Bordeaux inspired by McIlroy's Masters feat

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After a stunning performance, Mathieu Jalibert led the Bordeaux celebrations

Lucu and Jalibert's partnership - which shone for France when Dupont was sidelined with a knee injury - goes beyond what you see on the pitch.

"It's no happy accident," said McNamara. They make the effort to connect. They've been together for quite a long time.

"I think there's a really nice symbiosis between the two of them, but honestly a lot of it is work, it's connecting off the pitch, it's preparation and it's understanding what they see."

Behind it all, says McNamara, is a "very straightforward mindset" and "part of our identity" is to celebrate the player who wins a big collision or a crucial turnover as much as the team-mate who scores the try.

"It's something that really suits our profile and something we've worked really hard to build good habits around," he added.

"I think that's probably where we've probably come on a little bit even this year, just understanding the effort and the work that goes in to create those moments where we're going to strike, rather than just when that moment comes."

It is those habits that will drive Bordeaux's bid to match the great Toulon side of 2013-2015 who won three successive Champions Cups.

Can Ireland bridge gap?

Such is France's stranglehold in the Champions Cup, Top 14 sides have lifted the trophy in each of the last six seasons, with Bordeaux's double joining two each for La Rochelle and Toulouse.

Leinster have been the losers in four of those deciders, and their wait for a fifth European star will go on.

McNamara, who used to coach at Leinster and with Ireland's underage set-up, said his former side have shown "remarkable consistency to keep coming back".

"I think lesser people and lesser teams probably wouldn't be able to do that, so it's tough for them. I hope to see them back in the fight next year," he said.

"It's an incredibly competitive competition and it creates tough times and tough people."

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Leinster, Ulster and Ireland have all come out second best to France or French opposition in the space of three months

Being second best has been a theme this season, too, with Andy Farrell's Ireland and Ulster also the best of the rest in the other competitions.

Tony McWhirter, a 1999 European Cup winner with Ulster, feels French rugby "is completely different" as sides target European glory as a priority.

He said France have the money to build their club structure around the best players in the game, while Ireland's focus is on developing the international side.

"You could see what it meant to Bordeaux to win it, and the same with Montpellier," McWhirter said on the Ireland Rugby Social podcast.

"The issue is we are talking about taking ourselves from being second, and the problem from the weekend is that it shows we are probably not close enough to make that move to be number one.

"We're not too far away and we're building to get there, but French rugby is in a different place at the minute."