Preview: Clermont v Toulon

Clermont boss Franck Azéma has made widespread changes to his side for the Champions Cup quarter-final against Toulon.

Scott Spedding and Nick Abendanon are retained but there is a new centre pairing, as Aurélien Rougerie partners Rémi Lamerat. Abendanon meanwhile shifts from the right wing to the left to allow for the return of Noa Nakaitaci.

Morgan Parra and Camille Lopez return at half-back, while Damien Chouly is the only survivor in the back row, shifting from number eight to blindside flanker as Fritz Lee and Peceli Yato return.

Sébastien Vahaamahina and Arthur Iturria form a new second row pairing, while there is also a fresh front row chosen by Azéma featuring Davit Zirakashvili, Benjamin Kayser and Raphaël Chaume.

As for Toulon, Mike Ford welcomes back Leigh Halfpenny at full-back, a move which shifts Drew Mitchell onto the wing.

Ma’a Nonu starts in midfield alongside Mathieu Bastareaud but the rest of the backline is unchanged from last weekend’s defeat at Stade Français, with Bryan Habana, François Trinh-Duc and Sébastian Tillous-Borde all starting.

Toulon also opt with an unchanged back row from last Sunday’s game, featuring Duane Vermeulen, Liam Gill and Juan Smith.

Three changes come however in the tight five, with Romain Taofifénua taking the place of Samu Manoa, while Levan Chilachava returns at tighthead prop as does France captain Guilhem Guirado at hooker.

Form: This will be the third meeting between the clubs in the European Cup. Both previous matches were finals (2013 and 2015) with Toulon emerging victorious on each occasion. Clermont have won their last four tournament quarter-finals with the last three coming at Stade Marcel-Michelin. They had lost their previous three matches at this stage (all away from home). This will be Toulon’s sixth quarter-final appearance; their previous five games at this stage have all been won by the home side on the day (W3, L2). Toulon have averaged 17 points per game in their 20 away fixtures in the tournament, losing three of their last four games on the road.

Number one seeds, Clermont, were the most disciplined side in the pool stage, conceding a competition low average of 7.8 penalties per game. Of the clubs in the quarter-finals, only Clermont, beaten finalists in 2013 and 2015, and Glasgow Warriors, who have reached the last eight for the first time, have not yet won European club rugby’s most prestigious prize. Toulon were one of just three sides to manage success rates of 90 percent at both lineout (94 percent) and scrum (97 percent) in the pool stage (also Saracens and Leinster).

The teams:

Clermont: 15 Scott Spedding, 14 Noa Nakaitaci, 13 Aurélien Rougerie, 12 Rémi Lamerat, 11 Nick Abendanon, 10 Camille Lopez, 9 Morgan Parra, 8 Fritz Lee, 7 Peceli Yato, 6 Damien Chouly, 5 Sébastien Vahaamahina, 4 Arthur Iturria, 3 Davit Zirakashvili, 2 Benjamin Kayser, 1 Raphaël Chaume
Replacements: 16 John Ulugia, 17 Etienne Falgoux, 18 Aaron Jarvis, 19 Flip van der Merwe, 20 Judicaël Cancoriet, 21 Ludovic Radosavljevic , 22 Pato Fernandez, 23 Damien Penaud

Toulon: 15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 Drew Mitchell, 13 Mathieu Bastareaud, 12 Ma’a Nonu, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 François Trinh-Duc, 9 Éric Escande, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Liam Gill, 6 Juan Smith, 5 Romain Taofifénua, 4 Juandré Kruger, 3 Levan Chilachava, 2 Guilhem Guirado, 1 Laurent Delboulbès
Replacements: 16 Anthony Etrillard, 17 Florian Fresia, 18 Marcel van der Merwe, 19 Juan Martín Fernández Lobbe, 20 Anthony Belleau, 21 Josua Tuisova, 22 Sébastien Tillous-Borde, 23 Samu Manoa

Date: Sunday, April 2
Venue: Stade Marcel-Michelin
Kick-off: 16:15 local (15:15 GMT)
Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)
Assistant Referees: Tom Foley (England), Paul Dix (England)
TMO: Rowan Kitt (England)