Bordeaux Begles vs Ulster Prediction: Bordeaux too strong for Ulster

With a place in the European Rugby Champions Cup quarter-finals up for grabs, Sunday afternoon (12:30, Premier Sports 1) will see Bordeaux Begles and Ulster face off at the Stade Chaban-Delmas. 

Alex Jack provides his best bets in his Bordeaux Begles vs Ulster prediction piece, as well as all the essential team news and match odds for the showdown across the Channel.

Rugby Union Odds

Team News

Bordeaux line up with Jefferson Poirot, Maxime Lamothe and Ben Tameifuna in the front row, with Cyril Cazeaux and Adam Coleman in the engine room. 

Mahamadou Diaby, Guido Petti and Pete Samu start in the back row, with Maxime Lucu and Joey Carbery named as half-backs. 

Ben Tapuai and Yoram Moefana form the centres, with a back three of Pablo Uberti, Damian Penaud and Romain Buros. 

As for Ulster, the visitors start with Andrew Warwick, Rob Herring and Tom O'Toole in the front row, with locks Kieran Treadwell and skipper Alan O'Connor in behind. 

James McNabney, Nick Timoney and David McCann complete the pack, with John Cooney and Jack Murphy starting in the half-backs. 

Stuart McCloskey and James Hume are the centres, with a back three of Jacob Stockdale, Zac Ward and Michael Lowry. 

Bordeaux Begles vs Ulster Odds

Bordeaux are the heavy 1/33 favourites to win on home soil, while Ulster are 11/1 to head back home with a famous victory. 

A draw in the 80 minutes at the Stade Chaban-Delmas is available at 28/1, while Ulster are 8/11 with a +13.5 first-half handicap. 

Bordeaux Begles -27 handicap @ 11/10

These sides have already crossed paths in the European Champions Cup this season in the pool stage and it was a game Ulster would sooner forget in Belfast. 

Bordeaux hammered Ulster on their own patch, with the Top 14 side running in six tries on their way to a 40-19 victory at Ravenhill Stadium. 

These sides have met on three previous occasions in the Champions Cup, and Bordeaux have been victorious every time. 

Missing speedster Louis Bielle-Biarry is a blow for the hosts this weekend, but with Penaud, Uberti, and Buros in the back three, there is enough firepower to cause Ulster problems.  

Their attacking prowess, combined with a strong defensive structure under head coach Yannick Bru, makes them formidable opponents for any team, including Ulster. 

Winning 15 of their last 16 games at home in all competitions, Bordeaux are nearly unstoppable on their own patch in the southwest of France. 

After they beat South African outfit the Sharks 66-12 in their last home game in the European Champions Cup, this might be a similar scoreline against Ulster on Sunday.  

With that in mind, although the -27 handicap will require a top performance from Bordeaux, overcoming that margin looks achievable here at odds of 11/10.