Following the initial matches of the latest Champions Cup wrapped up, we examine the major talking points stemming from the fixtures.
French dominance has defined the competition in recent years, with the previous five victors all hailing from France's top flight. But, the first weekend featured several impressive wins from potential rivals.
Bordeaux Appear Primed to Defend Their Title
Reigning title-holders Bordeaux Begles were a class apart in the competition a year ago, overpowering Toulouse in the semi-final and afterwards Northampton in the grand finale.
Currently sitting sixth in the Top 14, doubts have been raised about their ability to repeat the title this season. But, in the first round, Bordeaux issued a reminder that they are well-positioned of achieving consecutive championships with a free-flowing win on the road in South Africa.
Given a challenging fixture at the Bulls' fortress against a powerful Bulls side including stars like Willie le Roux, Handre Pollard, and Canan Moodie, they found themselves trailing 33-22 at the interval.
However, as champions do, they showed their quality in the second period, storming back to secure a 46-33 victory – holding the Bulls without a point after the halftime.
French try-scoring aces Damian Penaud and global award contender Louis Bielle-Biarrey were among the try-scorers. Any side with such firepower on the flanks stands a good chance against any competition.
Powerful Bath Look Capable of Challenging for the Title
Bath's lone victory in the Champions Cup was almost a generation ago. Throughout the ensuing period, they have perhaps not been more strongly positioned to add a second star.
The defending English Premiership champions are setting the pace domestically after six games and will be looking to transfer that success into continental competition – particularly following a surprise group-stage exit in the last campaign.
Johann van Graan's side looked a extremely well-rounded and composed outfit in their 40-14 victory against Munster, who are third in the URC.
They combine creative spark – securing the extra point in under 20 minutes at the Rec – with defensive steel, keeping their visitors at arm's length when they attempted a late rally.
With stars such as Finn Russell and Ben Spencer pulling the strings and strength in depth across the squad, they must be viewed as genuine challengers for a maiden Champions Cup since 1998.
Bath's pivotal moment in the initial phase the previous year came in the following week, an heartbreaking 22-21 defeat at Benetton with a squad players.
Now with a domestic championship under their belt and leading domestically again, Van Graan might decide to place greater emphasis on the Champions Cup this year.
Glasgow Hand Sale a Major Blow
There are powerful sides everywhere you look, but their section appears poised to be one of the most competitive.
In the competition's present structure, a lot is said about victories on your own turf, which is why Glasgow's win on the road at Sale on Friday evening 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 all-important five points.
By achieving this, they gave their hopes of advancing a significant early boost and, by contrast, handed a damaging defeat to Sale.
With Toulouse – commanding 56-19 victors over the Sharks – and Saracens, who brushed aside Clermont, in the same section, we are likely to see high-stakes drama.
And as for Glasgow's traditional foes Edinburgh? They delivered one of their top continental showings in a long time to stun heavyweights Toulon 33-20, on a successful weekend for the Scottish game.
Could Ioane the Missing Ingredient of the Leinster Quest?
When considering a contender you would predict to be in the mix at the later stages of the season in Europe, it would be four-time winners Leinster.
But in recent campaigns it hasn't gone to plan, as they have shown great potential but fallen short. Runners-up three years in a row between 2022-24, they looked heavy favourites the previous campaign after following up a 62-0 mauling of Harlequins in the last 16 with a 52-0 destruction over Glasgow in the last eight.
It was thought that New Zealand full-back Jordie Barrett would be the key player to take them over the line, but they were caught out and endured a stunning upset to Northampton Saints in the last four.
Now they are bringing in another Kiwi, this time with Rieko Ioane, who claimed a try assist on his bow in Saturday's 45-28 victory against Harlequins.
Could Ioane be the player to bring the trophy back to Ireland for the first time since 2018?
Stormers Seem Ready to Step Up
Since the South African sides joined the Champions Cup in 2022-23, the deepest run achieved is the quarter-finals, and the previous season none of them was able to progress out of the group stage, with several rotated sides used.
Will this be the campaign that changes? The Stormers are first in the URC and started their Champions Cup adventure with a 26-17 triumph in France at Bayonne on the opening night.
The post-match comments were promising too, with players and coaches expressing their goals, and the players such as Springboks Cobus Reinach, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, and Damian Willemse not involved for the first match.
The Stormers appear the best bet for a South African side to progress far in the event, but write off the Sharks and Bulls, who were defeated this weekend but did meet Toulouse and Bordeaux respectively.
Northampton and Pau Deliver a Classic Encounter
There were several candidates for match of the round, and this one was a leading candidate.
Pau have been experiencing a superb campaign, spearheaded by Pumas Julian Montoya and Facundo Isa and former Wasps scrum-half Dan Robson.
They are right now second in the Top 14 and the atmosphere was electric at the Stade du Hameau|their home ground|Pau's
