Injury-hit Leinster coped manfully without a host of key names to open its European Champions Cup season with a 24-17 bonus-point victory at home to Montpellier.

Beaten semi-finalist at the hands of Clermont Auvergne in April, Leinster will be a force to be reckoned with once more in 2017-2018 if this success, achieved despite the absence of several pivotal players, is anything to go by.

Former Australia flanker Scott Fardy withdrew owing to personal reasons, adding to a lengthy list of unavailable stars that already included injured Ireland quartet Jonathan Sexton, Rob Kearney, Sean O'Brien and Jamie Heaslip.

These sides met in the pool stages last season, with Leinster enjoying a 57-3 rout in the corresponding fixture, but this encounter at RDS Arena proved a much more evenly-matched affair.

Joey Carbery gave Leinster the lead, scoring the club's 400th Champions Cup try, before Josh van der Flier was awarded a second by the television match official (TMO) in the 25th minute.

Nemani Nadolo made it 12-7 shortly before the interval, diving over after the ball shot out of a scrum, and during the break there was a celebratory moment as one Leinster fan proposed to his partner and received the answer he was hoping for.

After those heartening scenes, Leinster swiftly reasserted itself in the second period through Robbie Henshaw's try.

An excellent Montpellier move led to Nadolo's second but Leinster soon secured its bonus point as Barry Daly crossed on his European debut for the club. Ruan Pienaar's penalty and Adam Byrne's yellow for an intentional knock-on made for a nervy finish, but Leinster held on.

The other match in Pool 3 saw Premiership champion Exeter Chiefs need a late Sam Simmonds try to secure a 24-15 win over Glasgow Warriors in a gripping encounter at Sandy Park, while Racing 92 edged out Leicester Tigers 22-18 at Stade Yves Du Manoir.

There was a moment of history as La Rochelle claimed its first Champions Cup win, a 34-27 success at Harlequins, while Bath marked its return to Europe's top table by shutting out Benetton Treviso 23-0 at The Rec.