Following the first round of the latest Champions Cup wrapped up, we delve into the primary lessons stemming from the fixtures.
French dominance has ruled the roost in the past few campaigns, with the previous five victors all representing France's Top 14. However, the opening round showcased a number of statement victories from emerging rivals.
Bordeaux Appear Primed to Defend Their Title
Defending champions Bordeaux Begles were a class apart in the competition the previous campaign, dominating Toulouse in the last four and subsequently Northampton in the grand finale.
Positioned sixth in the Top 14, some have suggested about their ability to repeat the title now. However, in the first round, Bordeaux issued a reminder that they are more than capable of securing consecutive championships with a free-flowing win on the road in South Africa.
Given a challenging fixture at Loftus Versfeld against a formidable Bulls side boasting internationals like Willie le Roux, Handre Pollard, and Canan Moodie, they found themselves trailing 33-22 at the break.
However, true to their champion status, they displayed their class in the final 40 minutes, fighting back to seal a 46-33 victory – holding the Bulls without a point after the interval.
French try-scoring phenoms Damian Penaud and World Player of the Year nominee Louis Bielle-Biarrey were among the try-scorers. Any side with those two on the edges stands a good chance against any competition.
Powerful Bath Seem Poised of Challenging for the Title
Bath's lone victory in this competition was almost a generation ago. In the years since, they have arguably not been better equipped to win it again.
The current English champions are setting the pace domestically after six games and will be looking to translate that form into the Champions Cup – especially after a surprise group-stage exit in the last campaign.
Johann van Graan's men looked a very complete and composed outfit in their 40-14 victory against Munster, who are highly placed in the United Rugby Championship.
They blend creative spark – securing the try-scoring point inside 20 minutes at the Rec – with tough tackling, keeping their visitors at arm's length when they attempted a fightback.
With players including Finn Russell and Ben Spencer directing play and a deep squad across the squad, they are surely genuine challengers for a first European trophy since 1998.
Bath's key result in the pools last season occurred in the following week, an narrow 22-21 loss at Benetton with a rotated team.
Having secured a league trophy to their name and top in England once more, Van Graan could be inclined to put a heightened focus on the Champions Cup now.
Glasgow Deal Sale a Tough Start
You will find powerful sides throughout the draw, but their section looks set to be one of the tightest.
In the competition's present structure, a lot is made about winning your home games, which is why Glasgow's win on the road at Sale on the opening night might just be pivotal.
The team from Scotland were 14-0 down after 20 minutes but came back strongly, and two tries during the beginning of the second period gave them a all-important bonus-point win.
With this result, they handed their hopes of advancing a significant early boost and, by contrast, handed a significant setback to their opponents.
With Toulouse – commanding 56-19 winners against the Sharks – and Saracens, who easily overcame Clermont, in the same section, we should be in for plenty of fireworks.
And regarding Glasgow's Scottish counterparts Edinburgh? They produced one of their best European performances in years to shock three-time winners Toulon 33-20, on a excellent weekend for the Scottish game.
Could Ioane the Final Piece of the Leinster Puzzle?
Should you pick one side you would predict to be challenging at the later stages of the season in Europe, it would be four-time winners Leinster.
But in recent campaigns it has not worked out, as they have promised much but not won the trophy. Beaten finalists three years in a row between 2022-24, they looked overwhelming favourites the previous campaign after backing up a 62-0 mauling of Harlequins in the last 16 with a 52-0 destruction over Glasgow in the quarter-final.
It was believed that New Zealand full-back Jordie Barrett would be the missing ingredient to secure the title, but they were ambushed and experienced a stunning upset to Northampton Saints in the semi.
Now they are bringing in another Kiwi, this time with Rieko Ioane, who registered a try assist on his bow in Saturday's 45-28 win over Harlequins.
Is Ioane the man to secure European glory to Ireland for the first time since 2018?
Stormers Look Prepared to Challenge
From the moment the SA franchises entered the Champions Cup in 2022-23, the best performance by any of them is the last eight, and in the last campaign none of them was able to progress out of the pool phase, with several weakened teams fielded.
Will this be the campaign that changes? The Stormers are leading the URC and kicked off their European campaign with a 26-17 triumph in France at Bayonne on Friday.
The post-match comments were encouraging too, with individuals involved speaking of their aspirations, and the caliber of stars Cobus Reinach, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, and Damian Willemse absent for the first match.
The Stormers look the most likely contender for a team from South Africa to have a long run in the event, although don't count out the Sharks and Bulls, who each suffered defeat in their first games but did face formidable opponents respectively.
Northampton and Pau Serve Up a Memorable Match
There were several candidates for game of the weekend, and that clash was among the best.
Pau have been enjoying a outstanding season, spearheaded by Argentine internationals Julian Montoya and Facundo Isa and former Wasps scrum-half Dan Robson.
They are right now in second place in the French league and the stadium was buzzing at the Stade du Hameau|their home ground|Pau's