Sleeping giants of French rugby awaken

Bordeaux-Bègles host Toulouse in the Champions Cup semifinal on Sunday having come a long way since their inception more than two decades ago.

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Paris - Bordeaux-Bègles host Toulouse in the Champions Cup semifinal on Sunday having come a long way since their inception more than two decades ago.

In 2006, clubs from Bordeaux and Bègles, a suburban town to the south, merged to create "Union Bordeaux-Bègles".

Bordeaux won the first of their seven French titles in 1899 while Bègles claimed the last of their two in 1991.

The aim was to make the most out of the economic stability, passion for rugby and the player pool in the country's ninth biggest municipality.