It was the French who caught the eye in round one with six of their eight teams winning, including Stade Rochelais and Toulon away from home.
It is a strange scenario where a defeated coach hails a 17-point loss as “one of their best performances” in recent times and the victorious coach claims he is “not very proud” of a victory where his side prevented dangerous opponents from scoring a try.
Reigning Rugby World Cup champions South Africa got their Autumn Nations Cup off to the perfect start with a 32 - 15 win over Scotland.
It’s now less than a year to go until the British & Irish Lions face Australia in the first Test of the 2025 tour in Brisbane and, while there’s still a season for players to play their way in, the starting XV is starting to take shape and as many Scots as Englishmen are in it for me.
While the Springboks may miss some of the silky handling of Lukhanyo Am, they certainly benefit from Jesse Kriel's defensive steel
Sale Sharks overcame an early red card for prop Nick Schonert to beat Bath 37-20 and claim their second Gallagher Premiership victory of the season.
Warren Gatland has sprung a host of surprises in his team selection but the Lions will be too much for an undercooked Springboks.
The Lions are purring but the spectre of Covid tracks them around South Africa
Super Rugby may have diminished in fan interest in recent years, but that hasn't stopped it churning out talent... check out the RugbyPass Super Rugby Under-23 squads.