The greatest Champions Cup finals in history ahead of 2026 showpiece

Ahead of Saturday's Champions Cup final between Leinster and Bordeaux-Begles in Bilbao, we look back at the greatest European Cup finals in history...

The 2023 final between four-time winners Leinster and then reigning champions La Rochelle at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin - a repeat of the 2022 final in Marseille, when Ronan O'Gara's La Rochelle came from eight points down to win in the last minute - was arguably the greatest Champions Cup final witnessed so far.

On the day, a magnificent comeback from 17 points down saw La Rochelle become back-to-back Champions Cup winners with a dramatic 27-26 win over Leinster on their own patch.

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Leinster were 17-0 ahead inside 12 minutes, as hooker Dan Sheehan (two) and wing Jimmy O'Brien scored tries in a stunning start to the game which also saw La Rochelle scrum-half Tawera Kerr-Barlow sin-binned.

The French club hit back through a Jonathan Danty try, but fell 23-7 behind after a couple of Ross Byrne penalties, before Danty's midfield partner UJ Seuteni crucially scored a second try late in the opening half to bring the visitors within nine points.

O'Gara's charges then proceeded to dominate virtually the entirety of the second half, displaying superiority at scrum and maul time, but Leinster's superb defence just kept them out for prolonged spells after Antoine Hastoy had cut the gap to six points.

That was until replacement tighthead Georges Henri Colombe forced his way over with eight minutes to play, with Hastoy converting for a one-point lead - completing the largest comeback in European Cup final history in doing so.

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Leinster did have a final chance to win it once Danty was sin-binned for a high tackle, attacking hard at the La Rochelle try-line in the closing minutes, but just when it seemed the Irish province would perform a role reversal of La Rochelle's late success in Marseille, prop Michael Ala'alatoa was red carded for a dangerous, out-of-control clearout on Colombe, allowing La Rochelle to clear the danger and deservedly celebrate wildly.

Before the 2023 epic in Dublin, the largest final comeback in Champions Cup history came in 2011 when Leinster clinched their second title after a gripping 33-22 win over Northampton Saints in Cardiff.

The Saints appeared on course for a second European Cup victory after taking a 22-6 half-time lead, but a stunning fightback from the Irish side, led by Johnny Sexton, enabled them to win the tournament for the second time in three years.

Tries from Phil Dowson, Ben Foden and Dylan Hartley put Northampton on course for victory before Leinster rallied and completely dominated the second half.

Sexton scored after the restart, and the Ireland out-half quickly crossed the line again before a Leinster penalty enabled them to turn their hefty deficit into a one-point lead within the space of 17 second-half minutes.

Nathan Hines scored Leinster's third try, in his final game before joining Clermont Auvergne, as the Blues completed a remarkable turnaround.

Up there with the most entertaining of European Cup finals in history, Leicester clinched their first triumph in the competition in 2001 after a stirring win over Stade Francais in Paris.

It looked as if the French side would be crowned champions, leading for most of the match, but a try from Leon Lloyd in the last minute snatched the win for the Tigers.

Diego Dominguez scored all of Stade Francais' points, which included nine penalties, as the side stood on the verge of European glory.

Trailing 15-9 at the break, Lloyd scored at the start of the second half before Neil Back's converted try made it 21-21.

Dominguez edged Stade Francais back in front, but the contest was decided right at the end when Austin Healey broke clear down the middle and set up Lloyd for the winning try.