Leinster’s qualities.“Obviously we’ve done a pretty good preview of them. I think it’s not a hidden fact that they’ve got a very good set piece, and the defence, they contest the ruck quite hard. Pretty much every ruck’s contested, so I think the ruck’s a crucial area for us.“Their defence is a rushed defence. They’re all in and it shows; they’ve got a very good defence system. As do we and we’ve got a very good attack too, so I think it’s going to be a good game of rugby.”Do Leinster present a similar shape or orientation in attack, defence or any other aspect of their game to a particular Top 14 club? Coleman sidesteps adroitly. “I try not to compare the Top 14 with other competitions,” he says with a smile. Adam Coleman of Tonga gestures after the Rugby World Cup 2023 match against Scotland at Stade de Nice. Photograph: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images “I think that’s what’s unique about the European Cup, is that you have to take each team for what they are. They play very structured rugby, but they do play what’s in front of them also. They play to space a lot, so we’re going to have to put in a big defensive effort on the weekend.”Coleman declined to single out individual Leinster players, seeking refuge in “all internationals”, “good team”, “the backrow is elite”, and only breaking cover when mentioning Rieko Ioane, as he points out “he’s been playing very good footy”.Bordeaux’s attack coach Noel McNamara will have an intimate knowledge of the Leinster way as a former academy and A coach at the province. He is also an Ireland Under-20 Grand Slam winning coach, where Harry Byrne, Thomas Clarkson and Scott Penny were mainstays. Joe McCarthy played for him the following year.Coleman offered a synopsis of McNamara’s impact. “I think it’s proven in results, how we’ve been attacking, [in] how Noel’s influenced the team with the attack structures that we have. He lets the boys play, but within a structure.“He leads the attack very well. He’s a great coach, a great person to be around and have around the club. Obviously, him being from Ireland, he kind of has an idea of how they’ll play, but the focus this week has been on us.”Bordeaux-Bègles coach Noel McNamara at the Principality Stadium, Cardiff. Photograph: James Crombie/©INPHO Leinster and Bordeaux have both experienced heartache in trying to chase down trophies, the Irish province have lost four European finals since their last triumph in 2018, while the French club endured their own setbacks domestically.Coleman accepted that pain can be a good teacher. “You work so hard to get to a final and you lose. You’ve definitely got that chip on the shoulder the next time. We felt that 2023 in the Top 14, 2024 in the Top 14, and then we finally got a European Championship last year. Rugby is an emotional roller coaster.”[ Gordon D’Arcy: Leinster’s chances of Champions Cup success lie largely with two playersOpens in new window ]He laughed when asked if there was any point where he could relax in last year’s final victory over the Northampton Saints. “I don’t think there was any moment in that match I could breathe easy until that last whistle went. You can’t think like that in a game. “That’s where it can catch you out. Teams can score three tries in 10 minutes these days. It’s really important that we have to stay on top of our game for the whole 80 minutes and if it goes beyond that, we take it as it comes. “Small moments matter in this game, as does every game, but it could come down to a penalty. We want to make sure that we’re disciplined enough that it falls our way.”IN THIS SECTION