• Pool 4: Northampton 28-12 Cardiff

• Saints claim first win for Prem side at eighth time of asking

At 7.16pm, just around the time those Sunday night blues kick in, England’s Champions Cup cohort finally had something to cheer about. It was not pretty but after seven of their Prem rivals had failed to claim victory in the opening round of the competition, Saints survived a sizeable scare from Cardiff to put one on the board for the Prem, thanks in no small part to the excellent George Hendy.

It might be harsh on some of the performances this weekend – Gloucester were immense in drawing with Bordeaux, Exeter mightily unlucky to be beaten in Toulouse – but zero wins would have been a crushing embarrassment for a league that has been feted for its attacking exploits so far this season. One out of eight is not a lot to shout about as it is.

• Prem Rugby: Northampton 71-48 Bath

• Second-highest scoring match in league’s history

Chalk this up as a victory for the Northampton Knicks. In a remarkable match with 18 tries, 119 points were racked up and defence relegated to the merest of afterthoughts, the defending Prem champions romped home.

Ollie Sleightholme helped himself to a hat-trick and Tommy Freeman two of Northampton’s 11, in the second-highest scoring match in the league’s history, behind Saints’ 94-33 win over Bristol in May.