All Blacks star to make Toulon debut while Sione Tuipulotu returns for Glasgow Warriors
All Blacks wing Leicester Fainga'anuku scoring against Ireland in the Rugby World Cup.
Round Two of the 2023/24 Champions Cup season kicks off on Friday night with two games as Northampton Saints host Toulon while Bayonne take on Glasgow Warriors.
Northampton Saints v Toulon
George Furbank will once again captain Saints from full-back, though he is joined by a new-look wing pairing of George Hendy and Tom Seabrook against Toulon.
Last week’s Player-of-the-Match Tommy Freeman remains at centre for Northampton, while Tom Litchfield comes in to start in Saints’ midfield for the third time this season.
Fin Smith – who claimed his second-highest points haul of the season from the tee in Round One – combines with Alex Mitchell in Saints’ half-backs for the fourth time this term.
Props Ethan Waller and Trevor Davison come in to start this weekend, packing down alongside hooker Curtis Langdon in Northampton’s front-row. Meanwhile Temo Mayanavanua makes his first start in Black, Green and Gold against Toulon as he joins Alex Moon in Northampton’s engine room.
Tom Pearson is the only change in Saints’ back-row, with the 24-year-old coming in to start at blindside flanker while flanker Courtney Lawes and number eight Sam Graham retain their spots there.
There is space on Saints’ bench for the likes of Sam Matavesi, Tarek Haffar, Chunya Munga, Tom James and Ollie Sleightholme, who will all be hoping to make an impact from amongst the replacements – while Charlie Savala could make his Club debut if he enters the action on Friday, and number eight Juarno Augustus makes his return from injury.
Meanwhile, Leicester Fainga’anuku will make his Toulon debut after being named in the starting line-up for their clash on Friday.
Fainga’anuku was named on the bench last weekend against Exeter Chiefs but did not get onto the field.
The All Blacks flyer, who represented his country at the recent Rugby World Cup, features alongside France duo Gabin Villiere and Melvyn Jaminet in the back three.
The midfield sees Jeremy Sinzelle and Seta Tuicuvu combine, while Ben White and Enzo Herve continue at half-back.
Up front, there are three Englishmen in the front five as hooker Jack Singleton and tighthead Kieran Brookes line up alongside loosehead Dany Priso, with Red Rose lock David Ribbans behind them in the second-row.
In the back-row, Charles Ollivon captains the side and forms a loose trio with flanker Esteban Abadie and number eight Selevasio Tolofua.
The teams
Northampton Saints: 15 George Furbank (c), 14 Tom Seabrook, 13 Tommy Freeman, 12 Tom Litchfield, 11 George Hendy, 10 Fin Smith, 9 Alex Mitchell, 8 Sam Graham, 7 Tom Pearson, 6 Courtney Lawes, 5 Alex Moon, 4 Temo Mayanavanua, 3 Trevor Davison, 2 Curtis Langdon, 1 Ethan Waller
Replacements: 16 Sam Matavesi, 17 Tarek Haffar, 18 Paul Hill, 19 Tom Lockett, 20 Juarno Augustus, 21 Tom James, 22 Charlie Savala, 23 Ollie Sleightholme
Toulon: 15 Melvyn Jaminet, 14 Leicester Fainga’anuku, 13 Setariki Tuicuvu, 12 Jérémy Sinzelle, 11 Gabin Villiere, 10 Enzo Herve, 9 Ben White, 8 Selevasio Tolofua, 7 Charles Ollivon (c), 6 Esteban Abadie, 5 David Ribbans, 4 Matthias Halagahu, 3 Kieran Brookes, 2 Jack Singleton, 1 Dany Priso
Replacements: 16 Christopher Tolofua, 17 Jean-Baptiste Gros, 18 Emerick Setiano, 19 Adrien Warion, 20 Matteo le Corvec, 21 Jules Danglot, 22 Mathieu Smaili, 23 Jiuta Wainiqolo
Venue: cinch Stadium @Franklin’s Gardens
Kick-off: 20:00 GMT
Referee: Craig Evans (Wales)
Assistant Referees: Ben Breakspear (Wales), Gwyn Morris (Wales)
TMO: Ben Whitehouse (Wales)
Leicester Fainga'anuku in the corner 🇳🇿#RWC2023 | #IREvNZL pic.twitter.com/XXYOTYtin0
— Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup) October 14, 2023
Bayonne v Glasgow Warriors
Bayonne have made mass changes to the team that earned an impressive 17-17 draw with Munster on their Champions Cup debut.
Cheikh Tiberghien is the only player in the backline to keep his place, but he shifts from full-back to centre and combines with Guillaume Martocq in the midfield.
Tom Spring takes Tiberghien at 15 and he forms the back three alongside Aurélien Callandret and Nadir Megdoud.
The experienced Camille Lopez and Georgian star Gela Aprasidze complete the backline.
Up front, there are fewer alterations as Rodrigo Bruni, Baptiste Heguy, Denis Marchois and Facundo Bosch retain their places.
However, Remi Bourdeau comes into the XV to partner Bruni and Heguy in the back-row, while Manuel Leindekar forms the lock partnership with Marchois.
Finally, Junior Tagi and Swan Cormenier are the two new props as they combine with Bosch in the front-row.
For Glasgow, Sione Tuipulotu will lead Glasgow Warriors in their first-ever meeting with Aviron Bayonnais this weekend.
The centre is one of 10 internationals selected in the starting XV for tomorrow night’s match, as Franco Smith’s men look to kick-start their European campaign following defeat to Northampton Saints last time out.
George Turner is the only alteration to the front-row, as the Scotland hooker packs down between fellow internationals Jamie Bhatti and Zander Fagerson.
An all-new second-row combination sees Greg Peterson line up alongside Alex Samuel in the engine room, the latter making his Investec Champions Cup debut for the Warriors.
Similarly, a brand-new back-row trio sees Ally Miller start at number eight, with Gregor Brown and Thomas Gordon selected on the flanks.
George Horne returns from injury to start at fly-half, partnering Ross Thompson in the half-backs on the fly-half’s first start of the 2023/24 campaign.
Huw Jones rekindles his partnership with Tuipulotu in the midfield, the pair having first played together almost exactly a year ago in victory over Perpignan in December 2022.
Kyle Rowe comes into the back-three in place of Sebastian Cancelliere, with Ollie Smith and Josh McKay retaining their places from last weekend.
Angus Fraser is another set to make his Investec Champions Cup debut this weekend after being named amongst the replacements, the former Dundee Eagle lining up alongside Nathan McBeth and Oli Kebble as the front-row replacements.
Richie Gray rotates to the bench after starting at Scotstoun last time out, whilst Max Williamson and Ben Afshar retain their places amongst the replacements after impressive cameos last weekend.
Henco Venter wears the number 21 shirt in a six-two split of forwards and backs, with the matchday 23 being rounded out by Tom Jordan.
The teams
Bayonne: 15 Tom Spring, 14 Aurélien Callandret, 13 Cheikh Tiberghien, 12 Guillaume Martocq, 11 Nadir Megdoud, 10 Camille Lopez, 9 Gela Aprasidze, 8 Rodrigo Bruni, 7 Baptiste Heguy, 6 Rémi Bourdeau, 5 Manuel Leindekar, 4 Denis Marchois, 3 Junior Tagi, 2 Facundo Bosch, 1 Swan Cormenier
Replacements: 16 Vincent Giudicelli, 17 Matis Perchaud, 18 Tevita Tatafu, 19 Thomas Ceyte, 20 Arthur Iturria, 21 Maxime Machenaud, 22 Thomas Dolhagaray, 23 Reece Hodge
Glasgow Warriors: 15 Josh McKay, 14 Kyle Rowe, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Sione Tuipulotu (c), 11 Ollie Smith, 10 Ross Thompson, 9 George Horne, 8 Ally Miller, 7 Thomas Gordon, 6 Gregor Brown, 5 Alex Samuel, 4 Greg Peterson, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 George Turner, 1 Jamie Bhatti
Replacements: 16 Angus Fraser, 17 Nathan McBeth, 18 Oli Kebble, 19 Richie Gray, 20 Max Williamson, 21 Henco Venter, 22 Ben Afshar, 23 Tom Jordan
Venue: Stade Jean Dauger
Kick-off: 21:00 local (20:00 GMT)
Referee: Adam Leal (England)
Assistant Referees: Karl Dickson (England), Dan Jones (England)
TMO: Stuart Terheege (England)
