Owen Farrell and Siya Kolisi return while La Rochelle and Leinster roll out big guns in Champions Cup final replay

Adam Kyriacou
La Rochelle centre UJ Seuteni in action against Leinster.

La Rochelle centre UJ Seuteni in action against Leinster.

It’s a jam-packed weekend of Champions Cup rugby as Round One of the 2023/24 season kicks off with two matches on Friday, six on Saturday and four on Sunday.

Check on the team news ahead of the action, below.

Friday

Glasgow Warriors v Northampton Saints

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

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)

Saturday

Toulon v Exeter Chiefs

Toulon: 15 Melvyn Jaminet, 14 Gaël Drean, 13 Waisea Nayacalevu, 12 Mathieu Smaili, 11 Gabin Villiere, 10 Enzo Herve, 9 Ben White, 8 Facundo Isa, 7 Charles Ollivon, 6 Esteban Abadie, 5 Brian Alainu’uese, 4 Matthias Halagahu, 3 Beka Gigashvili, 2 Jack Singleton, 1 Bruce Devaux
Replacements: 16 Christopher Tolofua, 17 Dany Priso, 18 Emerick Setiano, 19 David Ribbans, 20 Cornell du Preez, 21 Baptiste Serin, 22 Leicester Fainga’anuku, 23 Maelan Rabut

Exeter Chiefs: 15 Tom Wyatt, 14 Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Joe Hawkins, 11 Ben Hammersley, 10 Harvey Skinner, 9 Tom Cairns, 8 Greg Fisilau, 7 Jacques Vermeulen, 6 Ethan Roots, 5 Dafydd Jenkins, 4 Rus Tuima, 3 Ehren Painter, 2 Dan Frost, 1 Scott Sio
Replacements: 16 Max Norey, 17 Nika Abuladze, 18 Marcus Street, 19 Lewis Pearson, 20 Ross Vintcent, 21 Stu Townsend, 22 Rory O’Loughlin, 23 Olly Woodburn

Venue: Stade Felix Mayol
Kick-off: 14:00 local (13:00 GMT)
Referee: Chris Busby (Ire)
Assistant Referees: Andrew Cole (Ire), Oisin Quinn (Ire)
TMO: Leo Colgan (Ire)

Bath v Ulster

Bath: 15 Matt Gallagher, 14 Joe Cokanasiga, 13 Ollie Lawrence, 12 Cameron Redpath, 11 Will Muir, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Ben Spencer, 8 Alfie Barbeary, 7 Sam Underhill, 6 Miles Reid, 5 Charlie Ewels, 4 Elliott Stooke, 3 Will Stuart, 2 Tom Dunn, 1 Beno Obano
Replacements: 16 Niall Annett, 17 Juan Schoeman, 18 Thomas du Toit, 19 GJ van Velze, 20 Jaco Coetzee, 21 Louis Schreuder, 22 Orlando Bailey, 23 Will Butt

Ulster: 15 Stewart Moore, 14 Robert Baloucoune, 13 James Hume, 12 Stuart McCloskey, 11 Jacob Stockdale, 10 Billy Burns, 9 Nathan Doak, 8 James McNabney. 7 Nick Timoney, 6 Dave Ewers, 5 Iain Henderson, 4 Alan O’Connor, 3 Tom O’Toole, 2 Tom Stewart, 1 Steven Kitshoff
Replacements: 16 Rob Herring, 17 Andrew Warwick, 18 Marty Moore, 19 Kieran Treadwell, 20 Matty Rea, 21 John Cooney, 22 Jake Flannery, 23 Mike Lowry

Venue: Recreation Ground
Kick-off: 15:15 GMT
Referee: Pierre Brousset (Fra)
Assistant Referees: Flavien Hourquet (Fra), Kevin Bralley (Fra)
TMO: Denis Grenouillet (Fra)

Toulouse v Cardiff

Toulouse: 15 Blair Kinghorn, 14 Matthis Lebel, 13 Pierre-Louis Barassi, 12 Pita Ahki, 11 Arthur Retiere, 10 Thomas Ramos, 9 Antoine Dupont, 8 Alexandre Roumat, 7 Anthony Jelonch, 6 Thibaud Flament, 5 Emmanuel Meafou, 4 Richie Arnold, 3 Dorian Aldegheri, 2 Peato Mauvaka, 1 Cyril Baille
Replacements: 16 Guillaume Cramont, 17 Rodrigue Neti, 18 Nepo Laulala, 19 Piula Faasalele, 20 Alban Placines, 21 Paul Costes, 22 Baptiste Germain, 23 Santiago Chocobares

Cardiff: 15 Jacob Beetham, 14 Josh Adams, 13 Willis Halaholo, 12 Ben Thomas, 11 Mason Grady, 10 Tinus de Beer, 9 Tomos Williams 8 Mackenzie Martin, 7 Lucas de la Rua, 6 Shane Lewis-Hughes, 5 Teddy Williams, 4 Rory Thornton, 3 Keiron Assiratti, 2 Efan Daniel, 1 Rhys Carré
Replacements: 16 Evan Lloyd, 17 Corey Domachowski, 18 Rhys Litterick, 19 Josh Turnbull, 20 Alun Lawrence, 21 Ellis Bevan, 22 Harri Millard, 23 Owen Lane

Venue: Stade Ernest Wallon
Kick-off: 16:15 local (15:15 GMT)
Referee: Anthony Woodthorpe (Eng)
Assistant Referees: Hamish Grant (Eng), Jamie Leahy (Eng)
TMO: David Rose (Eng)

Munster v Bayonne

Munster: 15 Calvin Nash, 14 Shay McCarthy, 13 Alex Nankivell, 12 Rory Scannell, 11 Seán O’Brien, 10 Jack Crowley, 9 Conor Murray, 8 Gavin Coombes, 7 John Hodnett, 6 Tom Ahern, 5 Tadhg Beirne (c), 4 Fineen Wycherley, 3 John Ryan, 2 Scott Buckley, 1 Jeremy Loughman
Replacements: 16 Eoghan Clarke, 17 Josh Wycherley, 18 Stephen Archer, 19 Jack O’Donoghue, 20 Alex Kendellen, 21 Craig Casey, 22 Tony Butler, 23 Ben O’Connor

Bayonne: 15 Cheikh Tiberghien, 14 Bastien Pourailly, 13 Peyo Muscarditz, 12 Riko Buliruarua, 11 Rémy Baget, 10 Thomas Dolhagaray, 9 Maxime Machenaud, 8 Rodrigo Bruni, 7 Baptiste Heguy, 6 Pierre Huguet, 5 Kote Mikautadze, 4 Denis Marchois, 3 Tevita Tatafu, 2 Facundo Bosch, 1 Matis Perchaud
Replacements: 16 Thomas Acquier, 17 Swan Cormenier, 18 Junior Tagi, 19 Arthur Iturria, 20 Rémi Bourdeau, 21 Gela Aprasidze, 22 Arnaud Erbinartegaray, 23 Tom Spring

Venue: Thomond Park
Kick-off: 17:30 GMT
Referee: Luke Pearce (Eng)
Assistant Referees: Karl Dickson (Eng), Peter Allan (Eng)
TMO: Dan Jones (Eng)

Bulls v Saracens

Bulls: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 13 Stedman Gans, 12 David Kriel, 11 Canan Moodie, 10 Johan Goosen, 9 Embrose Papier, 8 Cameron Hanekom, 7 Elrigh Louw, 6 Marco van Staden, 5 Reinhardt Ludwig, 4 Janko Swanepoel, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Akker van der Merwe, 1 Gerhard Steenekamp
Replacements: 16 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 17 Simphiwe Matanzima, 18 Mornay Smith, 19 Deon Slabbert, 20 Marcell Coetzee, 21 Zak Burger, 22 Jaco van der Walt, 23 Sergeal Petersen

Saracens: 15 Alex Goode, 14 Alex Lewington, 13 Elliot Daly, 12 Nick Tompkins, 11 Sean Maitland, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Ivan van Zyl, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Andy Christie, 6 Juan Martin Gonzalez, 5 Hugh Tizard, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Alec Clarey, 2 Jamie George, 1 Mako Vunipola
Replacements: 16 Theo Dan, 17 Tom West, 18 Christian Judge, 19 Theo McFarland, 20 Toby Knight, 21 Aled Davies, 22 Olly Hartley, 23 Lucio Cinti

Venue: Loftus Versfeld
Kick-off: 19:30 local (17:30 GMT)
Referee: Andrea Piardi (Ita)
Assistant Referees: Benoit Rousselet (Fra), Filippo Russo (Ita)
TMO: Eric Gauzins (Fra)

Bristol Bears v Lyon

Bristol Bears: 15 Max Malins, 14 Gabriel Ibitoye, 13 Virimi Vakatawa, 12 Benhard Janse van Rensburg, 11 Rich Lane, 10 Callum Sheedy, 9 Harry Randall, 8 Magnus Bradbury, 7 Fitz Harding (c), 6 Steven Luatua, 5 Joe Batley, 4 James Dun, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 2 Harry Thacker, 1 Jake Woolmore
Replacements: 16 Gabriel Oghre, 17 Sam Grahamslaw, 18 Max Lahiff, 19 Josh Caulfield, 20 Dan Thomas, 21 Sam Wolstenholme, 22 James Williams, 23 Kalaveti Ravouvou

Lyon: 15 Thaakir Abrahams, 14 Ethan Dumortier, 13 Alfred Parisien, 12 Semi Radradra, 11 Monty Ioane, 10 Fletcher Smith, 9 Martin Page-Relo, 8 Mickael Guillard, 7 Pierre-Samuel Pacheco, 6 Marvin Okuya, 5 Killian Geraci, 4 Joel Kpoku, 3 Paulo Tafili, 2 Yanis Charcosset, 1 Sébastien Taofifenua
Replacements: 16 Liam Coltman, 17 Jérôme Rey, 18 Feao Fotuaika, 19 Alban Roussel, 20 Ugo Vignolles, 21 Liam Rimet, 22 Kyle Godwin, 23 Alexandre Tchaptchet

Venue: Ashton Gate
Kick-off: 20:00 GMT
Referee: Craig Evans (Wal)
Assistant Referees: Ben Breakspear (Wal), Gwyn Morris (Wal)
TMO: Ian Davies (Wal)

Sunday

Sale Sharks v Stade Français

Sale Sharks: 15 Joe Carpenter, 14 Tom Roebuck, 13 Sam James, 12 Manu Tuilagi, 11 Arron Reed, 10 George Ford, 9 Gus Warr, 8 Dan du Preez, 7 Ben Curry (c), 6 Sam Dugdale, 5 Jonny Hill, 4 Ben Bamber, 3 Nick Schonert, 2 Tommy Taylor, 1 Si McIntyre
Replacements: 16 Agustin Creevy, 17 Ross Harrison, 18 Asher Opoku-Fordjour, 19 Cobus Wiese, 20 Josh Beaumont, 21 Raffi Quirke, 22 Tom Curtis, 23 Connor Doherty

Stade Francais: 15 Leo Barre, 14 Kylan Hamdaoui, 13 Jeremy Ward (c), 12 Pierre Boudehent, 11 Peniasi Dakuwaqa, 10 Joris Segonds, 9 Hugo Zabalza, 8 Mathieu Hirigoyen, 7 Ryan Chapuis, 6 Julien Ory, 5 JJ van der Mescht, 4 Pierre-Henri Azagoh, 3 Paul Alo-Emile, 2 Lucas Peyresblanques, 1 Clement Castets
Replacements: 16 Mamoudou Meite, 17 Sergo Abramishvili, 18 Francisco Gomez Kodela, 19 Paul Gabrillagues, 20 Baptiste Pesenti, 21 Jules Gimbert, 22 Tanginoa Halaifonua, 23 Lester Etien

Venue: Salford Stadium
Kick-off: 13:00 GMT
Referee: Mike Adamson (Sco)
Assistant Referees: Ian Kenny (Sco), Jonny Perriam (Sco)
TMO: David Sutherland (Sco)

Leicester Tigers v Stormers

Leicester Tigers: 15 Freddie Steward, 14 Josh Bassett, 13 Matt Scott, 12 Solomone Kata, 11 Ollie Hassell-Collins, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Tommy Reffell, 6 Hanro Liebenberg, 5 Cameron Henderson, 4 Ollie Chessum, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Julián Montoya (c), 1 Francois van Wyk
Replacements: 16 Archie Vanes, 17 James Cronin, 18 Joe Heyes, 19 Harry Wells, 20 Kyle Hatherell, 21 Tom Whiteley, 22 Jamie Shillcock, 23 Dan Kelly

Stormers: 15 Clayton Blommetjies, 14 Courtnall Skosan, 13 Suleiman Hartzenberg, 12 Jean-Luc du Plessis, 11 Ben Loader, 10 Jurie Matthee, 9 Paul de Wet, 8 Keke Morabe, 7 Willie Engelbrecht, 6 Nama Xaba, 5 Connor Evans, 4 Hendre Stassen, 3 Brok Harris (c), 2 Scarra Ntubeni, 1 Sti Sithole
Replacements: 16: JJ Kotze, 17 Kwenzo Blose, 18 Lee-Marvin Mazibuko, 19 Dylan Sjoblom, 20 Junior Pokomela, 21 Marcel Theunissen, 22 Stefan Ungerer, 23 Cornel Smit

Venue: Mattioli Woods Welford Road
Kick-off: 15:15 GMT
Referee: Tual Trainini (Fra)
Assistant Referees: Adrien Marbot (Fra), Evan Urruzmendi (Fra)
TMO: Cédric Marchat (Fra)

La Rochelle v Leinster

La Rochelle: 15 Brice Dulin, 14 Dillyn Leyds, 13 Ulupano Seuteni, 12 Jonathan Danty, 11 Jules Favre, 10 Antoine Hastoy, 9 Tawerra Kerr-Barlow, 8 Yoan Tanga, 7 Levani Botia, 6 Paul Boudehent, 5 Will Skelton, 4 Thomas Lavault, 3 Uini Atonio, 2 Pierre Bourgarit (c), 1 Reda Wardi
Replacements: 16 Sacha Idoumi, 17 Joel Sclavi, 18 Georges-Henri Colombe, 19 Ultan Dillane, 20 Rémi Picquette, 21 Judicaël Cancoriet, 22 Teddy Iribaren, Hugo Reus

Leinster: 15 Hugo Keenan, 14 Jordan Larmour, 13 Garry Ringrose (cc), 12 Robbie Henshaw, 11 Jimmy O’Brien, 10 Harry Byrne, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Caelan Doris, 7 Will Connors, 6 Ryan Baird, 5 James Ryan (cc), 4 Joe McCarthy, 3 Michael Ala’alatoa, 2 Dan Sheehan, 1 Andrew Porter
Replacements: 16 Rónan Kelleher, 17 Cian Healy, 18 Thomas Clarkson, 19 Jason Jenkins, 20 Josh van der Flier, 21 Ben Murphy, 22 Ciarán Frawley, 23 Charlie Ngatai

Venue: Stade Marcel Deflandre
Kick-off: 16:15 local (15:15 GMT)
Referee: Matthew Carley (Eng)
Assistant Referees: Hamish Smales (Eng), Paul Dix (Eng)
TMO: Andrew Jackson (Eng)

Racing 92 v Harlequins

Racing 92: 15 Henry Arundell, 14 Vinaya Habosi, 13 Gael Fickou, 12 Francis Saili, 11 Juan Imhoff, 10 Antoine Gibert, 9 Nolann le Garrec, 8 Wenceslas Lauret, 7 Siya Kolisi, 6 Ibrahim Diallo, 5 Boris Palu, 4 Cameron Woki, 3 Trevor Nyakane, 2 Camille Chat, 1 Guram Gogichashvili
Replacements: 16 Jannick Tarrit, 17 Eddy Ben Arous, 18 Thomas Laclayat, 19 Baptiste Chouzenoux, 20 Jordan Joseph, 21 Clovis le Bail, 22 Tristan Tedder, 23 Henry Chavancy

Harlequins: 15 Tyrone Green, 14 Nick David, 13 Will Joseph, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Cadan Murley, 10 Marcus Smith, 9 Danny Care, 8 Alex Dombrandt (c), 7 Will Evans, 6 Chandler Cunningham-South, 5 Dino Lamb, 4 Joe Launchbury, 3 Dillon Lewis, 2 Sam Riley, 1 Joe Marler
Replacements: 16 Jack Walker, 17 Fin Baxter, 18 Simon Kerrod, 19 Irne Herbst, 20 James Chisholm, 21 Will Porter, 22 Jarrod Evans, 23 Oscar Beard

Venue: Paris La Defense Arena
Kick-off: 18:30 local (17:30 GMT)
Referee: Frank Murphy (Ire)
Assistant Referees: Peter Martin (Ire), Paul Haycock (Ire)
TMO: Olly Hodges (Ire)

READ MORE: La Rochelle boss Ronan O’Gara banned ahead of Champions Cup final replay with Leinster

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