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According to you who was the best European player of the season?
Imanol Harinordoquy (43%)
William Servat (21%)
Other (12%)
Ronan O'Gara(8%)
Brian O'Driscoll (8%)
Vincent Clerc (5%)

Damien Traille (3%)












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Biarritz leave it late
27 - 17
Parc des Sports Aguilera, Biarritz   Att: 6,500
Referee: Donal Courtney
Sunday 17th December 2006, 14:00
MatchDayLive - Live audio and text tracking
Match report
Borders coach Steve Bates was pleased for his players brave performance, but disappointed as they came within a few minutes of a historic draw.
Borders, bottom of the Magners League, have never won an away Heineken Cup match and were drawing 17-all with the French champions before Sereli Bobo scored two late tries to seal the win and take a bonus point in their five-try win.
But it was a brave performance from the Scots as they fought back from 17-3 down at half-time to level the game through tries by Calum McRae and Opeta Palepoi.

"It was a brave performance," said Bates.

"We are obviously disappointed, but it was a superb display, especially after last week's heavy defeat and it gives us something to take back into the Magners League campaign.

"There were several stand out performances, the pack was outstanding and were much better than last week at the set-pieces."

Borders have just two wins all season - and they have never won in Europe - while Biarritz rarely lose at home, so a Scottish upset was hardly on the cards - especially after they lost 25-0 to the French at Netherdale the previous weekend.

And so it proved when French fly-half Damien Traille made good use of his pack's early pressure to dart over on 17 minutes for Biarritz's first try.

Then hooker Benjamin Noirot celebrated his 26th birthday with a try after his pack drove him over from a close-range line-out.

And the French side went into half-time coasting at 17-3 after replacement right wing Philippe Bidabe dived over in the corner.
Borders' had little to smile about following an error-strewn first-half, but their full-back Calum McRae kept them in touch with a penalty in injury time at the end of the first-half.

France flanker Serge Betsen and Scot Andy Miller were sin-binned for fighting early in the second half and Biarritz's replacement prop Denis Avril was shown a yellow-card after 50 minutes for persistent off-side and Borders capitalised when Samoan lock Opeta Palepoi crashed over from a line-out.

McRae landed the conversion to put the Borders back in contention at 17-10 and the Scots drew level thank to a bizarre try.
From a French turn-over deep inside Borders territory, replacement hooker Ross Ford charged up field before McRae sprinted half the length of the field past seemingly disinterested defenders.

McRae converted his own try and Borders were to come within a minute of picking up a draw, as Biarritz battered their line.

The pressure finally told when Scottish international Stuart Grimes was sin-binned for persistent infringing and replacement scrum-half Dimitri Yachvili spotted Sereli Bobo unmarked and launched a cross-field kick which fell into the Fijian's grateful arms.

The fourth try wrapped up the bonus point and in injury-time a simple pass saw Bobo poach his second try in three minutes to put the win beyond doubt.
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Biarritz Olympique Pays Basque V Border Reivers
 PDCTPosPlayerPlayerPosTCDP 






Benjamin Dambielle
15
Calum MacRae (capt)

1
2

1

Replacement off





Jean-Baptiste Gobelet
14
Garry Law












Marcelo Bosch
13
Nick De Luca






Replacement off





Andrea Masi
12
Bryan Rennie










2

Sereli Bobo
11
Brendon Daniel










1

Damien Traille
10
Gregor Townsend









1


Julien Dupuy (capt)
9
Rob Chrystie





Replacement off
Replacement off





Petru Balan
1
Gavin Kerr










1

Benjamin Noirot
2
Steve Scott





Replacement off
Replacement off





Benoit Lecouls
3
Ed Kalman






Replacement off





Santiago Dellape
4
Stuart Grimes





Yellow card






David Couzinet
5
Opeta Palepoi

1




Yellow card





Serge Betsen
6
Scott Gray





Replacement off
Replacement off





Mohammed Dridi
7
Andy Miller





Yellow card
Replacement off





Thomas Lievremont
8
Kelly Brown





Man of the Match
Replacements
Replacement on





Benoit August
16
Ross Ford





Replacement on
Replacement onYellow card





Denis Avril
17
Bruce Douglas






Replacement on





Steve Malonga
18
Scott Newlands






Replacement on





Imanol Harinordoquy
19
John Dalziel





Replacement on






Dimitri Yachvili
20
Brendan McKerchar





Replacement on
Replacement on





Julien Peyrelongue
21
Steve J Jones






Replacement on



1

Philippe Bidabe
22
Dougie Flockhart






Penalty Tries

First half timeline
17Biarritz Olympique Pays Basque
Try - D Traille
18Biarritz Olympique Pays Basque
Conversion - J Dupuy
27Biarritz Olympique Pays Basque
Try - B Noirot
27Biarritz Olympique Pays Basque
Substitution - P Bidabe on for J Gobelet
30Biarritz Olympique Pays Basque
Substitution - D Avril on for B Lecouls
35Biarritz Olympique Pays Basque
Try - P Bidabe
40Border Reivers
Penalty kick - C MacRae
40Border Reivers
Substitution - B McKerchar on for R Chrystie
Second half timeline
44Biarritz Olympique Pays Basque
Yellow card - S Betsen
44Border Reivers
Yellow card - A Miller
50Biarritz Olympique Pays Basque
Yellow card - D Avril
52Border Reivers
Try - O Palepoi
52Border Reivers
Conversion - C MacRae
54Biarritz Olympique Pays Basque
Substitution - B Lecouls on for M Dridi
59Border Reivers
Substitution - R Ford on for S Scott
62Biarritz Olympique Pays Basque
Substitution - J Peyrelongue on for A Masi
63Border Reivers
Try - C MacRae
63Border Reivers
Substitution - J Dalziel on for S Gray
63Biarritz Olympique Pays Basque
Substitution - S Malonga on for S Dellape
63Biarritz Olympique Pays Basque
Substitution - B August on for P Balan
64Border Reivers
Conversion - C MacRae
73Biarritz Olympique Pays Basque
Substitution - I Harinordoquy on for T Lievremont
78Border Reivers
Yellow card - S Grimes
79Biarritz Olympique Pays Basque
Try - S Bobo
80 +2Biarritz Olympique Pays Basque
Try - S Bobo
Results so far
Biarritz Olympique Pays Basque
DateStageOppositionScore
1/4/07Quarter FinalsNorthampton SaintsL 6-7
21/1/07Pool 6Northampton SaintsW 17-8
12/1/07Pool 6Rugby Parma FCW 45-3
17/12/06Pool 6Border ReiversW 27-17
9/12/06Pool 6Border ReiversW 25-0
28/10/06Pool 6Rugby Parma FCW 50-7
22/10/06Pool 6Northampton SaintsW 22-10
Border Reivers
DateStageOppositionScore
21/1/07Pool 6Rugby Parma FCL 37-45
14/1/07Pool 6Northampton SaintsL 19-29
17/12/06Pool 6Biarritz Olympique Pays BasqueL 17-27
9/12/06Pool 6Biarritz Olympique Pays BasqueL 0-25
28/10/06Pool 6Northampton SaintsL 13-37
20/10/06Pool 6Rugby Parma FCW 35-3
Previous Heineken Cup meetings
DateStageHomeScoreAway
Sun 17th Dec 06Pool 6Biarritz Olympique Pays Basque27 - 17Border Reivers
Sat 9th Dec 06Pool 6Border Reivers0 - 25Biarritz Olympique Pays Basque
Heineken CupHistory
Biarritz Olympique Pays Basque
2009/10 - Runners up
2008/09 - Pool 6
2007/08 - Pool 4
2006/07 - Quarter Finals
2005/06 - Runners up
2004/05 - Semi Finals
2003/04 - Semi Finals
2002/03 - Quarter Finals
2001/02 - Pool 3
2000/01 - Quarter Finals
Border Reivers
2006/07 - Pool 6
2003/04 - Pool 4
1997/98 - Pool C
1996/97 - Pool B
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Last season there were 485 tries scored in 67 Challenge Cup matches.
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