Le Notebook: Did the French teams turn up in Europe? The old question gets a modern answer
Romain Ntamack's Toulouse squeezed past Exeter Chiefs in Round One of the Champions Cup
©Photo by Toru Hanai - Nations Championship/Nations Championship via Getty Images
For English rugby supporters of a certain age, the first round of the Champions Cup offered the chance to revisit a familiar question.
Which French team is going to turn up?
For years, visiting France in European competition could be a daunting experience. Toulouse, Clermont, Biarritz and Stade Français were capable of making life extremely uncomfortable for English visitors, but when those same teams crossed the Channel, the results could be rather different.
It became one of European rugby's enduring reputations. Formidable at home, unpredictable away.
So what did the opening weekend of the 2026-27 Champions Cup tell us?
Four French victories, three defeats and a draw suggest a mixed picture. Look a little closer, though, and the story is more interesting than just the numbers.
Montpellier: The French certainly turned up at Bath
If one performance challenged the old travelling stereotype, it came at The Rec.
Montpellier, back in the Champions Cup after four years away and arriving as Challenge Cup holders, faced a Bath side who reached last season's semi-finals. They departed with an emphatic 32-14 victory.
Bath led 14-10 at half-time, but the second half belonged entirely to the visitors, who scored 22 unanswered points. Stuart Hogg had crossed earlier, and after the break Donovan Taofifenua scored twice, including an interception try, before Alex Becognée completed the scoring, with Adam Hastings contributing from the tee.
This wasn't a fortunate away win built on a couple of opportunistic moments. Montpellier's forwards competed physically, their defence stood firm and their attacking players took their chances.
Becognée explained afterwards that Montpellier had travelled expecting to get a result, and for me that attitude matters.
The French side didn't appear intimidated by the occasion or content to go home with a respectable performance. They went to Bath to win, and they did so convincingly.
Bordeaux: The champions survive Kingsholm
Friday evening provided a rather different examination.
Gloucester 36, Bordeaux-Bègles 36: 10 tries, momentum swinging back and forth and a terrific atmosphere at Kingsholm. For those of us who love European rugby precisely because it produces encounters like this, it was an ideal opening.
Bordeaux arrived as back-to-back champions on a 16-match winning run in the competition, but Gloucester weren't interested in reputations. The home side led 24-17 at half-time, their forwards competing strongly and their attacking game causing Bordeaux real problems.
The visitors responded through Pablo Uberti and Louis Bielle-Biarrey before Gloucester replacement Will Trenholm struck twice to put the home side back in control. But Bordeaux weren't finished. Bielle-Biarrey's second try brought the scores level, and neither side could find a winner.
For Bordeaux, the draw ended that winning run but showed real resilience. For Gloucester, it was evidence that English clubs can compete with the very best French teams and also reinforced what has been an encourging start to the season for the Cherry and Whites.
For our continuing Willis Watch, there was another encouraging outing from Tom Willis. The former Saracens No.8 was heavily involved in Bordeaux's attacking play, helping to create opportunities and showing the physical qualities that have made his return to France so impressive.
The broader story remains compelling. Tom is establishing himself at Bordeaux, while older brother Jack, the reigning back-to-back Top 14 Player of the Year, continues to represent Toulouse. Two brothers at the heart of French rugby's elite.
Pau: perhaps we should stop calling them a surprise
We have followed Section Paloise closely through the opening weeks of Le Notebook, and their Top 14 form raised an obvious question: could they reproduce it in Europe?
Leicester Tigers provided the first examination, and Pau answered emphatically, winning 41-17 with five tries and an attacking bonus point. The Tigers had their moments, but Pau's pace and attacking ambition proved decisive.
Théo Attissogbe was particularly influential, repeatedly troubling Leicester's defence. Portugal international Rodrigo Marta, operating in midfield alongside Fabien Brau-Boirie, scored twice, continuing the remarkable form that has made him one of the most interesting players in French rugby this season.
For TRU, Marta's journey from Portuguese club rugby through Dax and Colomiers to Pau remains a story worth following all the way to Rugby World Cup 2027.
Pau's performance highlighted something else, too. Their success isn't simply about former Exeter Chiefs fly-half Joe Simmonds or Marta. A developing group of talented French players, Brau-Boirie among them, is helping build a side with genuine attacking confidence.
Pau may not yet have Toulouse's pedigree or Bordeaux's resources, but they are increasingly difficult to dismiss.
Toulouse: Winning with fourteen
Toulouse's 43-40 victory over Exeter Chiefs was extraordinary, and it genuinely surprised me.
The French champions played most of the match with 14 men after Rodrigue Neti's early red card. Exeter responded with ambition, Zack Wimbush scoring a hat-trick as the visitors pushed Toulouse all the way.
Yet the home side found a way to win, through Antoine Dupont's influence, the quality of their attacking players and their ability to manage difficult circumstances. Henry Slade had a late chance to secure a draw for Exeter, but his penalty was off target.
For our Iberian Watch, there was another interesting development: Spain international Joël Merkler started in the second row. His growing versatility at one of Europe's strongest clubs is precisely the experience that could serve Spain well ahead of Australia 2027.
Side note - Interesting to see Merkler's nation throwing their hat into the ring to host the Rugby World Cup in 2035.
Back to Toulouse, who also demonstrated something that transcends individual players. Even when circumstances turn against them, they have the belief and quality to find a solution.
La Rochelle: Victory amid sadness
Ronan O'Gara's La Rochelle beat the Lions 31-14, collecting an attacking bonus point, but the result was overshadowed by the death of Lions second-row Hyron Andrews, who was found at the team hotel on the Île de Ré on the eve of the match. Andrews, 31, had joined the Lions this season after a spell with Sale Sharks.
The South African side chose to play in his honour. A minute's silence was observed, Andrews' number five shirt was left unused, and supporters applauded in the fifth minute.
La Rochelle secured the victory, but the occasion was about considerably more than rugby, and the dignity shown by the Lions deserves recognition.
And the French teams that didn't turn up?
Three defeats completed the French picture. Racing 92 lost 33-25 at Munster, Stade Français were overwhelmed 56-20 by the Bulls in Pretoria, and Clermont suffered a 48-23 home defeat to Leinster.
The Stade Français result will certainly give ammunition to those who still believe some French clubs approach European travel differently. But a much-changed side, the long trip to South Africa and the demands of competing on two fronts make simplistic conclusions dangerous.
Racing were competitive at Munster, recovering from 21-6 down to within three points before the home side sealed it. Clermont's defeat, meanwhile, was particularly disappointing because it came at home, where French sides have traditionally been strongest.
They led 16-15 at the break, but Leinster's second-half performance showed that the financial and playing strength of the Top 14 does not guarantee European superiority.
So, did the French turn up?
The answer is yes, but not all of them.
Montpellier emphatically challenged the old away-day stereotype. Bordeaux showed resilience without producing their best rugby. Pau confirmed their growing credentials, while Toulouse and La Rochelle secured important home victories. Racing and Stade Français were reminders that travelling in European competition remains demanding.
Perhaps the most significant change is that French clubs are no longer judged simply on whether they can compete away from home. The strongest are expected to win wherever they play. That represents a substantial shift from the European rugby I remember.
But the unpredictability remains. And perhaps that's exactly why, after more than 30 years of European club competition, I still find myself asking the same question.
Which French team is going to turn up next time?
