Following the first round of the new season's Champions Cup wrapped up, we examine the key revelations stemming from the weekend's action.
Gallic supremacy has ruled the roost in recent seasons, with the last five champions all calling home France's Top 14. But, the opening round showcased several convincing performances from emerging rivals.
Bordeaux Look Set to Go Back-to-Back
Defending champions Bordeaux Begles were utterly dominant in the competition the previous campaign, dominating Toulouse in the semi-final and subsequently Northampton in the final.
Lying sixth in the domestic standings, some have suggested about their capacity to retain the accomplishment this season. Yet, in the first round, Bordeaux sent a message that they are well-positioned of achieving consecutive championships with a points-laden win on the road in South Africa.
Handed a difficult tie at Loftus Versfeld against a formidable Bulls side including internationals like Willie le Roux, Handre Pollard, and Canan Moodie, they found themselves trailing 33-22 at the interval.
Yet, demonstrating their pedigree, they displayed their class in the final 40 minutes, fighting back to claim a 46-33 victory – keeping the Bulls to zero after the break.
French try-scoring phenoms 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 Challenging for the Title
Bath's sole success in the Champions Cup came almost a generation ago. In the years since, they have probably never been more prepared to add a second star.
The defending English Premiership champions are top of the pile domestically after six games and will be hoping to transfer that success into continental competition – particularly following a unexpected elimination in the last campaign.
Johann van Graan's side looked a extremely well-rounded and composed outfit in their 40-14 defeat of Munster, who are highly placed in the Celtic league.
They blend creative spark – earning the bonus point in under 20 minutes at the Rec – with defensive steel, holding their visitors at arm's length when they looked like mounting a dramatic comeback.
With the likes of Finn Russell and Ben Spencer in the half-backs and quality reserves all over the roster, they are surely serious contenders for a first European trophy since 1998.
Bath's defining match in the pools the previous year occurred in the second round, an agonising 22-21 setback at Benetton with a rotated team.
After winning a league trophy in their history and leading in England once more, Van Graan might decide to put a heightened focus on the Champions Cup now.
Glasgow Give Sale a Significant Setback
The tournament contains strong teams everywhere you look, but Pool One appears poised to be one of the most fiercely contested.
In the competition's present structure, a lot is said about securing home wins, which is why Glasgow's away victory at Sale on the opening night might just be pivotal.
The Scottish side were two scores behind after 20 minutes but came back strongly, and two tries early in the second period gave them a valuable bonus-point win.
In doing so, they gave their prospects of qualification a major lift and, by contrast, inflicted a damaging defeat to Sale.
With the red and blacks – imperious 56-19 victors over the Sharks – and Saracens, who easily overcame Clermont, sharing the group, we are likely to see many thrilling contests.
And as for Glasgow's old rivals Edinburgh? They delivered one of their best European performances in a long time to stun former champions Toulon 33-20, on a successful weekend for the Scottish game.
Could Ioane the Final Piece of the Leinster Quest?
When considering a contender you would fancy to be challenging at the later stages of the continental campaign, it would be four-time winners Leinster.
Yet in recent campaigns it has not worked out, as they have shown great potential but fallen short. Finalists three years in a row between 2022-24, they looked heavy favourites last season after building on a 62-0 thrashing of Harlequins in the round of 16 with a 52-0 win over Glasgow in the quarter-final.
It was hoped that Kiwi international Jordie Barrett would be the key player to secure the title, but they were caught out and suffered a shock loss to Northampton Saints in the semi.
This season they are bringing in another Kiwi, this time with Rieko Ioane, who provided a scoring pass on his debut 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 best performance by any of them is the last eight, and in the last campaign none of them succeeded in getting out of the group stage, with several weakened teams selected.
Could this be the season that turns around? The Stormers are top of the URC and kicked off their European campaign with a 26-17 victory on the road at Bayonne on the opening night.
The words from players and coaches were positive too, with players and coaches expressing their ambition, and the players such as South African internationals Cobus Reinach, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, and Damian Willemse unavailable for the first match.
The Stormers look the strongest candidate for a team from South Africa to go deep into the competition, yet write off the Sharks and Bulls, who were defeated in their first games but did play formidable opponents respectively.
Saints and Pau Produce a Thrilling Contest
There were a few contenders for best fixture, and the Northampton vs. Pau game was right up there.
Pau have been enjoying a brilliant season, guided by Argentine internationals Julian Montoya and Facundo Isa and former Wasps scrum-half Dan Robson.
They are presently runner-up in the Top 14 and the stadium was buzzing at the Stade du Hameau|their home ground|Pau's
