Preview: Dragons v Toulouse

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Toulouse have made seven changes to their starting line-up for Saturday's Heineken Cup tie with the Dragons at Rodney Parade.

Toulouse have made seven changes to their starting line-up for Saturday's Heineken Cup tie with the Dragons at Rodney Parade.

There are two changes in the backs and five in the forwards as the defending champs look to make it two wins from two in the tournament.

At full-back Maxime Medard takes over from Clément Poitrenaud, while Fijian speedster Vilimoni Delasau replaces Vincent Clerc on the wing.

Changes in the loose forwards sees number eight Shaun Sowerby and flank Yannick Nyanga make way for Louis Picamoles and Jean Bouilhou respectively, with Yoann Maestri partnering Romain Millo-Chluski in the second row.

Up front, only William Servat retains his place at hooker as Yohan Montes and Daan Human step up to pack down against the Dragons. Last week's man of the match Census Johnston is dropped to the bench.

Meanwhile, Wales international Gavin Thomas returns to bolster the Dragons pack for the visit of Toulouse.

Thomas has missed the last two games but he comes into the back-row, while Luke Charteris has been included on the bench after shaking off a knee problem.

Talented back-row Toby Faletau is also included in the squad for the first time – however skipper Tom Willis and full-back Jason Tovey a still a week away from returning.

The teams:

Dragons: 15 Will Harries, 14 Adam Hughes, 13 Tom Cheeseman, 12 Tom Riley, 11 Aled Brew, 10 Ashley Smith, 9 Wayne Evans, 8 Andrew Coombs, 7 Gavin Thomas, 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 Robert Sidoli, 4 Scott Morgan, 3 Ben Castle, 2 Steve Jones, 1 Phil Price.
Replacements: 16 Lloyd Burns, 17 Hugh Gustafson, 18 Pat Palmer, 19 Luke Charteris, 20 Tobey Faletau, 21 Nicky Griffiths, 22 Matthew Jones, 23 Rhodri Gomer-Davies.

Toulouse: 15 Maxime Medard, 14 Vilimoni Delasau, 13 Florian Fritz, 12 Yannick Jauzion, 11 Cédric Heymans, 10 David Skrela, 9 Byron Kelleher, 8 Louis Picamoles, 7 Thierry Dusautoir, 6 Jean Bouilhou, 5 Romain Millo-Chluski, 4 Yoann Maestri, 3 Yohan Montes, 2 William Servat, 1 Daan Human.
Replacements: 16 Virgile Lacombe, 17 Jean-Baptiste Poux, 18 Census Johnston, 19 Shaun Sowerby, 21 Clément Poitrenaud, 22 Vincent Clerc, 23 Yannick Nyanga.

Date: Saturday, 16 October
Venue: Rodney Parade
Kick-off: 17:45
Referee: Andrew Small (England)

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