Northampton secured a 28-12 victory over Cardiff at DPD Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens, marking the first win for an English Premiership team in the Investec Champions Cup this season. The hosts established an early lead through tries from James Pater and Toby Thame, reaching 14-0 by halftime. Cardiff mounted a second-half challenge, with Harri Millard scoring to make it a closer contest, and the visitors drew within two points after an unconverted try from Grady while Northampton played with 14 men. George Hendy, named man of the match, contributed a crucial try to restore control and prevented another Cardiff score with a try-saving tackle. Fraser Dingwall sealed the outcome with a late try.
Leicester’s Champions Cup campaign began poorly as they fell to Pau 41-17 in France. Ollie Chessum marked his return from injury with a try, and Archie van der Flier added another to briefly give the Tigers hope at 41-24, but Pau proved too strong. The French side’s scoring came from Rodrigo Marta with two tries, Jon Zabala, Aaron Grandidier Nkanang, and Fabien Brau-Boirie, securing a bonus-point victory.
In the European Challenge Cup, Harlequins dominated their Pool Three match against Vannes with a 57-19 bonus-point victory. Marcus Smith contributed 22 points through two tries and six conversions despite a first-half sin bin for a deliberate knock-on. Cadan Murley scored twice in the first half as Quins built a 26-14 halftime advantage, with additional tries from Will Hobson, Sam Riley, Will Evans with a pair, and Jimmy Staples securing a comprehensive home win.
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