Clermont, Racing 92 and Stade Francais all lost.

The opening round produced 109 tries in twelve games, 9.1 per match, against 8.1 in last season’s pool stage. Yet the new try bonus, awarded only to a side scoring three more tries than its opponent, proved scarce: six teams earned one, where the old rule of four tries scored would have handed out sixteen.

Pool 1: Pau shine, Clermont collapse

In their opening game, Pau beat Leicester 41-17 at the Hameau, with two tries from Rodrigo Marta and a try bonus sealed by Fabien Brau-Boirie’s 78th-minute interception. Clermont led 16-15 at the break but sank against Leinster (23-48): the Irish side scored seven tries, two of them from Dan Sheehan, who now has 17 in the Champions Cup. Glasgow won at Sale (27-47), seven tries to four.

Pool 2: Toulouse show their character

Sent off in the 16th minute for a high tackle on Ross Vintcent, Rodrigue Neti left Toulouse with 14 men for more than an hour. Trailing 24-26 at half-time and then 24-33, Toulouse turned it around through Romain Ntamack and Matias Remue, who scored twice including the winner. Zack Wimbush scored a hat-trick for Exeter, who take a losing bonus after Henry Slade missed a late penalty. La Rochelle beat 31-14, with a bonus point, a Lions side still mourning Hyron Andrews, and Connacht downed Saracens (45-36) in a 13-try game.

Pool 3: Bordeaux Begles held

Bordeaux Begles drew 36-36 at Gloucester, five tries apiece. Their run of 16 straight Champions Cup wins is over, but the club remains unbeaten in 17 games in the competition. Louis Bielle-Biarrey scored twice and now has 29 Champions Cup tries, one behind Antoine Dupont and Tommy Bowe, and still well short of Chris Ashton’s record of 41. The Stormers thrashed Bristol (49-12), and Racing 92 lost at Munster (33-25), denied a losing bonus by Craig Casey’s try in the 78th minute.

Pool 4: Montpellier strike at Bath

Montpellier won at Bath (14-32) after taking the second half 22-0. Stade Francais were swept aside by the Bulls (56-20), who scored eight tries, three of them from Cheswill Jooste: the first hat-trick by a player from a South African franchise in the Champions Cup. Northampton beat Cardiff (28-12) to become the first English club to win in this edition, after six defeats and a draw.

Pool tables after round 1

Pool 1

# Team P W D L Diff Pts
1 Leinster 1 1 0 0 +25 5
2 Pau 1 1 0 0 +24 5
3 Glasgow 1 1 0 0 +20 5
4 Sale 1 0 0 1 -20 0
5 Leicester 1 0 0 1 -24 0
6 Clermont 1 0 0 1 -25 0

Pool 2

# Team P W D L Diff Pts
1 La Rochelle 1 1 0 0 +17 5
2 Connacht 1 1 0 0 +9 4
3 Toulouse 1 1 0 0 +3 4
4 Exeter 1 0 0 1 -3 1
5 Saracens 1 0 0 1 -9 0
6 Lions 1 0 0 1 -17 0

Pool 3

# Team P W D L Diff Pts
1 Stormers 1 1 0 0 +37 5
2 Munster 1 1 0 0 +8 4
3 Gloucester 1 0 1 0 0 2
4 Bordeaux Begles 1 0 1 0 0 2
5 Racing 92 1 0 0 1 -8 0
6 Bristol 1 0 0 1 -37 0

Pool 4

# Team P W D L Diff Pts
1 Bulls 1 1 0 0 +36 5
2 Montpellier 1 1 0 0 +18 4
3 Northampton 1 1 0 0 +16 4
4 Cardiff 1 0 0 1 -16 0
5 Bath 1 0 0 1 -18 0
6 Stade Francais 1 0 0 1 -36 0

Key figures

9.1 tries per game, up from 8.1 last season

6 try bonuses, against 16 under the old rule

29 Champions Cup tries for Bielle-Biarrey