1) Saracens benefiting from England’s World Cup failure
The pillars of a fine Saracens performance were the England players: Richard Wigglesworth, Owen Farrell, the Vunipola brothers and Brad Barritt. They looked mean and full of purpose. There was a pass by prop Mako Vunipola to Farrell was a technical and artistic moment to savour. There is a well of post-World Cup frustration and reinvention to tap into and Mark McCall seems to know how to do it. Toulouse, on the other hand, didn’t want to be here. Toby Flood spinning away from a pre-match warm-up exercise with an injured bicep was about as animated as they were all night. The French side had every right to have other things on their mind after the Paris attacks and losing on the road on a grim north London night was one tiny piece of numbness on a bleak weekend. Eddie Butler
• Match report: Saracens 32-7 Toulouse
• European matches to be rescheduled after Paris attacks
2) Leinster’s high hopes crushed by their own awfulness
The awfulness of Leinster. Having played some decent rugby in the first half, which got them to the scoring zone whereupon they would end up putting the ball to ground, or have it turned over, they fell off the edge of the earth after Christian Wade’s try. With Isa Nacewa – a late withdrawal from this game – and Johnny Sexton back in harness, Leinster had high hopes of a winning start in this pool. Now they are under the cosh before they even make it to Bath, and have less than a week to plug the leaks that appeared all over the team. Wasps in contrast looked comfortable. Brendan Fanning
• Match report: Leinster 6-33 Wasps
• All Black anger met with dignity as Europe embraces Piutau
3) Mauger’s methods modernising Leicester’s game
The sight of Leicester throwing the ball around from the outset on a wintry Friday night in the Midlands was a sizeable culture shock for some of their supporters. To hear the Tigers’ director of rugby, Richard Cockerill, say afterwards that the scrum is not the be-all and end-all was enough to make anyone choke on their pork scratchings. But Leicester, to their credit, have realised their traditional set-piece orientated game needed modernising and their new head coach, Aaron Mauger, the distinguished former All Black centre, is preaching a more expansive gospel. It will take time to master but the signing of the Wallaby international Matt Toomua, one of the world’s best No12s, for next season is a real statement of intent. In the meantime, Leicester’s Welsh fly-half Owen Williams is a steadily-improving playmaker who already looks to be benefitting from Mauger’s arrival. Robert Kitson
• Match report: Leicester 33-20 Stade Français
• Leicester sign Australia playmaker Toomua
• Robert Kitson: Toulon’s all-star cast still the side to beat
4) Scarlets may soon be one of Europe’s superpowers again
It’s been a tough few years for Welsh rugby at regional level, but the Scarlets, not so long ago among the leading teams in Europe, seem to be building something. For a depleted side to emerge from Franklin’s Gardens within sight of the win is more than they would have hoped for in the last couple of seasons. Wayne Pivac, the latest Kiwi coach to make an impression in Wales, has guided them to six wins from seven in the Pro12 this season and has just signed a new contract, despite apparent interest from Japan. Jonathan Davies is returning from Clermont next season, by which time the Williamses, Scott and Liam, will hopefully be over their injury problems. There’s talk of Rhys Patchell joining the party too. Oh, and one Leigh Halfpenny. Samson Lee and Ken Owens will be back within the next couple of weeks. James Davies, Jonathan’s younger brother, is ripping it up in a dynamic back row, the latest in an ever-growing parade of Welsh opensides. Gareth Davies at scrum-half no longer needs any introduction. Jim Mallinder, Northampton’s director of rugby, was “very, very confident” that George North would be staying at Northampton and not returning to the west. Much more of this team building, though, and he will surely be tempted. Michael Aylwin
• Match report: Northampton 15-11 Scarlets
• Wales centre Davies rejoins Scarlets from Clermont Auvergne
• Sinfield kicks first points in rugby union for Yorkshire Carnegie
5) Biggar shows why Slade was World Cup spectator
One reason for Exeter thriving rather than surviving since earning promotion to the Premiership has been their impressive head coach, Rob Baxter, one of the few Englishman being tipped as a successor to Stuart Lancaster. After his side’s defeat to Ospreys in a match they were expected to win but failed to return home with even a bonus point, Baxter could have used some strange decisions by the Italian referee, Marius Matrea, as an excuse with his side losing the penalty count 14-8, but he was brutally honest. The 44-year-old pointed out that his players showed immaturity at the point in the game when they should have taken control against a team that had only won two matches in Europe in the last two seasons, one at home to Treviso. For all the abundant promise of Henry Slade, Jack Nowell, Luke Cowan-Dickie and Tomas Francis, Ospreys had the wiser and older heads in Dan Biggar, Paul James, Alun Wyn Jones and Dan Lydiate. Experience told in a group containing Clermont Auvergne and Bordeaux-Begles in which winning at home is an imperative. Biggar missed three penalties on the night, more than he blew in the entirety of Wales’ World Cup campaign, but his kicking out of hand, chasing and awareness of when to pass contrasted with Exeter’s greater reliance on hope. Slade’s time will come, but here he showed why he spent most of the World Cup as a spectator. It took Biggar a few years to mould exuberance into judgement. Paul Rees
• Match report: Osprey’s 25-13 Exeter
• Eddie Butler: England must go for a homegrown coach
• Gatland: ‘I am not interested in the England job’
6) Treviso’s continued failure poses wider questions
Munster started European life without Paul O’Connell with an anticipated bonus-point victory over Treviso at Thomond Park, although their fourth try came with five minutes to go in rainy conditions when the Italians had Matteo Muccignat in the sin-bin. Munster tend to start the European Cup slowly and end it like a hurricane, but any pool that contains Treviso gives the team that finishes second a more than reasonable chance of making the knockout stage. The argument over whether an Italian side should be in the Champions Cup given the persistent failure of Treviso and Zebre to finish in the top half of the Pro12 will prevail, but with Italy failing to make any marked impact on the Six Nations since their introduction to the tournament in 2000, in contrast to Argentina’s improvement after four years in the Rugby Championship, the picture has to be seen in the whole. If Italy is to be dumped in the Challenge Cup until the form of its Pro12 determines otherwise, why should Italy’s position in the Six Nations be regarded as permanent? Paul Rees
• Match report: Munster 32-7 Treviso
• Our pool-by-pool guide to the European Rugby Champions Cup
7) England Women finding out there is no substitute for pace
The official line is one of harmony, unity and mutual benefit but there is no doubting that England’s XVs squad lacks something when running concurrently to the sevens set-up – pace. Eight points from two autumn internationals – one in which they failed to score and the other that yielded a late pushover try - is a poor return, even if conditions did not help against Ireland and while the forwards will always be competitive against any of their rivals, the backs are lacking zip. On one wing Charlotte Clapp was making her home debut and will no doubt improve but a few eye-catching performances may see her go the same way as Abbie Brown, who impressed during the Six Nations but was then handed a sevens contract over the summer. And as England are finding out to their cost, from grassroots to the global stage, there is no substitute for pace. Gerard Meagher
• Match report: England 8-3 Ireland
• Paul Rees: World Cup review is RFU eyes only as spotlight hits Ritchie
