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With the first round of the 2025-26 Champions Cup in the books, we delve into the major talking points emerging from the weekend's action.

Gallic supremacy has been the narrative in recent years, with the previous five victors all hailing from France's top flight. But, the initial stage showcased several statement victories from new challengers.

Bordeaux Appear Primed to Go Back-to-Back

Defending champions Bordeaux Begles were utterly dominant in Europe a year ago, dominating Toulouse in the semi-final and then Northampton in the grand finale.

Positioned sixth in the French league, doubts have been raised about their capacity to retain the title now. But, in their opener, Bordeaux sent a message that they are fully equipped of winning another trophy with a points-laden away victory in South Africa.

Given a challenging fixture at Loftus Versfeld against a formidable Bulls side including talents like Willie le Roux, Handre Pollard, and Canan Moodie, they were behind 33-22 at the interval.

But, demonstrating their pedigree, they unleashed their power in the second half, fighting back to secure a 46-33 victory – shutting out the Bulls scoreless after the halftime.

French try-scoring aces Damian Penaud and star wing Louis Bielle-Biarrey were among the try-scorers. Any side with those two on the flanks is a threat against any competition.

Powerful Bath Seem Poised of A Deep Run

Bath's only triumph in the Champions Cup was almost 30 years ago. In the years since, they have probably never been more prepared to add a second star.

The defending English Premiership champions are setting the pace domestically after six games and will be aiming to transfer that success into continental competition – especially after a unexpected elimination in the last campaign.

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

They combine attacking verve – securing the extra point inside 20 minutes at the Rec – with resolute defending, holding their visitors at a distance when they threatened a fightback.

With stars such as Finn Russell and Ben Spencer directing play and strength in depth all over the team, they must be viewed as genuine challengers for a continental title since 1998.

Bath's pivotal moment in the initial phase a year ago occurred in the second round, an heartbreaking 22-21 loss at Benetton with a rotated team.

Having secured a league trophy under their belt and leading domestically again, Van Graan could be inclined to concentrate more effort on the Champions Cup this season.

Glasgow Deal Sale a Significant Setback

The tournament contains quality outfits everywhere you look, but their section seems destined to be one of the tightest.

In the tournament's current format, a lot is made about victories on your own turf, which is why Glasgow's win on the road at Sale on Friday evening might just be pivotal.

The Scottish side were 14-0 down after 20 minutes but came back strongly, and two tries early in the second half gave them a all-important bonus-point win.

By achieving this, they handed their chances of progressing a significant early boost and, conversely, handed a hefty blow to Sale.

With the French giants – imperious 56-19 winners against the Sharks – and Saracens, who easily overcame Clermont, in the same section, we should be in for high-stakes drama.

And what of Glasgow's Scottish counterparts Edinburgh? They delivered one of their top continental showings in recent memory to shock heavyweights Toulon 33-20, on a excellent weekend for the Scottish game.

Will Ioane Be the Final Piece of the Leinster Puzzle?

When considering a contender you would expect to be in the mix at the later stages of the continental campaign, it would be European giants Leinster.

But in recent campaigns it has ended in disappointment, as they have been favourites but not won the trophy. Runners-up three years in a row between 2022-24, they looked the team to beat last season after following up a 62-0 thrashing of Harlequins in the round of 16 with a 52-0 win over Glasgow in the last eight.

It was thought that All Black star Jordie Barrett would be the key player to take them over the line, but they were ambushed and endured a stunning upset to Northampton Saints in the semi.

This year 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 success against Harlequins.

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

Stormers Seem 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 last year none of them was able to progress out of the pool phase, with plenty of rotated sides fielded.

Could this be the season that changes? The Stormers are first in the URC and began their European campaign with a 26-17 away win at Bayonne on Friday.

The words from players and coaches were promising too, with individuals involved talking about their ambition, and the players such as South African internationals Cobus Reinach, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, and Damian Willemse unavailable for the opening victory.

The Stormers look the most likely contender for a South African side to progress far in the event, but do not rule out the Sharks and Bulls, who both lost this weekend but did face formidable opponents respectively.

Northampton and Pau Serve Up a Classic Encounter

There were multiple possibilities for game of the weekend, and the Northampton vs. Pau game was among the best.

Pau have been having a superb season, spearheaded by Pumas Julian Montoya and Facundo Isa and veteran playmaker Dan Robson.

They are currently in second place in the French championship and the crowd was raucous at the Stade du Hameau|their home ground|Pau's