Hello, this is the Ruck, the journalist's rugby podcast from The Times and the Sunday Times.

Welcome along. We're back in studio.

My name's Alfie Reynolds and alongside me to dissect the semifinals in the Champions Cup to look ahead to the Prem Action coming up this weekend is Charlie Morgan. Hi Charlie. Hello, pal. And Will Kellarher, fresh from a trip to Bordeaux, Will. Yeah, I've flown and I'm flying. I've had two coffees. I've been to Leon, because the cafeteria upstairs was closed, brutal.

Bank holiday.

Holiday Monday.

Leroy. Bordeaux will. Yeah, I've flown and I'm flying. I've had two coffees. I've been to Leon, because the cafeteria upstairs was closed, brutal. Bank holiday. Monday. Leon the restaurant. Yeah, yeah. I've been to Bordeaux and then to Leon the fast food chain, not Leon the city. Okay, with you. And your flight this morning was 7 a.m. So you were up at... Well, we all know what this is like. You've set your alarm for 4.45 and your brain every hour goes, oh, remember to wake up, mate. And so then you actually don't sleep. But I can't complain because going to watch Bordeaux play at the moment at that stadium, I know I appreciate it to the football ground, but with that crowd, that atmosphere, even with a delay and quite random weather, it was epic.

Like, I wrote it in my match report.

They've got to be the most entertaining team in rugby at the moment and maybe one of the great attacking teams we've seen in the professional era at least.

And also, I suppose with them getting to their second straight final, an opportunity to win two in a row. Charlie, they have an opportunity to join kind of the great teams in this competition. Don't they? Not many teams go back to back. They've got a chance to do that. Yeah, as Leo Cullen said, it's a very difficult competition to win, as we're going to get into later. But I'd agree with Will, as far as they just play the sport differently in a really refreshing way.

We know they feast on transition, but I think actually Bath's defence force them to be a little

bit different again. Jali Bear sort of probing around the ruck and in difficult conditions as well,

right? Like wet, wet surface, greasy ball and still, they only scored 40 points and have

stormed another final and

I can't wait to see them in that final. Yeah the weather was really mad like I think it's one of

the first rules of journalism is that they go don't write about the weather but then sometimes

you go like well the weather's like quite interesting which sounds like it's so boring but

it was some weirdest day because it was meant to be thunderstormy and it

kind of was and we got a warning before the game from someone in the stadium who was like we've

been told the teams have been told if there's thunder and lightning within 10 kilometers of the

ground will stop the game for half an hour like the lion's third test and people who had flights

home were like imagine if it's extra time plus a lightning delay. How am I going to get back?

Luckily that never came, but it was really humid. Then the sun came out. Then it was really wet.

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