Leinster and La Rochelle wasted no time in showing they would again be in contention for the trophy by topping their respective pools after the opening two rounds.

Leinster followed up their 42-10 romp at Racing 92 with a 57-0 whitewash of Gloucester Rugby at RDS Arena, running in nine tries to head Pool A.

La Rochelle, who overpowered Northampton Saints 46-12 in Round 1, were the Pool B front runners after they held on to beat Ulster Rugby 36-29 at the Aviva Stadium, with Antoine Hastoy amassing 26 points for the defending champions.

Five-time champions Stade Toulousain also proved they would be a force to be reckoned with once again as they followed their 18-13 win at Munster Rugby with a 45-19 drubbing of Sale Sharks, Antoine Dupont notching two of their seven tries at Stade Ernest Wallon.

Leicester Tigers sat one point adrift of Toulouse in Pool B, after the Gallagher Premiership champions saw off ASM Clermont Auvergne 23-16 at Mattioli Woods Welford Road following their 23-17 Round 1 win at Ospreys.

Saracens underlined that they were another side to keep an eye on after their thrilling 28-20 Pool A victory at Lyon, the three-time champions playing the last quarter of an hour at Matmut Stadium de Gerland with 14 men. They had edged out Edinburgh Rugby 30-26 in Round 1.

Cell C Sharks and Exeter Chiefs also maintained their 100% records in Pool A, the South African side squeezing home 19-16 at Union Bordeaux-Bègles and Exeter romping home 44-14 versus Vodacom Bulls, with Luke Cowan-Dickie notching a hat-trick of tries to power the English club into second place.

Ospreys pulled off the shock of Round 2 as they ground out a 21-10 victory at TOP 14 champions Montpellier Hérault Rugby.

We continue our look back at the 2022/23 Heineken Champions Cup with a review of Round 2, when 2022 finalists Stade Rochelais and Leinster Rugby laid down an early marker for the campaign.