Overview
- Saturday’s opening European rounds produced a string of surprise defeats for top clubs with English sides Bath, Bristol, Sale and Saracens all losing their Champions Cup openers.
- Connacht beat Saracens 45-36 in Galway as Ciarán Frawley scored two tries on his home debut and the hosts ran in seven tries to secure a bonus-point victory.
- In Challenge Cup play Melvyn Jaminet scored 22 points as Toulon beat Edinburgh 27-17, the Dragons opened with a 29-14 win over Perpignan and the Scarlets ran in seven tries in a 47-14 victory.
- Internationally New Zealand completed a Bledisloe Cup series sweep of Australia with a 43-21 win in Sydney and Canada stunned England Women 24-21 in Toronto to end England’s 41-match unbeaten run.
- Discipline and individual form are proving decisive early in the season with yellow cards changing momentum in key games and standout performers altering qualification prospects and morale for the weeks ahead.