It was a fascinating opening round of European rugby as Premiership champions Exeter edged Glasgow, Scarlets pushed Toulon all the way and Saracens laid down the gauntlet to their challengers.
But who caught the eye, who had a game to forget, and what will we all be talking about ahead of the next round of fixtures?
Player of the weekend
Champions Cup (Nick Bewley): Liam Williams (Saracens). Securing Williams' signature in the summer, following the departure of Chris Ashton might prove to be the coup of the season for Saracens. The Welsh winger has slotted seamlessly into life in London and was a constant threat with ball in hand against Northampton, picking up two tries in a man of the match performance. Special mention to Racing 92's Leone Nakarawa who was mesmerizing in their win over Leicester.
Challenge Cup (James Harrington): Viktor Gresev (Krasny Yar). Wasps fans may remember the Russian flanker -- he was brought in as injury cover on a short-term contract with the then London-based club in January 2012. But the 92-cap international was pretty much unknown to the majority of European rugby fans until this weekend, when he scored twice as Challenge Cup debutants Krasny Yar held on to beat defending champions Stade Francais 34-29 at the Krasny Yar Stadium.
Flop of the weekend
Champions Cup: Wasps. The opening Champions Cup match was a real fizzer as Ulster and Wasps provided little excitement at the Kingspan. Despite the return of Nathan Hughes, Joe Launchbury and Jimmy Gopperth, Wasps looked flat and lacked direction without Danny Cipriani. Discipline was a major concern too with Dai Young's side conceding 13 penalties. Now they head back to the Ricoh in desperate need of ending a five match losing streak..
Challenge Cup: Stade Francais. It's a cliche of the worst kind to say French sides do not travel well, and in their defence, a much-changed Stade set off on a difficult 14,000-mile multi-stage round trip to Siberia's third largest city on Tuesday, following their hard-fought Top 14 win over Montpellier last Saturday. But, they really, really should have headed back home to prepare for next weekend's home tie against London Irish with more than a losing bonus point.
Best coaching call
Champions Cup: Whatever Wayne Pivac dished up during the break worked wonders for Scarlets who went agonizingly close to snatching what would have been a memorable victory over Toulon. The Welsh region were at sea in the first 20 minutes as Toulon went ahead 18-0, but a bit more creativity and willingness to chance their arm saw Johnny McNicholl and Leigh Halfpenny score in quick time to put the hosts on the back foot. While the result wasn't to be, the blueprint was discovered for future success.
Challenge Cup: As well as giving star centre Bundee Aki a rest for Connacht's match against Top 14 strugglers Oyonnax in Geneva, head coach Kieran Keane handed a debut European start to promising fly-half Andrew Deegan. The 22-year-old Australian repaid the faith of his boss with a man-of-the-match performance in a 43-15 bonus-point victory.
Biggest refereeing call
Champions Cup: Matthew Carley (Castres vs. Munster). Castres and Munster were all square with no time left on the clock when Richard Copeland inexplicably reached through the ruck and slapped at Anthony Jelonch's hand as he went to clear the ball. Referee Matthew Carley called upon the TMO to see if a professional foul had occurred or if it was just a knock on. The local crowd and the Irish TV commentators were all in agreement that it was a penalty, but Carley was convinced it was a knock on only and awarded Castres a scrum. It denied the home side a chance to win the game which ended in a draw.
Challenge Cup: Daniel Jones (London Irish vs Edinburgh). The referee had no option but to send Exiles' flanker Conor Gilsenan to the sin-bin after he had deliberately brought down a maul inside his own 22 with less than 10 minutes remaining. But the decision ended any lingering hopes a young and inexperienced Irish side had of a late revival -- and spurred Richard Cockerill's men on to score a bonus-point try, before adding one more for good measure with the final play of the game.
Storyline to keep an eye on...
Champions Cup: La Rochelle buried the notion that French sides struggle on the road with a scintillating victory Harlequins. This side were the story of the Top 14 last season, finishing the regular campaign with the best record before losing in the semifinals to Toulon. They might not have the big overseas names or the billionaire owner but their expansive style makes them a box-office attraction to follow with interest in their debut in the competition.
Challenge Cup: The ankle injury that forced Ben Te'o off the pitch just three minutes into Worcester's home win over Brive. The England centre hobbled off in obvious discomfort after getting his ankle caught underneath him in a tackle. With less than a month before the November internationals, it is not just Warriors' fans who will be hoping that the knock is not serious.