Gareth Anscombe kicked impressively for Cardiff © Getty Images

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An impressive performance from Cardiff saw them cruise to a 24-14 win over London Irish at the Arms Park. Geoff Cross scored early for the visitors after an impressive run, with Shane Geraghty converting but Irish went pointless until the final minute, when they were awarded a penalty try.

Between those two scores, Cardiff crossed three times through Richard Smith, Lloyd Williams and replacement hooker Kristian Dacey. Gareth Anscombe kicked dependably, adding three conversions and a penalty, and orchestrated an impressive Blues attack. Cardiff sit top of Pool 1, four points ahead of London Irish. Grenoble got off the mark on Friday with a bonus-point win over Rovigo.

Connacht saw off Bayonne with an outstanding second half performance in Galway. The first half was a cagey affair that finished with the hosts 15-12 ahead after a brace from South African winger Danie Poolman.

After the break, the visitors took the lead thanks to a score from lock Florian Lapeyrade, to add to four penalties from the boot of Martin Bustos Moyano in the first half. With the score 15-19, Connacht stepped up a gear, scoring three tries in the final quarter through Bundee Aki, David McSharry and replacement Willie Falloon to win 42-19 and take a bonus-point. Connacht sit a point behind rampant Exeter Chiefs at the top of Pool 2.

After a shaky first-half, Dragons eased to a bonus-point win over Bucureşti in Romania in Saturday's opening European Challenge Cup clash to consolidate their position in second place of Pool 2. In the same group, Newcastle saw off Stade Français on Friday night.

Bucureşti took an early lead thanks to Florin Vlaicu's penalty and flanker Sean Morrell converted try before two Rhys Jones penalties steadied the visitors. Ashley Smith's converted try shortly gave them a narrow lead at the break. After the interval it was one-way traffic as Dragons crossed four more times, including two from lock Cory Hill.

Bordeaux went top of Pool Four with a bonus-point 37-29 win against Lyon, with tries from Matt Graham, Romain Lonca (2), Laurent Delboulbès and Thibault Lacroix.