With the first round of the 2025-26 Champions Cup wrapped up, we explore the major talking points highlighted by the fixtures.
Gallic supremacy has ruled the roost in recent years, with the previous five victors all representing France's top flight. However, the initial stage showcased multiple convincing performances from potential contenders.
Bordeaux Seem Ready to Defend Their Title
Reigning title-holders Bordeaux Begles were utterly dominant in Europe the previous campaign, overpowering Toulouse in the last four and subsequently Northampton in the final.
Positioned sixth in the French league, doubts have been raised about their chances of defending the title now. However, in round one, Bordeaux served notice that they are more than capable of achieving consecutive championships with a points-laden away victory in South Africa.
Faced with a challenging fixture at a hostile venue against a strong Bulls side featuring internationals like Willie le Roux, Handre Pollard, and Canan Moodie, they found themselves trailing 33-22 at half-time.
But, demonstrating their pedigree, they showed their quality in the second period, storming back to claim a 46-33 victory – shutting out the Bulls without a point after the break.
Les Bleus stars phenoms Damian Penaud and global award contender Louis Bielle-Biarrey were among the try-scorers. Any team with that pair on the flanks stands a good chance against whoever they face.
Formidable Bath Seem Poised of Challenging for the Title
Bath's only triumph in Europe came almost 30 years ago. Since that time, they have probably never been more strongly positioned to add a second star.
The current English champions are setting the pace domestically after six games and will be aiming to translate that form into the Champions Cup – on the back of a unexpected elimination the previous season.
Johann van Graan's team looked a highly composed and composed outfit in their 40-14 win over Munster, who are highly placed in the Celtic league.
They combine creative spark – earning the bonus point within 20 minutes at the Rec – with resolute defending, holding their opponents at a distance when they attempted a fightback.
With players including Finn Russell and Ben Spencer directing play and quality reserves throughout the roster, they are surely credible threats for a continental title since 1998.
Bath's key result in the pools a year ago came in the following week, an agonising 22-21 setback at Benetton with a rotated team.
After winning a domestic championship in their history and setting the pace domestically again, Van Graan may feel able to put a heightened focus on the Champions Cup this year.
Glasgow Hand Sale a Tough Start
There are strong teams everywhere you look, but the first group appears poised to be one of the tightest.
In the competition's present structure, a lot is said about victories on your own turf, which is why Glasgow's triumph at an opponent's ground at Sale on the opening night might just be pivotal.
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 half gave them a valuable five points.
In doing so, they gave their hopes of advancing a significant early boost and, conversely, handed a significant setback to the Sharks.
With the French giants – dominant 56-19 conquerors of the Sharks – and Saracens, who comfortably defeated Clermont, also in the pool, we are likely to see many thrilling contests.
And regarding Glasgow's Scottish counterparts Edinburgh? They turned in one of their best European performances in recent memory to shock three-time winners Toulon 33-20, on a fine weekend for Scottish rugby.
Will Ioane Be the Missing Ingredient of the Leinster Quest?
When considering a contender you would expect to be challenging at the later stages of the continental campaign, it would be European giants Leinster.
Yet in the last few years it hasn't gone to plan, as they have promised much but fallen short. Beaten finalists three years in a row between 2022-24, they looked heavy favourites a year ago after building on a 62-0 thrashing of Harlequins in the last 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 take them over the line, but they were caught out and endured a surprise defeat to Northampton Saints in the semi.
This season they are testing another New Zealand import, this time with Rieko Ioane, who claimed a key pass on his first appearance in Saturday's 45-28 win over Harlequins.
Will Ioane prove to return the cup to Ireland for the first time since 2018?
Stormers Look Equipped to Compete
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 none of them managed to make it out of the group stage, with several rotated sides fielded.
Could this be the season that is different? The Stormers are first in the URC and kicked off their continental journey with a 26-17 away win at Bayonne on Friday.
The post-match comments were promising too, with individuals involved speaking of their aspirations, and the players such as South African internationals Cobus Reinach, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, and Damian Willemse unavailable for the round-one win.
The Stormers look the strongest candidate for a South African side to have a long run in the competition, although don't count out the Sharks and Bulls, who were defeated in the opening round but did face Toulouse and Bordeaux respectively.
Northampton and Pau Produce a Memorable Match
There were a few contenders for match of the round, and the Northampton vs. Pau game was among the best.
Pau have been experiencing a superb season, guided by Pumas Julian Montoya and Facundo Isa and former Wasps scrum-half Dan Robson.
They are currently in second place in the French league and the crowd was raucous at the Stade du Hameau|their home ground|Pau's
