There were wins for Newcastle, Wasps and Dragons, however Sale opened their Amlin Challenge Cup campaign in defeat at Brive.
Newcastle see off challenge of Lyon at Kingston Park
Newcastle Falcons opened their Amlin Challenge Cup campaign with a 27-19 victory against European new boys Lyon at Kingston Park.
First-half tries from lock Tim Swinson and centre James Fitzpatrick proved the difference between the two sides in Pool Two.
Scrum-half Jordi Pasqualin crossed for the Falcons' third try straight after half-time before Lyon's impressive No. 8 Nicolas Bontinick responded with Lyon's first European try three minutes later.
Indiscipline proved a major problem for the French outfit as they had three players - lock Arnaud Dorier, centre Latu Alipate Fatafehi and Bontinck - sin-binned during the contest.
Ran riot
Elsewhere,
Newport Gwent Dragons welcomed back their Wales World Cup stars in style as they beat Italian minnows
I Cavalieri Prato 33-3 in Italy.
Dan Lydiate and Toby Faletau led the returning cast as they appeared for the first time since helping their country to the semi-finals in New Zealand.
Winger Christian Wade scored his second hat-trick of the season as
Wasps ran riot in a crushing 47-14 bonus-point victory against
Bordeaux-Begles in France.
The former Challenge Cup winners, who lifted the trophy back in 2003, made a mockery of the Stade Andre Moga's reputation as one of the most fearsome rugby venues in Europe and had rattled up a bonus-point win by half-time.
The Aviva Premiership side ran in a total of six tries in front of a home crowd of 16,953 who came to see Bordeaux play their first game in Europe since 2003.
Wasps went in 27-7 ahead at half-time and could even afford to go down to 14-men twice.
Lock Ross Filipo and prop Zak Taulafo were sin-binned during the game but centre Dom Waldouck, winger Tom Varndell and replacement scrum-half Nic Berry all crossed for tries.
Sale Sharks will rue their own indiscipline after they had two players sin-binned during a disappointing 26-18 defeat to
Brive in their Pool 5 opener.
The former winners, who won the tournament in 2002 and 2005, had two players yellow carded - flanker Dave Seymour and lock Fraser McKenzie - during a ferocious examination on French soil.
Second best
Sale's new signing Tony Buckley, who signed from Magners League champions and double Heineken Cup winners Munster, in the summer, made his first start for the Sharks and was given a torrid time at the scrum.
Brive's centre, the former England international Jamie Noon, was a constant threat to the Sharks with his charging runs at the heart of the visitors midfield and proved irresistible with the ball in hand.
The Sharks did manage a rally when winger Tom Brady and centre Johnny Leota crossed for tries but the visitors were always second best to a Brive side which held the upper hand throughout.
All Blacks legend Joe Rokocoko, who left New Zealand to move to France in the summer, scored his first try in European rugby as
Bayonne ran in six tries in a 43-10 thrashing of
Femi-CX Rovigo.
Agen ran riot in Alicante as they rattled off a 50-10 victory over Spanish minnows
CR La Vila, who won the Spanish title last season and are in their first season of European rugby.
