Now that the first round of the 2025-26 Champions Cup wrapped up, we explore the key revelations stemming from the weekend's action.
French dominance has been the narrative in recent years, with the past five winners all representing France's Top 14. However, the first weekend featured a number of statement victories from potential contenders.
Bordeaux Look Set to Retain Their Crown
Defending champions Bordeaux Begles were imperious in the competition last season, dismantling Toulouse in the last four and afterwards Northampton in the showpiece.
Lying sixth in the domestic standings, doubts have been raised about their capacity to retain the feat this year. Yet, in round one, Bordeaux served notice that they are more than capable of securing back-to-back titles with a high-scoring away victory in South Africa.
Handed a difficult tie at Loftus Versfeld against a strong Bulls side including talents like Willie le Roux, Handre Pollard, and Canan Moodie, they were behind 33-22 at the interval.
But, true to their champion status, they unleashed their power in the second half, storming back to claim a 46-33 victory – shutting out the Bulls to zero after the break.
Les Bleus stars machines Damian Penaud and World Player of the Year nominee Louis Bielle-Biarrey both got on the scoresheet. Any outfit with such firepower on the edges has a chance against any opponent.
Impressive Bath Appear Equipped of A Deep Run
Bath's lone victory in this competition was almost a generation ago. Since that time, they have arguably not been better equipped to secure another title.
The current English champions are leading the way at home after six games and will be hoping to transfer that success into the Champions Cup – on the back of a shocking early departure last year.
Johann van Graan's men looked a highly composed and composed outfit in their 40-14 defeat of Munster, who are highly placed in the United Rugby Championship.
They blend creative spark – earning the bonus point inside 20 minutes at the Rec – with defensive steel, keeping their opponents at a distance when they attempted a fightback.
With stars such as Finn Russell and Ben Spencer directing play and a deep squad all over the roster, they are surely credible threats for a continental title since 1998.
Bath's defining match in the group stage a year ago occurred in the second round, an agonising 22-21 defeat at Benetton with a rotated team.
Having secured a domestic championship in their history and top the home league, Van Graan could be inclined to place greater emphasis on the Champions Cup this season.
Glasgow Hand Sale a Tough Start
The tournament contains quality outfits everywhere you look, but the first group seems destined to be one of the tightest.
In the existing pool system, a lot is emphasized regarding victories on your own turf, which is why Glasgow's away victory at Sale on Friday evening might just turn out to be vital.
The team from Scotland 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 maximum haul.
With this result, they provided their prospects of qualification a significant early boost and, conversely, inflicted a hefty blow to their opponents.
With the French giants – commanding 56-19 conquerors of the Sharks – and Saracens, who easily overcame Clermont, in the same section, we can expect many thrilling contests.
And regarding Glasgow's old rivals Edinburgh? They produced one of their top continental showings in recent memory to stun former champions Toulon 33-20, on a successful weekend for Scottish rugby.
Will Ioane Be the Final Piece of the Leinster Puzzle?
When considering a contender you would expect to be challenging at the sharp end of the season in Europe, it would be four-time winners Leinster.
However in recent campaigns it hasn't gone to plan, as they have been favourites but delivered little. Beaten 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 destruction over Glasgow in the last eight.
It was thought that New Zealand full-back Jordie Barrett would be the key player to win the championship, but they were ambushed and endured a stunning upset to Northampton Saints in the last four.
This season they are testing another New Zealand import, this time with Rieko Ioane, who registered a key pass on his bow in Saturday's 45-28 victory against Harlequins.
Is Ioane the man to bring the trophy back to Ireland for the first occasion since 2018?
Stormers Appear Prepared to Challenge
From the moment the SA franchises joined the Champions Cup in 2022-23, the deepest run achieved is the quarter-finals, and in the last campaign none of them succeeded in getting out of the group stage, with several squads not at full strength used.
Is this the year that is different? The Stormers are leading the URC and started their continental journey with a 26-17 away win at Bayonne on Friday.
The post-match comments were encouraging too, with players and coaches speaking of their aspirations, and the likes of stars Cobus Reinach, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, and Damian Willemse unavailable for the opening victory.
The Stormers look the most likely contender for a SA franchise to progress far in the event, yet write off the Sharks and Bulls, who both lost this weekend but did play the French powerhouses respectively.
The English and French Sides Serve Up a Thrilling Contest
There were multiple possibilities for game of the weekend, and the Northampton vs. Pau game was among the best.
Pau have been having a outstanding campaign, led 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
