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Now that the first round of the latest Champions Cup in the books, we examine the primary lessons stemming from the weekend's action.

Top 14 superiority has ruled the roost in recent years, with the last five champions all representing France's elite division. But, the initial stage showcased several convincing performances from new challengers.

Bordeaux Appear Primed to Retain Their Crown

Defending champions Bordeaux Begles were a class apart in this tournament last season, dismantling Toulouse in the last four and subsequently Northampton in the grand finale.

Currently sitting sixth in the domestic standings, questions have been asked about their capacity to retain the feat this year. But, in the first round, Bordeaux issued a reminder that they are more than capable of achieving another trophy with a points-laden win on the road in South Africa.

Given a challenging fixture at Loftus Versfeld against a powerful Bulls side featuring stars like Willie le Roux, Handre Pollard, and Canan Moodie, they found themselves trailing 33-22 at the break.

But, demonstrating their pedigree, they displayed their class in the second half, storming back to seal a 46-33 victory – keeping the Bulls scoreless after the halftime.

France international aces Damian Penaud and World Player of the Year nominee Louis Bielle-Biarrey were among the try-scorers. Any team with such firepower on the flanks is a threat against any competition.

Impressive Bath Seem Poised of Challenging for the Title

Bath's sole success in this competition dates back almost a generation ago. Throughout the ensuing period, they have probably never been more prepared to win it again.

The defending English Premiership champions are top of the pile in the league after six games and will be hoping to translate that form into the Champions Cup – particularly following a surprise group-stage exit the previous season.

Johann van Graan's side looked a extremely well-rounded and polished team in their 40-14 defeat of Munster, who are among the leaders in the URC.

They marry creative spark – securing the bonus point in under 20 minutes at the Rec – with resolute defending, keeping their opponents at arm's length when they attempted a fightback.

With the likes of Finn Russell and Ben Spencer directing play and quality reserves across the squad, they must be viewed as credible threats for a continental title since 1998.

Bath's defining match in the pools the previous year came in the second round, an narrow 22-21 defeat at Benetton with a squad players.

After winning a league trophy to their name and leading in England once more, Van Graan might decide to put a heightened focus on the Champions Cup this season.

Glasgow Hand Sale a Significant Setback

You will find quality outfits in every pool, but the first group seems destined to be one of the tightest.

In the competition's present structure, a lot is emphasized regarding winning your home games, 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 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 chances of progressing a major lift and, conversely, inflicted a damaging defeat to the Sharks.

With Toulouse – commanding 56-19 victors over the Sharks – and Saracens, who brushed aside Clermont, in the same section, we should be in for many thrilling contests.

And what of Glasgow's traditional foes Edinburgh? They delivered one of their best European performances in recent memory to surprise former champions Toulon 33-20, on a successful weekend for Scottish rugby.

Will Ioane Be the Missing Ingredient of the Leinster Quest?

When considering a contender you would expect to be there or thereabouts at the later stages of the Champions Cup, it would be European giants Leinster.

But in recent seasons it has ended in disappointment, as they have promised much but not won the trophy. Runners-up three years in a row between 2022-24, they looked overwhelming favourites last season after following up a 62-0 rout of Harlequins in the last 16 with a 52-0 destruction over Glasgow in the quarter-final.

It was thought that Kiwi international Jordie Barrett would be the missing ingredient to win the championship, but they were ambushed and experienced a shock loss to Northampton Saints in the last four.

This season they are trying the All Black experiment again, this time with Rieko Ioane, who claimed a key pass on his debut in Saturday's 45-28 victory against Harlequins.

Is Ioane the man to bring the trophy back to Ireland for the first time since 2018?

Stormers Look Ready to Step Up

From the moment the SA franchises became part of the Champions Cup in 2022-23, the deepest run achieved is the quarter-finals, and the previous season none of them was able to progress out of the group stage, with often rotated sides selected.

Could this be the season that is different? The Stormers are first in the URC and began their Champions Cup adventure with a 26-17 away win at Bayonne on Friday.

The reactions after the game were promising too, with the squad and staff expressing their ambition, and the likes of South African internationals Cobus Reinach, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, and Damian Willemse not involved for the first match.

The Stormers look the best bet for a South African side to progress far in the tournament, but do not rule out the Sharks and Bulls, who were defeated in their first games but did meet formidable opponents respectively.

Northampton and Pau Produce a Classic Encounter

There were several candidates for best fixture, and this one was a leading candidate.

Pau have been experiencing a superb campaign, led 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 atmosphere was electric at the Stade du Hameau|their home ground|Pau's