Damian Penaud wins Champions Cup player of the year

Bordeaux-Begles wing Damian Penaud has won the Investec Champions Cup Player of the Year.

The 28-year-old scored two tries in Bordeaux’s 28-20 Champions Cup final victory over Northampton Saints at Principality Stadium on Saturday.

Those two tries in Cardiff ensured the France wing extended his record tally of tries scored in this year’s competition to 14.

That record was secured against Munster in Bordeaux’s quarter-final win, when Penaud crossed for his 12th Champions Cup try this campaign.

He beats Northampton flanker Henry Pollock, who enjoyed a breakout season, Leinster and New Zealand centre Jordie Barrett, and Toulouse’s English back row Jack Willis to the award.

Penaud, who was central to the first Champions Cup triumph in Bordeaux’s history, also grabbed a tournament-record six tries in a game against Sharks in the pool phase.

He becomes the third France player in a row to win the accolade after Toulouse’s Antoine Dupont (2024) and La Rochelle’s Gregory Alldritt (2023).