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Now that the first round of the new season's Champions Cup in the books, we examine the primary lessons stemming from the fixtures.

French dominance has been the narrative in recent seasons, with the past five winners all representing France's Top 14. However, the opening round included a number of convincing performances from potential rivals.

Bordeaux Seem Ready to Go Back-to-Back

Current holders Bordeaux Begles were a class apart in the competition a year ago, overpowering Toulouse in the last four and afterwards Northampton in the grand finale.

Positioned sixth in the Top 14, doubts have been raised about their chances of defending the feat this year. However, in their opener, Bordeaux issued a reminder that they are more than capable of winning another trophy with a points-laden win on the road in South Africa.

Faced with a difficult tie at a hostile venue against a powerful Bulls side featuring stars like Willie le Roux, Handre Pollard, and Canan Moodie, they found themselves trailing 33-22 at the interval.

However, demonstrating their pedigree, they showed their quality in the second half, fighting back to secure a 46-33 victory – shutting out the Bulls without a point after the break.

French try-scoring machines Damian Penaud and World Player of the Year nominee Louis Bielle-Biarrey both got on the scoresheet. Any outfit with that pair on the flanks is a threat against any competition.

Impressive Bath Seem Poised of Challenging for the Title

Bath's lone victory in Europe dates back almost three decades ago. Since that time, they have arguably not been more prepared to secure another title.

The defending English Premiership champions are leading the way in the league after six games and will be hoping to carry that momentum into the Champions Cup – especially after a unexpected elimination last year.

Johann van Graan's team looked a extremely well-rounded and polished team in their 40-14 victory against Munster, who are among the leaders in the Celtic league.

They combine attacking verve – securing the extra point inside 20 minutes at the Rec – with tough tackling, keeping their guests at bay when they attempted a fightback.

With players including Finn Russell and Ben Spencer directing play and quality reserves across the roster, they must be viewed as genuine challengers for a continental title since 1998.

Bath's pivotal moment in the group stage a year ago was in the second round, an narrow 22-21 setback at Benetton with a changed side.

After winning a league trophy in their history and leading in England once more, Van Graan may feel able to place greater emphasis on the Champions Cup this season.

Glasgow Give Sale a Major Blow

There are powerful sides throughout the draw, but their section looks set to be one of the most competitive.

In the existing pool system, 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 Glasgow Warriors were 14-0 down after 20 minutes but came back strongly, and two tries early in the second period gave them a precious bonus-point win.

By achieving this, they provided their prospects of qualification a major lift and, in turn, dealt a damaging defeat to the Sharks.

With Toulouse – dominant 56-19 conquerors of the Sharks – and Saracens, who brushed aside Clermont, in the same section, we should be in for high-stakes drama.

And regarding Glasgow's traditional foes Edinburgh? They delivered one of their finest displays in Europe in years to surprise former champions Toulon 33-20, on a successful weekend for rugby in Scotland.

Will Ioane Be the Key Addition of the Leinster Puzzle?

When considering a contender you would fancy to be challenging at the sharp end of the continental campaign, it would be multiple champions Leinster.

But in the last few years it has not worked out, as they have shown great potential but fallen short. Runners-up three years in a row between 2022-24, they looked overwhelming favourites a year ago after backing up a 62-0 mauling of Harlequins in the round of 16 with a 52-0 demolition over Glasgow in the last eight.

It was hoped that New Zealand full-back Jordie Barrett would be the missing ingredient to win the championship, but they were ambushed and suffered 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 claimed a scoring pass on his debut in Saturday's 45-28 success against Harlequins.

Will Ioane prove to secure European glory to Ireland for the first occasion since 2018?

Stormers Look Equipped to Compete

From the moment the SA franchises 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 was able to progress out of the pool phase, with plenty of squads not at full strength selected.

Will this be the campaign that is different? The Stormers are first in the URC and started their European campaign with a 26-17 victory on the road at Bayonne on the opening night.

The post-match comments were promising too, with individuals involved talking about their aspirations, and the players such as Springboks Cobus Reinach, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, and Damian Willemse absent for the first match.

The Stormers look the most likely contender for a SA franchise to have a long run in the tournament, although write off the Sharks and Bulls, who both lost this weekend but did face formidable opponents respectively.

Saints and Pau Produce a Memorable Match

There were several candidates for match of the round, and this one was right up there.

Pau have been enjoying a brilliant campaign, guided by Argentine internationals Julian Montoya and Facundo Isa and veteran playmaker Dan Robson.

They are presently second in the French league and the stadium was buzzing at the Stade du Hameau|their home ground|Pau's