Following the initial matches of the new season's Champions Cup in the books, we examine the primary lessons highlighted by the fixtures.
Gallic supremacy has been the narrative in recent years, with the past five winners all calling home France's Top 14. But, the first weekend included several impressive wins from new challengers.
Bordeaux Seem Ready to Go Back-to-Back
Current holders Bordeaux Begles were imperious in this tournament the previous campaign, dismantling Toulouse in the semi-final and then Northampton in the showpiece.
Currently sitting sixth in the domestic standings, questions have been asked about their capacity to retain the title this season. Yet, in the first round, Bordeaux sent a message that they are more than capable of winning back-to-back titles with a high-scoring away victory in South Africa.
Given a challenging fixture at the Bulls' fortress against a strong Bulls side boasting internationals like Willie le Roux, Handre Pollard, and Canan Moodie, they were behind 33-22 at the interval.
However, as champions do, they showed their quality in the second half, storming back to claim a 46-33 victory – shutting out the Bulls without a point after the interval.
France international aces Damian Penaud and star wing Louis Bielle-Biarrey were among the try-scorers. Any team with such firepower on the wings is a threat against whoever they face.
Powerful Bath Appear Equipped of A Deep Run
Bath's lone victory in the Champions Cup was almost a generation ago. Throughout the ensuing period, they have perhaps not been better equipped to win it again.
The current English champions are setting the pace domestically after six games and will be hoping to transfer that success into the Champions Cup – on the back of a shocking early departure the previous season.
Johann van Graan's men looked a highly composed and polished team in their 40-14 victory against Munster, who are third in the Celtic league.
They blend creative spark – securing the try-scoring point in under 20 minutes at the Rec – with defensive steel, holding their opponents at bay when they attempted a dramatic comeback.
With stars such as Finn Russell and Ben Spencer pulling the strings and strength in depth all over the squad, they must be viewed as serious contenders for a maiden Champions Cup since 1998.
Bath's key result in the initial phase the previous year was in the second round, an agonising 22-21 defeat at Benetton with a changed side.
Now with a domestic championship under their belt and leading in England once more, Van Graan could be inclined to concentrate more effort on the Champions Cup this season.
Glasgow Hand Sale a Major Blow
You will find powerful sides everywhere you look, but their section appears poised to be one of the most fiercely contested.
In the competition's present structure, a lot is made about winning your home games, which is why Glasgow's win on the road at Sale on the first day might just prove crucial.
The Scottish side were trailing by 14 points after 20 minutes but came back strongly, and two tries at the start of the second period gave them a precious bonus-point win.
With this result, they provided their prospects of qualification a major lift and, conversely, inflicted a significant setback to the Sharks.
With the French giants – dominant 56-19 winners against the Sharks – and Saracens, who easily overcame Clermont, in the same section, we are likely to see plenty of fireworks.
And as for Glasgow's old rivals Edinburgh? They delivered one of their best European performances in recent memory to surprise three-time winners Toulon 33-20, on a successful weekend for the Scottish game.
Will Ioane Be the Final Piece of the Leinster Quest?
If there's one team you would expect to be in the mix at the sharp end 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 promised much but fallen short. Runners-up 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 round of 16 with a 52-0 destruction over Glasgow in the last eight.
It was hoped that All Black star Jordie Barrett would be the missing ingredient to secure the title, but they were surprised and endured a shock loss to Northampton Saints in the semi-final.
This season they are testing another New Zealand import, this time with Rieko Ioane, who provided a scoring pass on his first appearance in Saturday's 45-28 victory against Harlequins.
Could Ioane be the player to return the cup to Ireland for the first time since 2018?
Stormers Seem 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 last eight, and the previous season not a single one succeeded in getting out of the group stage, with plenty of rotated sides selected.
Will this be the campaign that changes? The Stormers are leading the URC and kicked off their Champions Cup adventure with a 26-17 away win at Bayonne on the opening night.
The reactions after the game were promising too, with players and coaches talking about their goals, and the likes of South African internationals Cobus Reinach, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, and Damian Willemse unavailable for the opening victory.
The Stormers seem the most likely contender for a South African side to go deep into the tournament, but write off the Sharks and Bulls, who were defeated in their first games but did play the French powerhouses respectively.
Saints and Pau Deliver a Memorable Match
There were multiple possibilities for match of the round, and that clash was a leading candidate.
Pau have been enjoying a brilliant season, guided by Pumas Julian Montoya and Facundo Isa and ex-England half-back Dan Robson.
They are right now runner-up in the Top 14 and the crowd was raucous at the Stade du Hameau|their home ground|Pau's
