Bundee Aki back for Connacht against Bordeaux while Scotland stars return for Glasgow Warriors

Adam Kyriacou
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Bundee Aki in action for Connacht.

Bundee Aki in action for Connacht.

The new Champions Cup season kicks off on Friday night with two games as Glasgow Warriors host Northampton Saints while Connacht take on Bordeaux-Begles.

Glasgow Warriors v Northampton Saints

Matt Fagerson will become the 55th player to reach 100 appearances for Glasgow Warriors when he takes to the field against Northampton Saints at Scotstoun.

The back-rower joins brother Zander in reaching the century mark, becoming only the third set of brothers – following the Bullochs and Hornes – to reach the milestone in Glasgow colours.

Fagerson is one of seven changes to the starting XV that ran out in Cork last weekend, as Franco Smith’s men prepare to open their campaign – and indeed the competition overall – against the high-flying English outfit.

Jamie Bhatti and Zander Fagerson come into the starting front-row, packing down either side of Johnny Matthews to make it an all-international trio.

Richie Gray returns after being rested for the trip to Munster last time out, coming into the second-row to partner Sintu Manjezi, who makes his Champions Cup debut for the Warriors.

Gray’s inclusion sees Scott Cummings shift to the blindside flank, where he joins impending centurion Fagerson and Rory Darge in the back-row triumvirate.

Behind the scrum, Tom Jordan is another to make his first appearance for Glasgow in Europe’s top tier, whilst Sean Kennedy runs out for his first Champions Cup outing in Glasgow colours since 2012.

Huw Jones returns from injury to start at outside centre, joining captain Stafford McDowall in the midfield for the first time since the URC Round Two clash away to Connacht.

Having made more clean breaks than any other Warrior this season, Sebastain Cancelliere returns to start on the wing in an otherwise unchanged back three, meaning Ollie Smith and Josh McKay once again start in tandem in the back-line.

Meanwhile, Northampton Saints boss Phil Dowson rings the changes for the clash, making seven tweaks to his starting XV from the side that claimed an 18-12 win at Saracens last weekend.

Alex Waller, Curtis Langdon and Paul Hill form a new-look front-row against Glasgow, with Alex Moon and Tom Lockett coming into the engine room – with the latter making his European debut in Scotstoun.

Courtney Lawes packs down at blindside flanker for the fourth time this season, while Angus Scott-Young is preferred on the openside and Sam Graham completes the pack at number eight.

Alex Mitchell returns to the starting line-up after scoring the decisive try at StoneX Stadium last weekend, joining Fin Smith in the half-back berths as Northampton open their Champions Cup campaign.

Fraser Dingwall and Tommy Freeman make up the midfield for the fifth week running, while George Hendy is set to make his Champions Cup debut on the wing alongside Ollie Sleightholme.

George Furbank takes on the captain’s duties again this week as he starts at full-back to round off the starting XV.

The teams

Glasgow Warriors: 15 Josh McKay, 14 Sebastian Cancelliere, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Stafford McDowall (c), 11 Ollie Smith, 10 Tom Jordan, 9 Sean Kennedy, 8 Matt Fagerson, 7 Rory Darge, 6 Scott Cummings, 5 Richie Gray, 4 Sintu Manjezi, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 Johnny Matthews, 1 Jamie Bhatti
Replacements: 16 George Turner, 17 Oli Kebble, 18 Lucio Sordoni, 19 Max Williamson, 20 Ally Miller, 21 Sione Vailanu, 22 Ben Afshar, 23 Ross Thompson

Northampton Saints: 15 George Furbank (c), 14 Ollie Sleightholme, 13 Tommy Freeman, 12 Fraser Dingwall, 11 George Hendy , 10 Fin Smith, 9 Alex Mitchell, 8 Sam Graham, 7 Angus Scott-Young, 6 Courtney Lawes, 5 Alex Moon, 4 Tom Lockett, 3 Paul Hill, 2 Curtis Langdon, 1 Alex Waller
Replacements: 16 Robbie Smith, 17 Tarek Haffar, 18 Trevor Davison, 19 Temo Mayanavanua, 20 Tom Pearson, 21 Tom James, 22 Tom Litchfield, 23 Tom Seabrook

Venue: Scotstoun Stadium
Kick-off: 20:00 GMT
Referee: Luc Ramos (Fra)
Assistant Referees: Vivien Praderie (Fra), Jonathan Gasnier (Fra)
TMO: Thomas Charabas (Fra)

Connacht v Bordeaux-Begles

World Rugby Player of the Year nominee Bundee Aki has recovered from a hamstring injury to make his first appearance since Ireland’s Rugby World Cup quarter-final loss to New Zealand.

His inclusion is one of five changes from the Connacht side that started last week’s game against Leinster, with Denis Buckley, Finlay Bealham, Joe Joyce and Andrew Smith also coming into the starting XV.

Dave Heffernan joins Buckley and Bealham in an experienced front-row, while Darragh Murray is retained in the second-row. The back-row is unchanged from last week with number eight Sean Jansen beside flankers Cian Prendergast and Shamus Hurley-Langton.

Caolin Blade and JJ Hanrahan continue their half-back partnership, while the remaining backline is reshuffled. Cathal Forde moves from 12 to 13 to partner Aki in the centre, while Byron Ralston shifts to the wing and Mack Hansen moves to full-back. Smith completes the side from the opposite wing.

Meanwhile, there are a few changes to Bordeaux-Begles’ line-up after their victory over Oyonnax in last weekend’s Round Nine Top 14 encounter.

At hooker Clément Maynadier is back, as is Sipili Falatea at tighthead prop.

In the second-row, Thomas Jolmes takes the place of Kane Douglas, while openside flank Pete Samu combines with Pierre Bochaton (blindside) and Tevita Tatafu (number eight) in the back-row to complete a solid forward pack.

In the backline, Ben Tapuai (inside centre), Pablo Uberti (left wing), and Romain Buros (full-back) return to the run-on side.

On the replacements bench UBB have opted for a 6/2 forwards/backs split with Maxime Lamothe, Ben Tameifuna, Carlu Sadie, Antoine Miquel and Bastien Vergnes-Taillefer the back-up forwards while Paul Abadie and Nans Ducuing are the backline cover.

The teams

Connacht: 15 Mack Hansen, 14 Byron Ralston, 13 Cathal Forde, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 Andrew Smith, 10 JJ Hanrahan, 9 Caolin Blade, 8 Seán Jansen, 7 Shamus Hurley-Langton, 6 Cian Prendergast, 5 Joe Joyce, 4 Darragh Murray, 3 Finlay Bealham, 2 Dave Heffernan, 1 Denis Buckley
Replacements: 16 Tadgh McElroy, 17 Peter Dooley, 18 Jack Aungier, 19 Niall Murray, 20 Conor Oliver, 21 Michael McDonald, 22 David Hawkshaw, 23 John Porch

Bordeaux-Begles: 15 Romain Buros, 14 Damian Penaud, 13 Nicolas Depoorte, 12 Ben Tapuai, 11 Pablo Uberti, 10 Matthieu Jalibert, 9 Maxime Lucu, 8 Tevita Tatafu, 7 Pete Samu, 6 Pierre Bochaton, 5 Thomas Jolmès, 4 Guido Petti, 3 Sipili Falatea, 2 Clément Maynadier, 1 Ugo Boniface
Replacements: 16 Maxime Lamothe, 17 Ben Tameifuna, 18 Carlü Sadie, 19 Alexandre Ricard, 20 Bastien Vergnes-Taillefer, 21 Antoine Miquel, 22 Paul Abadie, 23 Nans Ducuing

Venue: The Sportsground
Kick-off: 20:00 GMT
Referee: Karl Dickson (Eng)
Assistant Referees: Joe James (Eng), John Meredith (Eng)
TMO: Stuart Terheege (Eng)

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Connacht Bundee Aki

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