Bath produced a blistering start to beat Munster 40-14 at The Rec, racing into a 28-0 lead inside 19 minutes. The opening salvo included a penalty try that saw Munster lock Tadhg Beirne sin-binned, and early scores from Miles Reid, Henry Arundell and Tom Dunn. Beno Obano added another before the break after Munster had briefly responded, and Craig Casey’s try left the interval score 35-14. Munster — already missing Jack Crowley and having lost Jean Kleyn and Michael Milne before kick-off — suffered costly lineout problems and, despite enjoying more possession after half-time, could not break through again. Finn Russell converted four times and Ted Hill added a late Bath try to complete the win.
Saracens ran out 47-10 winners over Clermont Auvergne at the StoneX Stadium, racking up seven tries in a dominant display. Argentina centre Lucio Cinti crossed twice, while teenage winger Noah Caluori grabbed a second-half score — his seventh of the season — as Saracens set the tone with a commanding first half and never looked back.
Leicester Tigers, fielding several players making their Champions Cup debuts, were beaten 39-20 by La Rochelle in France. Jules Favre and Oscar Jegou helped the visitors into an early lead, and Ihaia West’s accurate kicking extended their advantage. Quick, decisive second-half tries from UJ Seuteni and Nathan Bollengier secured a bonus-point victory for the experienced French side.
Leinster opened their campaign with a 45-28 win over a weakened Harlequins at the Aviva Stadium. Leinster led 24-7 at the break thanks to scores from Garry Ringrose, Ciaran Frawley and a double from Jordan Larmour, and they finished strongly with seven tries in total as Tommy O’Brien, Jack Conan and Jimmy O’Brien crossed late on. Harlequins — who omitted Marcus Smith, Fin Baxter, Chandler Cunningham-South and Jack Kenningham from their selection — remained competitive for long periods, with Luke Northmore and Cassius Cleaves among their scorers and Oscar Beard collecting a late four-try consolation. The game saw second-half sendings-off leave both teams with 14 players.
Bristol Bears edged a tight contest at Scarlets in Llanelli, holding on for a 17-16 victory. Bill Mata crossed twice and Louis Rees-Zammit also scored as Pat Lam’s side scraped a narrow road win in a match decided by fine margins.
Champions Cup holders Bordeaux-Bègles began the defence of their title with a 46-33 victory over the Bulls in Pretoria. The French champions coped with the altitude and ran in multiple tries, with Damian Penaud, Louis Bielle-Biarrey (two), Maxime Lamothe, Boris Palu, Matthieu Jalibert and Salesi Rayasi among the scorers as Bordeaux-Bègles returned home with a commanding opening result.