The Bordeaux Bègles players stayed on in Bilbao after retaining the Champions Cup on Saturday. Judging by their victorious walk through the city’s airport the next morning as the wheelchair-bound Cameron Woki held the trophy, they had understandably enjoyed a good night.On Monday, the squad were greeted by a crowd estimated between 40,000 and 50,000 for an open-top bus parade through Bordeaux to the hotel de ville for a mayoral reception. Head coach Yannick Bru, captain Maxime Lucu et al then travelled on to the Stade Chaban-Delmas, which had been packed for a large-screen viewing of Saturday’s final, and was again for this homecoming.This echoed the celebratory reception afforded Ronan O’Gara and his La Rochelle squad after their back-to-back triumphs, and for UBB’s victorious homecoming at this point a year ago; two hungry clubs enjoying long-awaited success. By contrast, the Leinster squad flew home after the final, as had Ulster on Friday, presumably all part of the IRFU/provincial cost-pruning.But stop for a moment and consider the scale of the La Rochelle and UBB homecomings. Would there have been any kind of open-top bus parade for Leinster had they ended their eight-year search for a fifth star? Does the old Heineken Cup even resonate as it did when Munster fans filled O’Connell Street in Limerick for the 2006 final in Cardiff? No, the sad truth is it doesn’t.Leaving the San Mamés Stadium at 9.45pm on Saturday evening, the cooler temperatures would have better suited the Leinster players, but the 3.45pm kick-off local time was due to avoid a clash with the closing ceremony of the Cannes film festival. How very French.But therein lies the rub. The Champions Cup final was televised live on France TV, which is free to air, as well as beIN Sports. So are selected Top 14 matches in every round. French club rugby is reaching out to a massive mainstream audience. Their players are identifiable. Only Kylian Mbappé is bigger than Antoine Dupont, and Louis Bielle-Biarrey has moved into that firmament.[ Owen Doyle: Referees get an armchair ride as Leinster and Ulster crash and burnOpens in new window ]Thanks to the deals struck by the EPCR and URC for Irish provincial games, and the priorities of RTÉ and Virgin Media TV, the provinces and their players have nothing like the same reach in Ireland. In fact, they probably have a bigger reach in France.Bordeaux Bègles' Louis Bielle-Biarrey goes past Hugo Keenan of Leinster during the Champions Cup final at San Mames Stadium in Bilbao. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho The rise of UBB is typical of how the Top 14 dwarfs Ligue 1, which is the plaything of the Qatari-owned PSG, who have won 12 of the last 14 titles. It also dwarfs the URC and the Premiership.The latest broadcast rights deal for the Top 14 and ProD2 deal between Canal+ and the LNR (Ligue Nationale de Rugby) will increase to €696.8 million from the 2027-2028 season until 2031-2032. Valued at €128.7 million per season, the contract marks a 13.3 per cent increase from their previous agreement and secures exclusive live coverage of all matches.Yet it is a little misleading of Leo Cullen to say Leinster are competing against French juggernauts. That might have been true a decade or so ago when French rugby was once awash with foreign A-listers such as Bryan Habana, who helped Mourad Boudjellal’s big-spending Toulon team of galacticos to three successive Heineken Cups. Less so now.UBB’s salary cap is €12.5 million. That places real restrictions on them. It’s why they had to move Damian Penaud into centre after Nicolas Depoortère was injured, and sacrificed Jonny Gray to sign Hugo Reus when Joey Carbery was sidelined for the rest of the season.Another game changer in 2009-2010 was the LNR’s introduction of the JIFF rules (Joueurs Issus des Filières de Formation) quota system for home-grown players, which has increased steadily over the years.France never reached one of the first 10 under-20 World Cup finals. Since 2018 they have won three of the last five, and they have 14 clubs to blood them. UBB’s 21-year-old number eight Marko Gazzotti was part of France’s 2023 under-20 triumph.UBB also make astute signings. Salesi Rayasi was bought from relegated Vannes. Adam Coleman, now Tongan after being discarded by Australia and who caused such critical damage to the Leinster lineout, was snapped up from London Irish.Leinster's Dan Sheehan tackles Union Bordeaux Bègles' Salesi Rayasi during the Champions Cup final at San Mames Stadium, Bilbao. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho French clubs now invest money like never before elsewhere. Also walking through Bilbao airport was a UBB backup staff of 28, be they assistant coaches, video analysts, physios, rehab coaches, doctors, nutritionists. It was akin to the array of back-room staff which joined in with the Arsenal players for the Premier League trophy celebrations.Like other Top 14 clubs, the 28 come from all corners of the rugby world, including Clare’s Noel McNamara. French clubs are now receptive to outside expertise and rotate big squads, so have never been fitter.The IRFU and the provinces are coy about their annual playing budgets, but it’s estimated that the playing budget for Leinster is about €10 million.Leinster’s match-day squad boasted 14 Lions plus a 78-times capped All Black, as well as Caelan Doris, who would have captained the Lions but for a cruel injury. It also boasted 789 Test caps to UBB’s precise tally of 300.The heat was a factor. McNamara said the real-feel temperature for the Champions Cup final was nearer 40 degrees, which makes Leinster’s longer warm-up, by about six or seven minutes, all the more puzzling.But it cannot disguise that UBB played with more energy and cutting edge, nor account for Leinster’s litany of errors in the first half especially. Their display simply did not add up to the sum of its parts. And deep down they’ll know that better than anyone.That was a deflating and damaging weekend for Leinster and Ulster, and by extension Irish rugby. Ulster and Leinster conceded 100 points between them. UBB also saw off the champions of France, England and the URC, in again going unbeaten as top seeds, yet McNamara also said that UBB’s ceiling is “far, far away”.After that weekend the thought of Leinster, never mind the other three Irish provinces, winning another Champions Cup to add to the triumph of 2018 has never felt further away.gerry.thornley@irishtimes.com