With the first round of the new season's Champions Cup concluded, we explore the key revelations highlighted by the weekend's action.
Top 14 superiority has been the narrative in recent seasons, with the last five champions all representing France's top flight. But, the first weekend showcased multiple convincing performances from emerging rivals.
Bordeaux Appear Primed to Retain Their Crown
Reigning title-holders Bordeaux Begles were a class apart in this tournament the previous campaign, overpowering Toulouse in the last four and afterwards Northampton in the grand finale.
Positioned sixth in the domestic standings, questions have been asked about their capacity to retain the feat this year. However, in their opener, Bordeaux served notice that they are fully equipped of winning back-to-back titles with a high-scoring away victory in South Africa.
Faced with a tough assignment at the Bulls' fortress against a powerful Bulls side featuring internationals like Willie le Roux, Handre Pollard, and Canan Moodie, they found themselves trailing 33-22 at the break.
But, demonstrating their pedigree, they unleashed their power in the second half, storming back to seal a 46-33 victory – keeping the Bulls to zero after the interval.
Les Bleus stars machines Damian Penaud and global award contender Louis Bielle-Biarrey both got on the scoresheet. Any outfit with such firepower on the edges is a threat against any competition.
Impressive Bath Look Capable of Challenging for the Title
Bath's sole success in this competition came almost a generation ago. Since that time, they have probably never been more strongly positioned to win it again.
The reigning domestic title-holders are leading the way at home after six games and will be aiming to translate that form into continental competition – especially after a surprise group-stage exit the previous season.
Johann van Graan's side looked a very complete and balanced unit in their 40-14 win over Munster, who are highly placed in the URC.
They combine offensive flair – securing the bonus point inside 20 minutes at the Rec – with tough tackling, keeping their opponents at arm's length when they looked like mounting a late rally.
With players including Finn Russell and Ben Spencer directing play and a deep squad across the squad, they must be viewed as genuine challengers for a maiden Champions Cup since 1998.
Bath's pivotal moment in the group stage a year ago was in the following week, an heartbreaking 22-21 loss at Benetton with a squad players.
Having secured a league trophy in their history and leading domestically again, Van Graan may feel able to place greater emphasis on the Champions Cup this season.
Glasgow Give Sale a Significant Setback
You will find strong teams in every pool, but their section appears poised to be one of the most competitive.
In the competition's present structure, a lot is said about securing home wins, which is why Glasgow's win on the road at Sale on Friday evening might just prove crucial.
The Scottish side were trailing by 14 points after 20 minutes but responded with character, and two tries at the start of the second half gave them a valuable bonus-point win.
By achieving this, they provided their prospects of qualification a significant early boost and, by contrast, dealt a significant setback to the Sharks.
With the red and blacks – imperious 56-19 victors over the Sharks – and Saracens, who easily overcame Clermont, in the same section, we should be in for high-stakes drama.
And regarding Glasgow's Scottish counterparts Edinburgh? They produced one of their best European performances in recent memory to shock three-time winners Toulon 33-20, on a excellent weekend for Scottish rugby.
Could Ioane the Key Addition of the Leinster Jigsaw?
Should you pick one side you would expect to be in the mix at the business end of the Champions Cup, it would be European giants Leinster.
Yet 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 win over Glasgow in the last eight.
It was thought that Kiwi international Jordie Barrett would be the final piece to win the championship, but they were ambushed and experienced a shock loss to Northampton Saints in the semi-final.
Now they are trying the All Black experiment again, this time with Rieko Ioane, who registered a scoring pass on his debut 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 not a single one was able to progress out of the pool phase, with plenty of weakened teams fielded.
Will this be the campaign that turns around? The Stormers are leading the URC and kicked off their continental journey with a 26-17 triumph in France at Bayonne on the opening night.
The post-match comments were positive too, with the squad and staff speaking of their aspirations, and the players such as South African internationals Cobus Reinach, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, and Damian Willemse not involved for the round-one win.
The Stormers appear the strongest candidate for a team from South Africa to have a long run in the event, yet write off the Sharks and Bulls, who were defeated in their first games but did meet formidable opponents respectively.
Northampton and Pau Serve Up a Classic Encounter
There were multiple possibilities for game of the weekend, and this one was right up there.
Pau have been having a superb campaign, guided by stars Julian Montoya and Facundo Isa and former Wasps scrum-half Dan Robson.
They are presently second in the French championship and the stadium was buzzing at the Stade du Hameau|their home ground|Pau's
