Champions Cup: Teams announced ahead of mouth-watering Round of 16 weekend

Colin Newboult

The European Champions Cup returns this weekend with the first leg of the last-16 ties, including Toulouse’s clash with Ulster and Exeter Chiefs’ game against Munster.

Friday

Connacht v Leinster

Prediction: Leinster by 12

The teams:

Connacht: 15 Tiernan O’Halloran, 14 John Porch, 13 Tom Farrell, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 Mack Hansen, 10 Jack Carty (c), 9 Kieran Marmion, 8 Jarrad Butler, 7 Conor Oliver, 6 Cian Prendergast, 5 Leva Fifita, 4 Gavin Thornbury, 3 Finlay Bealham, 2 Dave Heffernan, 1 Matthew Burke
Replacements: 16 Dylan Tierney-Martin, 17 Tietie Tuimauga, 18 Jack Aungier, 19 Oisín Dowling, 20 Abraham Papali’i, 21 Caolin Blade, 22 Conor Fitzgerald, 23 Sammy Arnold

Leinster: 15 Hugo Keenan, 14 Jimmy O’Brien, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Robbie Henshaw, 11 James Lowe, 10 Johnny Sexton (c), 9 Luke McGrath, 8 Jack Conan, 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Caelan Doris, 5 Josh Murphy, 4 Ross Molony, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Dan Sheehan, 1 Cian Healy
Replacements: 16 James Tracy, 17 Ed Byrne, 18 Michael Ala’alatoa, 19 Devin Toner, 20 Max Deegan, 21 Jamison Gibson-Park, 22 Ross Byrne, 23 Ciarán Frawley

Venue: The Sportsground
Kick-off: 20:00 BST (19:00 GMT)
Referee: Karl Dickson (England)
Assistant Referees: Michael Hudson (England), John Meredith (England)
TMO: David Rose (England)

Saturday

Bordeaux-Begles v La Rochelle

Prediction: Bordeaux-Begles by 8

The teams:

Bordeaux: 15 Nans Ducuing, 14 Santiago Cordero, 13 Federico Mori, 12 Rémi Lamerat, 11 Ben Lam, 10 Francois Trinh-Duc, 9 Maxime Lucu, 8 Maama Vaipulu, 7 Mahamadou Diaby, 6 Cameron Woki, 5 Louis Picamoles, 4 Kane Douglas, 3 Vadim Cobilas, 2 Maxime Lamothe, 1 Jefferson Poirot (c)
Replacements: 16 Clement Maynadier, 17 Thierry Paiva, 18 Ben Tameifuna, 19 Jandré Marais, 20 Alexandre Roumat, 21 Yann Lesgourgues, 22 Matéo Garcia, 23 Jean-Baptiste Dubié

La Rochelle: 15 Brice Dulin, 14 Jules Favre, 13 Jérémy Sinzelle, 12 Jonathan Danty, 11 Raymond Rhule, 10 Ihaia West, 9 Tawera Kerr-Barlow, 8 Grégory Alldritt (c), 7 Victor Vito, 6 Wiaan Liebenberg, 5 Will Skelton, 4 Thomas Lavault, 3 Uini Atonio, 2 Pierre Bourgarit, 1 Dany Priso
Replacements: 16 Facundo Bosch, 17 Guram Papidze, 18 Joel Sclavi, 19 Romain Sazy, 20 Remi Bourdeau, 21 Thomas Berjon, 22 Pierre Popelin, 23 Levani Botia

Venue: Stade Chaban-Delmas
Kick-off: 14:00 local (13:00 BST, 12:00 GMT)
Referee: Matthew Carley (England)
Assistant referees: Andrew Jackson (England), Phil Watters (England)
TMO: Ian Tempest (England)

Sale Sharks v Bristol Bears

Prediction: Sale Sharks by 10

The teams:

Sale: 15 Luke James, 14 Jack Metcalf, 13 Sam James, 12 Manu Tuilagi, 11 Aaron Reed, 10 Robert du Preez, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Dan du Preez, 7 Jono Ross (c), 6 Jean-Luc du Preez, 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Jacobus Wiese, 3 Nick Schonert, 2 Akker van der Merwe, 1 Bevan Rodd
Replacements: 16 Ewan Ashman, 17 Simon McIntyre, 18 Coenie Oosthuizen, 19 Matthew Postlethwaite, 20 Tommy Taylor, 21 Raffi Quirke, 22 Rohan Janse van Rensburg, 23 Simon Hammersley

Bristol: 15 Luke Morahan, 14 Jack Bates, 13 Piers O’Conor, 12 Sam Bedlow, 11 Alapati Leiua, 10 Callum Sheedy, 9 Harry Randall, 8 Nathan Hughes, 7 Sam Jeffries, 6 Chris Vui, 5 Joe Joyce (c), 4 Dave Attwood, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 2 Bryan Byrne, 1 Jake Woolmore
Replacements: 16 Harry Thacker, 17 Yann Thomas, 18 John Afoa, 19 Steven Luatua, 20 Fitz Harding, 21 Andy Uren, 22 Semi Radradra, 23 Charles Piutau

Venue: AJ Bell Stadium
Kick-off: 13:00 BST (12:00 GMT)
Referee: Mathieu Raynal (France)
Assistant referees: Thomas Charabas (France), Jonathan Dufort (France)
TMO: Philippe Bonhoure (France)

Toulouse v Ulster

Prediction: Toulouse by 3

The teams:

Toulouse: 15 Thomas Ramos, 14 Juan Cruz Mallía, 13 Zack Holmes, 12 Pita Ahki, 11 Matthis Lebel, 10 Romain Ntamack, 9 Antoine Dupont (c), 8 Francois Cros, 7 Thibaud Flament, 6 Rynhardt Elstadt, 5 Emmanuel Meafou, 4 Rory Arnold, 3 Dorian Aldegheri, 2 Peato Mauvaka, 1 Rodrigue Neti
Replacements: 16 Guillaume Cramont, 17 Cyril Baille, 18 Charlie Faumuina, 19 Richie Arnold, 20 Anthony Jelonch, 21 Alban Placines, 22 Martin Page Relo, 23 Sofiane Guitoune

Ulster: 15 Mike Lowry, 14 Robert Baloucoune, 13 James Hume, 12 Stuart McCloskey, 11 Ben Moxham, 10 Billy Burns, 9 John Cooney, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Nick Timoney, 6 Marcus Rea, 5 Iain Henderson (c), 4 Alan O’Connor, 3 Marty Moore, 2 Rob Herring, 1 Eric O’Sullivan
Replacements: 16 Brad Roberts, 17 Andrew Warwick, 18 Tom O’Toole, 19 Kieran Treadwell, 20 Jordi Murphy, 21 Nathan Doak, 22 Luke Marshall, 23 Rob Lyttle

Venue: Le Stadium
Kick-off: 16:15 local (15:15 BST, 14:15 GMT)
Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)
Assistant referees: Christophe Ridley (England), Anthony Woodthorpe (England)
TMO: Tom Foley (England)

Exeter Chiefs v Munster

Prediction: Exeter Chiefs by 7

The teams:

Exeter: 15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Olly Woodburn, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Ian Whitten, 11 Tom O’Flaherty, 10 Joe Simmonds, 9 Sam Maunder, 8 Sam Simmonds, 7 Jacques Vermeulen, 6 Dave Ewers, 5 Sam Skinner, 4 Jonny Gray, 3 Harry Williams, 2 Jack Yeandle (c), 1 Alec Hepburn
Replacements: 16 Jack Innard, 17 Ben Moon, 18 Patrick Schickerling, 19 Jannes Kirsten, 20 Richard Capstick, 21 Jack Maunder, 22 Harvey Skinner, 23 Josh Hodge

Munster: 15 Mike Haley, 14 Keith Earls, 13 Chris Farrell, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Simon Zebo, 10 Ben Healy, 9 Conor Murray, 8 Alex Kendellen, 7 John Hodnett, 6 Jack O’Donoghue (c), 5 Fineen Wycherley, 4 Jean Kleyn, 3 Stephen Archer, 2 Niall Scannell, 1 Jeremy Loughman
Replacements: 16 Diarmuid Barron, 17 Josh Wycherley, 18 John Ryan, 19 Jason Jenkins, 20 Thomas Ahern, 21 Craig Casey, 22 Rory Scannell, 23 Jack O’Sullivan

Venue: Sandy Park
Kick-off: 17:30 BST (16:30 GMT)
Referee: Pierre Brousset (France)
Assistant referees: Luc Ramos (France), Flavien Hourquet (France)
TMO: Denis Grenouillet (France)

Stade Francais v Racing 92

Prediction: Racing 92 by 12

The teams:

Stade Francais: 15 Léo Barre, 14 Sefa Naivalu, 13 Harry Glover, 12 Alex Arrate, 11 Lester Etien, 10 Joris Segonds, 9 Arthur Coville, 8 Tala Gray, 7 Romain Briatte, 6 Sekou Macalou, 5 Pierre-Henri Azagoh, 4 Paul Gabrillagues (c), 3 Nemo Roelofse, 2 Laurent Panis, 1 Clément Castets
Replacements: 16 Tolu Latu, 17 Vasil Kakovin, 18 Giorgi Melikidze, 19 Charlie Francoz, 20 Loic Godener, 21 James Hall, 22 Nicolas Sanchez, 23 Kylan Hamdaoui

Racing 92: 15 Max Spring, 14 Teddy Thomas, 13 Gael Fickou, 12 Henry Chavancy (c), 11 Juan Imhoff, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Nolann Le Garrec, 8 Yoan Tanga, 7 Ibrahim Diallo, 6 Wenceslas Lauret, 5 Anton Bresler, 4 Baptiste Chouzenoux, 3 Trevor Nyakane, 2 Camille Chat, 1 Guram Gogichashvili
Replacements: 16 Teddy Baubigny, 17 Hassane Kolingar, 18 Cedate Gomes Sa, 19 Boris Palu, 20 Luke Jones, 21 Antoine Gibert, 22 Olivier Klemenczak, 23 Louis Dupichot

Venue: Stade Jean-Bouin
Kick-off: 18:30 local (17:30 BST, 16:30 GMT)
Referee: Luke Pearce (England)
Assistant referees: Dan Jones (England), Paul Dix (England)
TMO: Stuart Terheege (England)

Sunday

Montpellier v Harlequins

Prediction: Montpellier by 3

The teams:

Montpellier: 15 Anthony Bouthier, 14 Vincent Rattez, 13 Thomas Darmon, 12 Geoffrey Doumayrou, 11 Gabriel N’gandebe, 10 Paolo Garbisi, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Zach Mercer, 7 Kelian Galletier, 6 Nico Janse van Rensburg, 5 Paul Willemse (c), 4 Bastien Chalureau, 3 Titi Lamositele, 2 Brandon Paenga-Amosa, 1 Enzo Forletta
Replacements:
16 Vincent Giudicelli, 17 Robert Rodgers, 18 Mohamed Haouas, 19 Masivesi Dakuwaqa, 20 Gela Aprasidze, 21 Handré Pollard, 22 Julien Tisseron, 23 Florian Verhaeghe

Harlequins: 15 Huw Jones, 14 Louis Lynagh, 13 Joe Marchant, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Cadan Murley, 10 Marcus Smith, 9 Danny Care, 8 Alex Dombrandt (c), 7 Tom Lawday, 6 George Hammond, 5 Hugh Tizard, 4 Matt Symons, 3 Will Collier, 2 Jack Walker, 1 Joe Marler
Replacements:
16 Joe Gray, 17 Simon Kerrod, 18 Wilco Louw, 19 Matas Jurevicius, 20 Luke Wallace, 21 Lewis Gjaltema, 22 Will Edwards, 23 Nick David

Venue: GGL Stadium
Kick-off: 14:00 local (13:00 BST, 12:00 GMT)
Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Chris Busby (Ireland), Oisin Quinn (Ireland)
TMO: Joy Neville (Ireland)

Clermont Auvergne v Leicester Tigers

Prediction: Clermont by 6

The teams:

Clermont: 15 Kotaro Matsushima, 14 Alivereti Raka, 13 George Moala, 12 Wesley Fofana, 11 Cheik Tiberghien, 10 Camille Lopez, 9 Morgan Parra, 8 Fritz Lee, 7 Alexandre Fischer, 6 Judicaël Cancoriet, 5 Sébastien Vahaamahina (c), 4 Paul Jedrasiak, 3 Rabah Slimani, 2 Etienne Fourcade, 1 Giorgi Beria
Replacements:
16 Yohan Beheregaray, 17 Etienne Falgoux, 18 Cristian Ojovan, 19 Miles Amatosero, 20 Lucas Dessaigne, 21 Kevin Viallard, 22 JJ Hanrahan, 23 Marvin O’Connor

Leicester: 15 Freddie Steward, 14 Harry Potter, 13 Guy Porter, 12 Dan Kelly, 11 Hosea Saumaki, 10 George Ford, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Tommy Reffell, 6 Hanro Liebenberg, 5 Calum Green, 4 Ollie Chessum, 3 Joe Heyes, 2 Julián Montoya, 1 Ellis Genge (c)
Replacments:
16 Nic Dolly, 17 James Whitcombe, 18 Dan Cole, 19 Harry Wells, 20 Eli Snyman, 21 Jack van Poortvliet, 22 Freddie Burns, 23 Matías Moroni

Venue: Stade Marcel-Michelin
Kick-off: 16:15 local (15:15 BST, 14:15 GMT)
Referee: Nika Amashukeli (Georgia)
Assistant referees: Craig Evans (Wales), Peter Martin (Ireland)
TMO: Brian MacNeice (Ireland)

READ MORE: Challenge Cup: Owen Farrell leads Saracens on Brive trip, strong Edinburgh face Pau

 

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