With the initial matches of the latest Champions Cup in the books, we delve into the primary lessons highlighted by the fixtures.
Gallic supremacy has defined the competition in the past few campaigns, with the past five winners all representing France's elite division. But, the first weekend featured a number of impressive wins from new rivals.
Bordeaux Seem Ready to Retain Their Crown
Reigning title-holders Bordeaux Begles were a class apart in this tournament last season, dominating Toulouse in the semi-final and then Northampton in the showpiece.
Positioned sixth in the domestic standings, doubts have been raised about their capacity to retain the feat now. Yet, in the first round, Bordeaux served notice that they are more than capable of winning back-to-back titles with a points-laden win on the road in South Africa.
Faced with a tough assignment at Loftus Versfeld against a powerful Bulls side featuring internationals like Willie le Roux, Handre Pollard, and Canan Moodie, they found themselves trailing 33-22 at the break.
But, demonstrating their pedigree, they unleashed their power in the second half, fighting back to claim a 46-33 victory – keeping the Bulls without a point after the break.
French try-scoring phenoms Damian Penaud and star wing Louis Bielle-Biarrey were among the try-scorers. Any side with those two on the edges has a chance against any competition.
Impressive Bath Seem Poised of A Deep Run
Bath's lone victory in the Champions Cup came almost 30 years ago. Throughout the ensuing period, they have perhaps not been more prepared to win it again.
The reigning domestic title-holders are top of the pile domestically after six games and will be hoping to carry that momentum into the Champions Cup – especially after a shocking early departure the previous season.
Johann van Graan's men looked a very complete and balanced unit in their 40-14 win over Munster, who are third in the URC.
They combine offensive flair – securing the bonus point inside 20 minutes at the Rec – with tough tackling, restraining their opponents at a distance when they attempted a dramatic comeback.
With players including Finn Russell and Ben Spencer pulling the strings and quality reserves all over the team, they are surely serious contenders for a continental title since 1998.
Bath's pivotal moment in the group stage the previous year occurred in the second round, an heartbreaking 22-21 setback at Benetton with a changed side.
After winning a domestic championship under their belt and setting the pace domestically again, Van Graan could be inclined to concentrate more effort on the Champions Cup this season.
Glasgow Give Sale a Tough Start
You will find powerful sides in every pool, but their section appears poised to be one of the most competitive.
In the existing pool system, a lot is said about securing home wins, which is why Glasgow's away victory at Sale on Friday evening might just prove crucial.
The Scottish side were trailing by 14 points after 20 minutes but fought back impressively, and two tries early in the second half gave them a precious bonus-point win.
With this result, they handed their prospects of qualification a significant early boost and, conversely, handed a damaging defeat to the Sharks.
With the French giants – dominant 56-19 victors over the Sharks – and Saracens, who comfortably defeated Clermont, also in the pool, we are likely to see high-stakes drama.
And what of Glasgow's Scottish counterparts Edinburgh? They delivered one of their best European performances in years to surprise heavyweights Toulon 33-20, on a excellent weekend for rugby in Scotland.
Could Ioane the Missing Ingredient of the Leinster Quest?
When considering a contender you would fancy to be challenging at the business end of the continental campaign, it would be European giants Leinster.
But in recent campaigns it has ended in disappointment, as they have been favourites but fallen short. Finalists three years in a row between 2022-24, they looked overwhelming favourites last season after backing up a 62-0 rout of Harlequins in the round of 16 with a 52-0 demolition over Glasgow in the last eight.
It was hoped that Kiwi international Jordie Barrett would be the key player to take them over the line, but they were ambushed and endured a surprise defeat to Northampton Saints in the last four.
This year they are trying the All Black experiment again, this time with Rieko Ioane, who provided a scoring pass on his bow in Saturday's 45-28 success against Harlequins.
Will Ioane prove to return the cup to Ireland for the first time since 2018?
Stormers Look Ready to Step Up
Ever since the teams from South Africa entered the Champions Cup in 2022-23, the best performance by any of them is the quarter-finals, and last year not a single one managed to make it out of the group stage, with plenty of rotated sides selected.
Could this be the season that changes? The Stormers are top of the URC and started their continental journey with a 26-17 away win at Bayonne on Friday.
The reactions after the game were promising too, with the squad and staff speaking of their aspirations, and the players such as stars Cobus Reinach, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, and Damian Willemse absent for the opening victory.
The Stormers seem the most likely contender for a SA franchise to go deep into the event, yet write off the Sharks and Bulls, who both lost in their first games but did meet formidable opponents respectively.
The English and French Sides Serve Up a Thrilling Contest
There were a few contenders for best fixture, and the Northampton vs. Pau game was right up there.
Pau have been experiencing a outstanding campaign, spearheaded by Argentine internationals Julian Montoya and Facundo Isa and veteran playmaker Dan Robson.
They are right now in second place in the Top 14 and the atmosphere was electric at the Stade du Hameau|their home ground|Pau's
