Now that the first round of the latest Champions Cup wrapped up, we examine the key revelations emerging from the fixtures.
Gallic supremacy has been the narrative in recent seasons, with the last five champions all representing France's top flight. Yet, the opening round showcased several convincing performances from potential contenders.
Bordeaux Seem Ready to Go Back-to-Back
Defending champions Bordeaux Begles were a class apart in the competition the previous campaign, dismantling Toulouse in the semi-final and afterwards Northampton in the grand finale.
Lying sixth in the French league, some have suggested about their ability to repeat the title this season. But, in their opener, Bordeaux served notice that they are fully equipped of achieving consecutive championships with a free-flowing win on the road in South Africa.
Handed a tough assignment at a hostile venue against a formidable Bulls side boasting internationals like Willie le Roux, Handre Pollard, and Canan Moodie, they went into the break down 33-22 at the interval.
Yet, as champions do, they showed their quality in the final 40 minutes, fighting back to claim a 46-33 victory – shutting out the Bulls without a point after the interval.
Les Bleus stars machines Damian Penaud and global award contender Louis Bielle-Biarrey were among the try-scorers. Any side with that pair on the wings has a chance against any opponent.
Formidable Bath Appear Equipped of Challenging for the Title
Bath's sole success in the Champions Cup dates back almost three decades ago. Since that time, they have arguably not been better equipped to win it again.
The defending English Premiership champions are top of the pile at home after six games and will be looking to transfer that success into Europe – particularly following a surprise group-stage exit last year.
Johann van Graan's men looked a highly composed and composed outfit in their 40-14 win over Munster, who are among the leaders in the URC.
They combine offensive flair – earning the bonus point inside 20 minutes at the Rec – with tough tackling, keeping their opponents at a distance when they looked like mounting a fightback.
With stars such as Finn Russell and Ben Spencer in the half-backs and a deep squad all over the team, they have to be considered serious contenders for a maiden Champions Cup since 1998.
Bath's key result in the pools last season came in the next fixture, an agonising 22-21 setback at Benetton with a squad players.
After winning a Premiership title in their history and setting the pace domestically again, Van Graan could be inclined to place greater emphasis on the Champions Cup now.
Glasgow Hand Sale a Major Blow
There are powerful sides in every pool, but Pool One seems destined to be one of the tightest.
In the tournament's current format, a lot is said about victories on your own turf, which is why Glasgow's away victory at Sale on Friday evening might just be pivotal.
The Glasgow Warriors were 14-0 down after 20 minutes but came back strongly, and two tries during the beginning of the second half gave them a all-important maximum haul.
By achieving this, they gave their chances of progressing a positive start and, in turn, handed a significant setback to their opponents.
With the French giants – dominant 56-19 winners against the Sharks – and Saracens, who comfortably defeated Clermont, also in the pool, we should be in for plenty of fireworks.
And regarding 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 successful weekend for the Scottish game.
Is Ioane the Final Piece of the Leinster Jigsaw?
When considering a contender you would expect to be challenging at the later stages of the season in Europe, it would be multiple champions Leinster.
However in the last few years it hasn't gone to plan, as they have shown great potential but delivered little. Runners-up three years in a row between 2022-24, they looked the team to beat the previous campaign after building on 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 Kiwi international Jordie Barrett would be the missing ingredient to win the championship, but they were surprised and suffered a surprise defeat to Northampton Saints in the semi-final.
This season they are trying the All Black experiment again, this time with Rieko Ioane, who provided a try assist on his debut in Saturday's 45-28 win over Harlequins.
Could Ioane be the player to return the cup to Ireland for the first time since 2018?
Stormers Appear Prepared to Challenge
Since the South African sides joined the Champions Cup in 2022-23, the furthest any of their teams have got is the last eight, and last year no South African side was able to progress out of the pool phase, with often rotated sides fielded.
Is this the year that is different? The Stormers are leading the URC and kicked off their Champions Cup adventure with a 26-17 victory on the road at Bayonne on Friday.
The post-match comments were promising too, with players and coaches talking about their goals, and the players such as Springboks Cobus Reinach, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, and Damian Willemse absent for the opening victory.
The Stormers seem the best bet for a SA franchise to have a long run in the competition, but do not rule out the Sharks and Bulls, who each suffered defeat in their first games but did play formidable opponents respectively.
The English and French Sides Deliver a Memorable Match
There were multiple possibilities for match of the round, and this one was a leading candidate.
Pau have been enjoying a brilliant campaign, guided by stars Julian Montoya and Facundo Isa and ex-England half-back Dan Robson.
They are right now runner-up in the French championship and the crowd was raucous at the Stade du Hameau|their home ground|Pau's
