Bath Rugby conceded 71 points. The Vodacom Bulls won by 42. And Edinburgh apparently has no interest in losing a rugby match. Welcome back to the FloRugby Club Power Rankings.
Three rounds into the United Rugby Championship and Gallagher PREM, and six into the Top 14, Europe's best clubs are beginning to separate themselves from the pack. Some are climbing, others are discovering just how quickly a bad weekend can undo a good start.
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The second in-season edition of the FloRugby Club Power Rankings considers current form, quality of opposition, location, margin of victory, previous performance and roster strength across the URC, PREM and Top 14. There are no league quotas, and the movement arrows compare each club's position to last week's rankings.
FloRugby Club Power Rankings Top 15
Stade Toulousain (Top 14) ↔
Union Bordeaux Begles (Top 14) ↔
Glasgow Warriors (URC) ↑ 2
DHL Stormers (URC) ↑ 2
Section Paloise (Top 14) ↑ 2
Hollywoodbets Sharks (URC) ↓ 3
Bath Rugby (PREM) ↓ 3
Gloucester Rugby (PREM) ↔
Edinburgh Rugby (URC) ↑ 6
Stade Rochelais (Top 14) ↑ 3
Leinster Rugby (URC) ↔
Northampton Saints (PREM) NEW
Vodacom Bulls (URC) NEW
Saracens F.C. (PREM) NEW
Aviron Bayonnais (Top 14) ↓ 5
Previous FloRugby Club Power Rankings
No. 1 Stade Toulousain
Previous Ranking: No. 1
Toulouse is still Toulouse. And apparently, 34 points from Bayonne aren't enough to change that.
The reigning Top 14 champion beat Aviron Bayonnais 45-34 in Round 6, improving to 5-1 and retaining first place in France. It was a much different affair than the previous week's 8-7 escape against Castres, but the result was familiar.
Six rounds have produced five victories, and Toulouse continues to show that it can win in more than one way. The latest performance also delivered a timely reminder of its attacking potential with European competition approaching.
The No. 1 spot remains Toulouse's to lose.
No. 2 Union Bordeaux Begles
Previous Ranking: No. 2
Union Bordeaux didn't exactly blow the doors off Clermont. But a 23-22 road victory counts just the same.
UBB improved to 4-2 after escaping Clermont by a single point, following its 51-28 demolition of Lyon in Round 5 with a much tighter contest.
Bordeaux's two defeats remain worth considering, but consecutive victories have helped stabilize its domestic campaign. And as the defending Champions Cup winner prepares for another European campaign, the club's pedigree remains a major factor in its ranking.
Next comes Gloucester, a matchup that should tell us plenty about both teams.
No. 3 Glasgow Warriors
Previous Ranking: No. 5
Glasgow has quietly put together one of the URC's strongest starts, although it might be time to drop the word quietly.
The Warriors beat Connacht 36-19 in Round 3, improving to two wins and a draw through three matches. They sit second in the URC standings with 13 points, trailing Edinburgh by one.
The victory follows a valuable road win over Munster in Round 1 and a 33-33 draw with Ulster in Round 2.
Glasgow entered the season with an established reputation as one of the URC's strongest clubs. Three matches have done little to challenge it.
No. 4 DHL Stormers Rugby
Previous Ranking: No. 6
Want to move up the rankings? Beating the team ranked third is a pretty convincing argument.
The Stormers did exactly that, defeating the Hollywoodbets Sharks 39-22 in their South African derby. The victory improved the Stormers to 2-1 and pushed them ahead of the Sharks in the URC standings.
It was an important response after Edinburgh handed the Stormers a 17-13 defeat in Round 2.
More importantly, it gave the Stormers a marquee victory over a club that had opened the season by beating Ospreys and defending champion Leinster.
The Stormers are back in the top five, and their next challenge comes against Bristol in the Champions Cup.
No. 5 Section Paloise
Previous Ranking: No. 7
Section Paloise keeps winning. At some point, that stops being a surprise and starts becoming an expectation.
Section Paloise defeated Castres 35-26 in Round 6, improving to 5-1 and keeping pace with Toulouse near the top of the Top 14 standings.
The victory followed a dramatic 43-40 road win over Vannes, giving Pau five victories through its opening six matches.
Last season's fourth-place finish already suggested that Pau belonged among France's better clubs. The current campaign is strengthening that argument.
A two-place climb puts Pau inside Europe's top five, with Leicester Tigers waiting in the Champions Cup.
No. 6 Hollywoodbets Sharks
Previous Ranking: No. 3
The Sharks spent two weeks building an impressive résumé. The Stormers needed one afternoon to remind them that the URC isn't going to be easy.
After opening 2-0 with victories over Ospreys and Leinster, the Sharks suffered their first defeat, falling 39-22 to the Stormers.
The loss dropped the Sharks to 2-1 and fifth in the URC standings. Their point differential also fell to just +6 after three matches.
There is no reason to erase the quality of their earlier victories, particularly the win over defending champion Leinster. But losing by 17 to another elite South African club warrants a correction.
The Sharks fall three places, although they remain firmly in the European top 10.
No. 7 Bath Rugby
Previous Ranking: No. 4
Seventy-one points.
That's how many Northampton Saints put on Bath in Round 3, turning what was supposed to be a heavyweight PREM showdown into a defensive nightmare for one of England's leading contenders.
Bath lost 71-48, surrendering 11 tries despite scoring 48 points of its own.
The result ended Bath's perfect start and sent the club to 2-1 after earlier victories over Harlequins and Exeter.
Bath's attacking ability remains obvious, and its recent domestic and European performances still support a high ranking. But conceding 71 points is difficult to overlook when evaluating Europe's best clubs.
Bath drops three places. Montpellier awaits in the Champions Cup, where the English club will have an immediate opportunity to respond.
No. 8 Gloucester Rugby
Previous Ranking: No. 8
The Cherry and Whites finally lost. They also made Leicester work pretty hard for it.
Gloucester suffered its first defeat of the season in Round 3, falling 38-31 to Leicester Tigers after opening with convincing victories over Exeter and Harlequins.
The loss leaves Gloucester at 2-1, but its 12 league points keep it atop the PREM standings.
Last week's enormous rise from No. 33 in the preseason rankings to No. 8 was built on a remarkable +69 point differential through two matches. Leicester provided a reminder that Gloucester still has work to do, particularly defensively.
But one seven-point defeat isn't enough to undo everything the Cherry and Whites accomplished during the opening fortnight.
Gloucester holds at No. 8, with Bordeaux-Bègles providing a fascinating European test this week.
No. 9 Edinburgh Rugby
Previous Ranking: No. 15
Three matches. Three wins. Fourteen points.
Edinburgh is the only remaining undefeated club in the URC without a draw, and the Scottish side is making it increasingly difficult to keep it outside Europe's top 10.
A 29-12 road victory over Zebre Parma followed wins over Ulster and the Stormers, moving Edinburgh to the top of the URC standings.
The victory over the Stormers remains the centerpiece of Edinburgh's early résumé, but winning away from home twice in three rounds adds substance to the unbeaten record.
After finishing 12th in the URC last season, Edinburgh has climbed six places in this week's rankings.
The club now faces Toulon in the Champions Cup, offering an early opportunity to prove its strong domestic start can translate to European competition.
No. 10 Stade Rochelais
Previous Ranking: No. 13
La Rochelle is beginning to look like a club that belongs much closer to the top of these rankings.
Stade Rochelais won 28-16 at Lyon in Round 6, improving to 4-2 and moving into fourth place in the Top 14.
The road victory followed a 38-13 win over Clermont, giving La Rochelle consecutive victories by double-digit margins.
That combination of current form and established European pedigree makes La Rochelle one of this week's more convincing risers.
The club climbs three spots and returns to the top 10 ahead of its Champions Cup opener against the Lions.
No. 11 Leinster Rugby
Previous Ranking: No. 11
Well, there it is. Leinster finally won a rugby match.
After opening the URC season with consecutive defeats in South Africa, the defending champion returned home and beat Cardiff 29-5 in Round 3.
The 24-point victory was a welcome response after narrow defeats to the Lions and Sharks had left Leinster at 0-2.
Leinster now sits at 1-2, and its position in the standings still doesn't resemble what most would expect from the reigning champion.
But the victory offered a reminder of the club's defensive quality, limiting Cardiff to just five points after the Welsh side opened with two wins.
Leinster stays at No. 11. The climb back toward the top five will require more than one victory, but at least the climb has started.
No. 12 Northampton Saints
Previous Ranking: Unranked
Northampton scored 71 points against Bath. Seventy-one.
The defending PREM champion delivered the most explosive performance of Round 3, beating Bath 71-48 in a match featuring 119 combined points.
The Saints had opened the season with a 59-26 victory over Newcastle before losing 41-26 to Bristol. Their latest result pushed them to 2-1 and second in the PREM standings.
The attacking talent was never much of a question. Northampton's ability to turn that talent into results against elite opposition was what needed another demonstration.
Bath provided the opportunity, and the Saints took full advantage.
Northampton enters the Top 15 at No. 12, although conceding 48 points keeps some defensive questions alive.
No. 13 Vodacom Bulls Rugby
Previous Ranking: Unranked
The Bulls didn't just beat the Lions. They dismantled them.
A 57-15 victory in their South African derby handed the Lions their first defeat and moved the Bulls to 2-1 after three URC rounds.
The 42-point margin was among the most emphatic results of the weekend, and it pushed the Bulls to third in the URC standings with 11 points and a +72 point differential.
The Bulls had opened with a dominant victory over Zebre before losing narrowly at Munster. Their performance against the Lions provided another reminder of the club's considerable attacking potential.
Last season's URC finalist is back in the Top 15, and the next challenge comes against Stade Français in the Champions Cup.
No. 14 Saracens
Previous Ranking: Unranked
Bristol entered Round 3 unbeaten. Saracens F.C. made sure it didn't leave that way.
Saracens beat the Bears 30-7, delivering one of the weekend's most convincing defensive performances and moving to 2-1 in the PREM.
The result was particularly significant after Saracens lost 21-17 to Sale Sharks in Round 2.
A victory over a Bristol side that had beaten both Sale and defending champion Northampton gave Saracens the quality win needed to return to the rankings.
Saracens enters at No. 14, replacing the Bears in the Top 15 and strengthening its case as a legitimate contender in England.
No. 15 Aviron Bayonnais
Previous Ranking: No. 10
Aviron Bayonnais scored 34 points against Toulouse. Unfortunately, Toulouse scored 45.
The 45-34 defeat dropped Bayonne to 4-2 after six Top 14 rounds and ended its three-match winning streak.
There is no shame in losing away to Europe's top-ranked club, particularly while scoring 34 points. But the result adds to concerns about Bayonne's defense and its negative point differential despite a strong winning record.
Four victories in six matches remain enough to keep Bayonne in the Top 15, but the gap between the French club and the teams chasing it has narrowed.
Bayonne drops five spots and will need another strong performance to hold its place next week.
Just Outside The FloRugby Club Power Rankings
Leicester Tigers, Bristol Bears, Montpellier Hérault Rugby, Cardiff Rugby and the Lions are among the clubs narrowly missing this week's Top 15. Leicester has an especially strong argument after handing Gloucester its first defeat, while Bristol and Cardiff will be looking to recover from heavy losses. Montpellier's defeat to Stade Français also hurts its case, and the Lions face questions after conceding 57 points to the Bulls. With the Champions Cup and Challenge Cup beginning this week, the chasing pack will have plenty of opportunities to change the conversation.
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