**The Heineken Champions Cup and EPCR Challenge Cup kicked off at the weekend and it was an encouraging first round of fixtures for a lot of the United Rugby Championship teams involved.** All four Irish provinces got off to a winning start in the top-tier tournament while Cardiff showed tremendous spirit in difficult circumstances as they hosted defending champions Toulouse. Edinburgh, meanwhile, got the better of Saracens in London to begin their Challenge Cup campaign in impressive fashion. Here are five things we learned from the first weekend of action in the two competitions.
