Following the first round of the 2025-26 Champions Cup in the books, we delve into the major talking points stemming from the weekend's action.
French dominance has defined the competition in recent seasons, with the last five champions all calling home France's Top 14. But, the opening round showcased multiple impressive wins from emerging contenders.
Bordeaux Look Set 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 showpiece.
Positioned sixth in the domestic standings, some have suggested about their chances of defending the accomplishment this year. Yet, in the first round, Bordeaux sent a message that they are more than capable of winning consecutive championships with a points-laden away victory in South Africa.
Faced with a tough assignment at Loftus Versfeld against a formidable Bulls side boasting internationals like Willie le Roux, Handre Pollard, and Canan Moodie, they were behind 33-22 at the interval.
Yet, demonstrating their pedigree, they displayed their class in the second period, storming back to secure a 46-33 victory – shutting out the Bulls scoreless after the break.
Les Bleus stars phenoms Damian Penaud and World Player of the Year nominee Louis Bielle-Biarrey were among the try-scorers. Any outfit with those two on the flanks is a threat against any competition.
Impressive Bath Look Capable of Going the Distance
Bath's sole success in the Champions Cup came almost three decades ago. Throughout the ensuing period, they have arguably not been more strongly positioned to add a second star.
The current English champions are setting the pace domestically after six games and will be looking to transfer that success into Europe – especially after a unexpected elimination last year.
Johann van Graan's team looked a highly composed and balanced unit in their 40-14 win over Munster, who are among the leaders in the URC.
They combine offensive flair – earning the try-scoring point inside 20 minutes at the Rec – with tough tackling, restraining their visitors at a distance when they threatened a fightback.
With the likes of Finn Russell and Ben Spencer directing play and a deep squad across the team, they are surely genuine challengers for a maiden Champions Cup since 1998.
Bath's key result in the group stage the previous year came in the next fixture, an agonising 22-21 defeat at Benetton with a rotated team.
After winning a league trophy in their history and setting the pace the home league, Van Graan could be inclined to concentrate more effort on the Champions Cup now.
Glasgow Give Sale a Major Blow
The tournament contains strong teams in every pool, but the first group appears poised to be one of the tightest.
In the existing pool system, a lot is made about securing home wins, which is why Glasgow's win on the road at Sale on Friday evening might just be pivotal.
The team from Scotland were trailing by 14 points after 20 minutes but fought back impressively, and two tries during the beginning of the second half gave them a valuable bonus-point win.
By achieving this, they provided their prospects of qualification a positive start and, by contrast, dealt a hefty blow to their opponents.
With Toulouse – commanding 56-19 victors over the Sharks – and Saracens, who comfortably defeated Clermont, sharing the group, we should be in for many thrilling contests.
And what of Glasgow's traditional foes Edinburgh? They produced one of their best European performances in recent memory to stun former champions Toulon 33-20, on a excellent weekend for Scottish rugby.
Will Ioane Be the Key Addition of the Leinster Puzzle?
When considering a contender you would fancy to be challenging at the business end of the Champions Cup, it would be European giants Leinster.
But in recent campaigns it hasn't gone to plan, as they have shown great potential but not won the trophy. Runners-up three years in a row between 2022-24, they looked overwhelming favourites a year ago after following up a 62-0 thrashing of Harlequins in the last 16 with a 52-0 destruction over Glasgow in the quarter-final.
It was hoped that All Black star Jordie Barrett would be the key player to win the championship, but they were caught out and suffered a surprise defeat to Northampton Saints in the semi.
Now they are bringing in another Kiwi, this time with Rieko Ioane, who claimed a try assist on his debut in Saturday's 45-28 success against Harlequins.
Will Ioane prove to secure European glory to Ireland for the first time since 2018?
Stormers Look Prepared to Challenge
Ever since the teams from South Africa joined the Champions Cup in 2022-23, the furthest any of their teams have got is the last eight, and in the last campaign none of them was able to progress out of the pool phase, with plenty of weakened teams fielded.
Could this be the season that changes? The Stormers are top of the URC and started their European campaign with a 26-17 triumph in France at Bayonne on Friday.
The post-match comments were encouraging too, with individuals involved talking about their aspirations, and the caliber of South African internationals Cobus Reinach, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, and Damian Willemse absent for the first match.
The Stormers appear the best bet for a South African side to progress far in the competition, although do not rule out the Sharks and Bulls, who were defeated this weekend but did face the French powerhouses respectively.
Saints and Pau Produce a Classic Encounter
There were several candidates for match of the round, and that clash was a leading candidate.
Pau have been having a superb campaign, spearheaded by Argentine internationals Julian Montoya and Facundo Isa and ex-England half-back Dan Robson.
They are right now runner-up in the French championship and the stadium was buzzing at the Stade du Hameau|their home ground|Pau's
