With the initial matches of the latest Champions Cup wrapped up, we examine the major talking points highlighted by the fixtures.
French dominance has been the narrative in recent seasons, with the last five champions all calling home France's Top 14. Yet, the first weekend included several statement victories from emerging challengers.
Bordeaux Look Set to Defend Their Title
Defending champions Bordeaux Begles were utterly dominant in the competition the previous campaign, dismantling Toulouse in the semi-final and then Northampton in the final.
Lying sixth in the Top 14, questions have been asked about their ability to repeat the accomplishment this year. Yet, in the first round, Bordeaux issued a reminder that they are well-positioned of achieving consecutive championships with a points-laden win on the road in South Africa.
Faced with a difficult tie at the Bulls' fortress against a powerful Bulls side featuring talents like Willie le Roux, Handre Pollard, and Canan Moodie, they found themselves trailing 33-22 at the interval.
Yet, as champions do, they unleashed their power in the second half, storming back to seal a 46-33 victory – keeping the Bulls scoreless after the break.
French try-scoring aces Damian Penaud and star wing Louis Bielle-Biarrey both got on the scoresheet. Any side with those two on the flanks is a threat against any opponent.
Powerful Bath Seem Poised of A Deep Run
Bath's sole success in Europe came almost three decades ago. Since that time, they have probably never been more strongly positioned to win it again.
The current English champions are top of the pile domestically after six games and will be aiming to carry that momentum into the Champions Cup – particularly following a unexpected elimination in the last campaign.
Johann van Graan's team looked a extremely well-rounded and balanced unit in their 40-14 win over Munster, who are among the leaders in the URC.
They combine creative spark – securing the try-scoring point inside 20 minutes at the Rec – with resolute defending, keeping their visitors at bay when they attempted a fightback.
With stars such as Finn Russell and Ben Spencer in the half-backs and quality reserves across the roster, they must be viewed as credible threats for a maiden Champions Cup since 1998.
Bath's defining match in the initial phase a year ago occurred in the following week, an agonising 22-21 setback at Benetton with a changed side.
After winning a domestic championship in their history and leading domestically again, Van Graan could be inclined to place greater emphasis on the Champions Cup now.
Glasgow Hand Sale a Major Blow
You will find quality outfits in every pool, but their section seems destined to be one of the most fiercely contested.
In the competition's present structure, a lot is emphasized regarding victories on your own turf, which is why Glasgow's win on the road at Sale on Friday evening might just turn out to be vital.
The Glasgow Warriors were trailing by 14 points after 20 minutes but fought back impressively, and two tries during the beginning of the second period gave them a all-important maximum haul.
By achieving this, they gave their chances of progressing a significant early boost and, by contrast, inflicted a significant setback to the Sharks.
With the French giants – dominant 56-19 conquerors of the Sharks – and Saracens, who easily overcame Clermont, in the same section, we should be in for many thrilling contests.
And as for Glasgow's traditional foes Edinburgh? They turned in one of their best European performances in years to surprise former champions Toulon 33-20, on a fine weekend for the Scottish game.
Could Ioane the Missing Ingredient of the Leinster Puzzle?
Should you pick one side you would predict to be there or thereabouts at the business end of the season in Europe, it would be multiple champions Leinster.
But in recent seasons it has ended in disappointment, as they have shown great potential but not won the trophy. Runners-up three years in a row between 2022-24, they looked overwhelming favourites last season after building on a 62-0 rout of Harlequins in the last 16 with a 52-0 destruction over Glasgow in the last eight.
It was believed that New Zealand full-back Jordie Barrett would be the key player to secure the title, but they were ambushed and experienced a surprise defeat to Northampton Saints in the semi-final.
Now they are bringing in another Kiwi, this time with Rieko Ioane, who provided a scoring pass on his first appearance in Saturday's 45-28 win over Harlequins.
Could Ioane be the player to secure European glory to Ireland for the first occasion since 2018?
Stormers Look Ready to Step Up
From the moment the SA franchises joined the Champions Cup in 2022-23, the deepest run achieved is the last eight, and the previous season none of them succeeded in getting out of the group stage, with plenty of rotated sides fielded.
Will this be the campaign that turns around? The Stormers are first in the URC and began their Champions Cup adventure with a 26-17 victory on the road at Bayonne on Friday.
The reactions after the game were encouraging too, with players and coaches talking about their aspirations, and the caliber of South African internationals Cobus Reinach, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, and Damian Willemse unavailable for the first match.
The Stormers seem the best bet for a SA franchise to go deep into the competition, but do not rule out the Sharks and Bulls, who were defeated this weekend but did meet Toulouse and Bordeaux respectively.
The English and French Sides Serve Up a Thrilling Contest
There were a few contenders for game of the weekend, and the Northampton vs. Pau game was among the best.
Pau have been experiencing a superb campaign, spearheaded by stars Julian Montoya and Facundo Isa and former Wasps scrum-half Dan Robson.
They are presently runner-up in the French league and the stadium was buzzing at the Stade du Hameau|their home ground|Pau's
