Five tries each saw the spoils shared as Gloucester Rugby and Union Bordeaux Begles opened their Investec Champions Cup campaigns with a thrilling draw at Kingsholm.
It was a try apiece within the first ten minutes. The deadlock was broken in the fourth minute by the back-to-back champions through Martin Page-Relo, but Gloucester responded less than five minutes later as Arthur Clark bundled over the line. Both conversions were successful.
Gloucester got another in the 14th minute through Max Llewellyn. A powerful scrum overturned the ball, and Jack Clement's beautiful breakaway set up some nice attacking play for Gloucester, which Llewellyn finished off. Bordeaux retaliated five minutes later with a powerful finish of their own, courtesy of Sipili Falatea.
Bordeaux pulled in front through a sensational 55-metre penalty by Maxime Lucu in the 26th minute, but Gloucester retook the lead in the 34th minute as George Barton bumped off Salesi Rayasi for the score.
Barton matched Lucu's penalty attempt to extend Gloucester's lead to seven as the teams went in at half-time.
HALF-TIME: Gloucester Rugby 24-17 Union Bordeaux Begles
The visitors opened the second half just as they did the first when Pablo Uberti dived over in the corner in the 47th minute. This was then added to by Louis Bielle-Biarrey, as the superstar made use of the overlap to exploit the space for the putdown.
Gloucester got two quick tries in the 56th and 60th minutes, both through Will Trenholm, as the replacement back-rower made an immediate impact. This was countered by another cracking score from Bielle-Biarrey, whose speed was too much for the opposing side.
FULL-TIME: Gloucester Rugby 36-36 Union Bordeaux Begles
Match details
Referee: Gianluca Gnecchi
Attendance: 12,102
Gloucester Rugby
Tries: 5 – Clark (9'), Llewellyn (14'), Barton (34'), Trenholm (56', 60')
Conversions: 4 – Barton (9', 14', 34', 61')
Penalties: 1 – Barton (40')
Union Bordeaux Begles
Tries: 5 – Page-Relo (4'), Falatea (19'), Uberti (48'), Bielle-Biarrey (50', 63')
Conversions: 4 – Lucu (4', 19', 50', 63')
Penalties: 1 – Lucu (26')
Player of the Match: George Barton
This was up there with Barton's best performances. The Gloucester boy dominated tonight. His kicking was superb, but what really stood out was his attacking play.
He operated as a secondary distributor alongside Charlie Atkinson tonight and, as such, was free to roam and dictate play as he wished.
He constantly shipped the ball out wide and found Loader and Joseph when needed, but he also broke the line himself a few times and took the contact to Bordeaux.
There wasn't much to fault in Barton's performance tonight, as he got himself onto the scoresheet and set up a pair of first-half tries as well.
An excellent outing, and there are shades of Santi Carreras in his play now, as he clearly learnt a lot from his time as the Argentine's understudy.
Biggest Underperformer: Ben Tameifuna
There was so much hype around "Big Ben" playing in the second row. His 151kg frame was expected to dominate around the park and make the Bordeaux maul almost impossible to defend, but Gloucester contained it, and him, excellently.
He obviously didn't provide much in the lineout, and he was just static in open play.
It's quite hard for a man of his size to get "lost", but he never really got into the game and was substituted early in the second half.
It was an experiment putting him in the second row, but I don't think it is one that will be repeated any time soon.
Bitterly disappointing.
One to Watch: Will Knight
The 21-year-old nearly gave Gloucester the win, but his offload in the last few minutes was swatted away.
He came on for Ben Loader and slotted right in. He had a formidable task holding off both Louis Bielle-Biarrey and Pablo Uberti, but he did well.
He was out of position as well, playing on the wing rather than at centre, but you couldn't tell, as he looked comfortable and fluid throughout.
The game turned into a kick-fest at the end, but he chased well and put pressure on the Bordeaux backline with every kick.
The England U20 international is highly thought of at Kingsholm, and it's clear to see why.
