Following the opening salvo of the latest Champions Cup concluded, we examine the major talking points stemming from the weekend's action.
French dominance has ruled the roost in the past few campaigns, with the past five winners all calling home France's top flight. Yet, the first weekend included a number of convincing performances from emerging rivals.
Bordeaux Seem Ready to Defend Their Title
Current holders Bordeaux Begles were a class apart in the competition the previous campaign, dismantling Toulouse in the semi-final and subsequently Northampton in the grand finale.
Currently sitting sixth in the French league, questions have been asked about their capacity to retain the title this season. However, in round one, Bordeaux sent a message that they are fully equipped of securing another trophy with a high-scoring away victory in South Africa.
Given a challenging fixture at Loftus Versfeld against a formidable Bulls side featuring internationals like Willie le Roux, Handre Pollard, and Canan Moodie, they went into the break down 33-22 at half-time.
But, true to their champion status, they displayed their class in the second half, roaring back to seal a 46-33 victory – keeping the Bulls to zero after the halftime.
France international aces Damian Penaud and global award contender Louis Bielle-Biarrey were among the try-scorers. Any team with such firepower on the wings stands a good chance against any opponent.
Impressive Bath Seem Poised of Challenging for the Title
Bath's only triumph in the Champions Cup dates back almost a generation ago. In the years since, they have probably never been more prepared to secure another title.
The current English champions are setting the pace in the league after six games and will be looking to transfer that success into continental competition – on the back of a surprise group-stage exit last year.
Johann van Graan's side looked a extremely well-rounded 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 within 20 minutes at the Rec – with tough tackling, keeping their guests at arm's length when they looked like mounting a late rally.
With stars such as Finn Russell and Ben Spencer pulling the strings and a deep squad across the squad, they have to be considered genuine challengers for a maiden Champions Cup since 1998.
Bath's key result in the group stage the previous year occurred in the second round, an narrow 22-21 setback at Benetton with a squad players.
Now with a Premiership title to their name and top domestically again, Van Graan might decide to put a heightened focus on the Champions Cup now.
Glasgow Hand Sale a Major Blow
The tournament contains quality outfits everywhere you look, but their section appears poised to be one of the most competitive.
In the tournament's current format, a lot is said about securing home wins, which is why Glasgow's away victory at Sale on the first day might just prove crucial.
The Glasgow Warriors were trailing by 14 points after 20 minutes but came back strongly, and two tries during the beginning of the second half gave them a valuable five points.
In doing so, they provided their chances of progressing a major lift and, conversely, dealt a significant setback to their opponents.
With the red and blacks – commanding 56-19 conquerors of the Sharks – and Saracens, who easily overcame Clermont, sharing the group, we are likely to see plenty of fireworks.
And what of Glasgow's traditional foes Edinburgh? They produced one of their finest displays in Europe in a long time to shock former champions Toulon 33-20, on a successful weekend for rugby in Scotland.
Is Ioane the Missing Ingredient of the Leinster Quest?
When considering a contender you would predict to be challenging at the later stages of the continental campaign, it would be European giants Leinster.
But in the last few years it has ended in disappointment, as they have promised much but delivered little. Beaten finalists three years in a row between 2022-24, they looked the team to beat a year ago after backing up a 62-0 thrashing of Harlequins in the last 16 with a 52-0 win over Glasgow in the quarter-final.
It was thought that All Black star Jordie Barrett would be the final piece to take them over the line, but they were caught out and experienced a stunning upset to Northampton Saints in the semi.
Now 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.
Is Ioane the man to return the cup to Ireland for the first time since 2018?
Stormers Look Prepared to Challenge
Since the South African sides became part of the Champions Cup in 2022-23, the best performance by any of them is the quarter-finals, and the previous season none of them was able to progress out of the group stage, with plenty of weakened teams used.
Could this be the season that is different? The Stormers are leading the URC and started their continental journey with a 26-17 triumph in France at Bayonne on Friday.
The post-match comments were promising too, with individuals involved speaking of their goals, and the players such as South African internationals Cobus Reinach, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, and Damian Willemse not involved for the first match.
The Stormers look the strongest candidate for a SA franchise to go deep into the tournament, yet write off the Sharks and Bulls, who were defeated this weekend but did face the French powerhouses respectively.
The English and French Sides Produce a Thrilling Contest
There were a few contenders for game of the weekend, and that clash was a leading candidate.
Pau have been experiencing a outstanding campaign, guided by stars Julian Montoya and Facundo Isa and veteran playmaker Dan Robson.
They are currently in second place in the French championship and the crowd was raucous at the Stade du Hameau|their home ground|Pau's
