Champions Cup, Round Three - teams and predictions

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PREVIEW: Strap yourself in, it is going to be a wild ride!

Round Three will see 12 Champions Cup clashes across the weekend - as teams start the desperate scramble for places in knock-out stage of Europe's premier competition.

Every pool is finely balanced, with the top-of-the-table places that secure progression to the knock-out stages very much still up-for-grabs and must-win fixtures promising world-class action.

However, it is at Kings Park in Durban where most of the attention will be focused.0

Stade Toulousain, headed by the iconic Antoine Dupont, is in Durban (in fact South Africa) for the first time in any competition.

The Sharks hosting Toulouse is, without doubt, the game of the weekend.

It is as close as one can get to a Springboks versus France international in the guise of a 'club' showdown.

Stade Toulousain, six times winners of the Champions Cup and the defending champions, are up against the Challenge Cup champions.

Toulouse has never played in South Africa.

They've hosted South African teams, among them the Sharks and duly thumped them at the 'temple of the oval ball' - Estadi Ernest-Wallon, in Toulouse in southwestern France.

France's most celebrated team gave life to South Africa's favourite wing, Cheslin Kolbe.

Stade Toulousain has been irrepressible in the early rounds of the Champions Cup - thrashing Ulster 61-22 at home and then travelled to Exeter and were even more convincing in winning 64-21.

Toulouse are considered the best team in the world, with a playing squad boasting some of the best players on the planet.

France's captain and Toulouse talisman Antoine Dupont is the most talked about player globally, but this will be his first return to South Africa since playing 24 minutes as a second-half replacement in France's 15-37 loss to the Springboks at the same Shark Tank in Durban back in June 2017.

Dupont aside, Toulouse's 2024/25 squad includes the biggest names in the French game in prop Cyril Baille, hooker Peato Mauvaka, loose forward Anthony Jelonch, flyhalf Romain Ntamack, fullback Thomas Ramos and several other French internationals.

The Stade Toulousain foreign legion includes Australian lock Richie Arnold, former All Black and now Samoan prop Nepo Laulala, Argentinean lock Efrain Elias, England's back row forward Jack Willis, the Argentine backline duo of Santiago Chocobares and utility back Juan Cruz Mallia, as well as Scotland's utility back Blair Kinghorn, who can play flyhalf, centre, wing and fullback.

Emmanuel Meafou, with more than 100 matches for Toulouse at lock, was born in Auckland, New Zealand to Samoan parents, moved to Australia as a youngster, made his professional debut in Australia, found a home in Toulouse and in 2024 played the first of his four Tests for France.

Toulouse, so strong with local French talent, has added hugely with foreign player acquisitions.

Only Ireland's Leinster can match them for quality in squad depth and squad numbers.

The Sharks will get back Springbok World Cup winner Bongi Mbonambi, but there is no Eben Etzebeth - for what is expected to be a thrilling occasion.

The absence of injured Springbok fullback Aphelele Fassi and centre Andre Esterhuizen has also changed the potency of the hosts' attack.

(Continue below  ...)

Seasoned French utility forward Thibaud Flament said they expect a high-paced game from a Sharks team without a few key forwards - including Etzebeth, Emile van Heerden, Fez Mbatha, Gerbrandt Grobler and James Venter.

"Both teams will want to keep the ball in play," he told @rugby365com, adding that the hot and humid conditions (30°C and 79 percent humidity) will not be a problem.

"It will be a very intense game, with talented players on both sides - a very exciting game for the fans."

He said they want to make an impact in their first appearance in the Shark Tank.

"For the Sharks the motivation will be to show they have ambitions to win this competition as well," he said of the Durban outfit's Challenge Cup victory last year.

Retaining possession in the conditions will be key for the French outfit.

"Discipline is very important and the ability to exit from our half."

Sharks coach John Plumtree wants the unheralded players in his team to bring some energy, adding that they will need to be up for it in every aspect of the game.

"We will have to take the opportunities that are presented to us," he said, adding that when things do not go their way they must find a way to get back into the game.

"They put you under pressure by dominating the gainline and physical battles," he told @rugby365com.

"Physically we have to match them. That is the challenge."

With Etzebeth and Emile van Heerden out, the second row pair of Jason Jenkins and Corne Rahl face a huge challenge against French stars Flament and Emmanuel Meafou.

"Corne Rahl is our No.4 or No.5 lock and would not have been dreaming of playing against Toulouse.

"He has a great opportunity to measure himself against a great pack.

"It is a great opportunity for us as coaches to see where some of these you men are.

"There are a lot of stars in the Toulouse team and there are a lot of big match-ups - like No.9 and No.10 [Romain Ntamack and Antoine Dupont versus Jordan and Jaden Hendrikse].

"They get to measure themselves against good operators.

"At the end of the day, it will be the team collective."

* The other big game that has an international 'flavour' to it is in Cape Town, where the winless Stormers host Sale Sharks team loaded with South Africans.

The Stormers sit sixth in Pool Four, having come second best in their opening two Champions Cup ties this season.

However, impressive recent wins against Lions and Sharks during the festive period mean the South Africans will be confident of their chances of getting off the Pool Four basement.

A loss against the Sale Sharks will be the death-knell to any hopes of a Stormers advance.

The Stormers will also benefit from the fact that the top team in their group, Toulon, only has eight points out of a possible 10, with URC champions Glasgow Warriors in second position in the pool.

The two English clubs, Harlequins and Sale, are tied on third with five points, with Racing one point behind them.

Forwards coach Rito Hlungwani said the 'physical' contest will be key for the Stormers if they hope to overcome the powerful English outfit.

"It is going to be a physical, confrontational game," he said, adding that they will face some very familiar faces in former Stormers stalwart Ernst van Rhyn, Hyron Andrews, Jean-Luc du Preez and his twin brother Dan du Preez in the pack.

Luke Cowan-Dickie and Tom Curry add some additional English muscle up front.

"It is a physical team that will come hard at us. We will have to match that."

The assistant coach said they are working on improving on their last two outings - against the Lions and Sharks.

"The big thing for us is that we must get better and the one thing we can control is how we improve."

* South Africa's third team at Europe's top table is the Bulls, who travel to the Commune of Castres in Southern France for a tantalising clash between two sides struggling for form.

The South Africans arrived in France after a difficult start to their campaign, with losses against English giants Saracens and Northampton Saints in the opening rounds.

Their French counterparts have managed a victory, which gives them a better chance of getting into the Last 16.

Bulls Director of Rugby Jake White remains upbeat about his side's chances of advancing into the next phase of the competition.

"This competition has no exact science," White said.

"We could manage just the one win and still sneak into the play-offs.

"I am obviously not saying we want that because, at the Bulls, we want to win every week no matter the competition we are in.

"We need to go into Saturday and get a good result that gives us a realistic chance of advancing and we have all been working hard this week to try and get us into a position that will hopefully set us up for that.

"To be the best, you must beat the best and find ways to win in different terrains and challenges and this is another opportunity for us to test ourselves and hopefully get a good result too."

White dismissed the notion that his team is 'under-strength' and said these players are all part of the squad and deserve their opportunity.

Castres Olympique is not one of the 'big' French teams - like Stade Toulousain, Racing 92, Toulon, Stade Francais, Stade Rochelais and Montpellier Hérault.

However, Castres is five times winners of the Top 14 and any visit to the Stade Pierre-Fabre, is considered one of the toughest venues in France and Europe.

Its 12,300 capacity is the smallest in the Top 14, but a packed Stade Pierre-Fabre makes the noise of 80 000.

It is an intimidating experience for teams who play there every season, and the Bulls will on Saturday be able to talk first-hand of this experience.

Castres, in the latest Top 14 home outing, beat Pau 23-19 and in December they saw off the challenge of Ireland's Munster 16-14 in a Champions Cup pool match.

The Bulls surprised many by basing themselves in Toulouse this week and training out of the Toulouse ground.

The travel distance from Toulouse to Castres is 77 kilometres by bus and 64 kilometres by train, with the travel time between an hour and an hour and twenty minutes.

"To play any French team away from home is a tough ask," White told @rugby365com.

"It is a small intimate stadium, much like playing Griquas in Kimberley.

"It is going to be a massive learning for some of these young guys to play, not only in the Champions Cup, but also in France - where they love their rugby.

"We will have to match the enthusiasm and intensity they will bring."

All the weekend's teams and predictions are below ...

Saturday, January 11

Stormers v Sale Sharks
(Cape Town Stadium - Kick-off: 15.00; 13.00 GMT; 13.00 UK Time)

Prediction

Teams

Stormers: 15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Suleiman Hartzenberg, 13 Wandisile Simelane, 12 Jonathan Roche, 11 Ben Loader, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Stefan Ungerer, 8 Marcel Theunissen, 7 Dave Ewers, 6 Deon Fourie, 5 JD Schickerling, 4 Salmaan Moerat (captain), 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 JJ Kotze, 1 Sti Sithole.
Replacements: 16 Andre-Hugo Venter, 17 Ali Vermaak, 18 Neethling Fouché, 19 Ruben van Heerden, 20 Evan Roos, 21 Paul de Villiers, 22 Paul de Wet, 23 Jean-Luc du Plessis.

Sale Sharks: 15 Joe Carpenter, 14 Tom Roebuck, 13 Luke James, 12 Sam Bedlow, 11 Arron Reed, 10 Robert du Preez (captain), 9 Gus Warr, 8 Dan du Preez, 7 Tom Curry, 6 Jean-Luc du Preez, 5 Hyron Andrews, 4 Ernst van Rhyn, 3 Willgriff John, 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 1 Bevan Rodd.
Replacements: 16 Tadgh McElroy, 17 Si McIntyre, 18 James Harper, 19 Josh Beaumont, 20 Ben Bamber, 21 Nye Thomas, 22 Rekeiti Maasi-White, 23 Ben Curry.

Referee: Ludovic Cayre (France)
Assistant referees: Evan Urruzmendi (France) & Vincent Blasco Baque (France)
TMO: Eric Gauzins (France)

Exeter Chiefs v Union Bordeaux-Bègles
(Sandy Park Stadium, Exeter - Kick-off: 15.15; 16.15 French time; 15.15 GMT)

Prediction

Teams

Exeter Chiefs: 15 Tommy Wyatt, 14 Ben Hammersley, 13 Zack Wimbush, 12 Tamati Tua, 11 Paul Brown-Bampoe, 10 Henry Slade, 9 Stu Townsend, 8 Greg Fisilau, 7 Jacques Vermeulen, 6 Ethan Roots, 5 Franco Molina, 4 Dafydd Jenkins, 3 Josh Iosefa-Scott, 2 Dan Frost, 1 Scott Sio.
Replacements: 16 Max Norey, 17 Will Goodrick-Clarke, 18 Jimmy Roots, 19 Rusi Tuima, 20 Christ Tshiunza, 21 Tom Cairns, 22 Will Haydon-Wood, 23 Will Rigg.

Bordeaux-Bègles: 15 Romain Buros, 14 Damian Penaud, 13 Yoram Moefana, 12 Rohan Janse van Rensburg, 11 Pablo Uberti, 10 Matthieu Jalibert, 9 Maxime Lucu, 8 Tevita Tatafu, 7 Temo Matiu, 6 Lachie Swinton, 5 Cyril Cazeaux, 4 Guido Petti, 3 Carlü Sadie, 2 Maxime Lamothe, 1 Ugo Boniface.
Replacements: 16 Romain Latterrade, 17 Jefferson Poirot, 18 Toma Taufa, 19 Alexandre Ricard, 20 Marko Gazzotti, 21 Bastien Vergnes-Taillefer, 22 Louis Bielle-Biarrey, 23 Yann Lesgourgues.

Referee: Ben Whitehouse (Wales)
Assistant referee: Adam Jones (Wales)
TMO: Aled Griffiths (Wales)

Sharks v Stade Toulousain
(Kings Park, Durban - Kick-off: 17.15; 15.15 GMT; 16.15 France time)

Prediction

Teams

Sharks: 15 Hakeem Kunene, 14 Yaw Penxe, 13 Ethan Hooker, 12 Francois Venter, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Jordan Hendrikse, 9 Jaden Hendrikse, 8 Siya Kolisi (captain), 7 Emmanuel Tshituka, 6 Phepsi Buthelezi, 5 Jason Jenkins, 4 Corne Rahl, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ox Nche.
Replacements: 16 Dylan Richardson, 17 Ruan Dreyer, 18 Trevor Nyakane, 19 Jeandre Labuschagne, 20 Vincent Tshituka, 21 Nick Hatton, 22 Bradley Davids, 23 Jurenzo Julius.

Toulouse: 15 Thomas Ramos, 14 Blair Kinghorn, 13 Pierre-Louis Barassi, 12 Santiago Chocobares, 11 Matthis Lebel, 10 Romain Ntamack, 9 Antoine Dupont (captain), 8 Jack Willis, 7 Anthony Jelonch, 6 François Cros, 5 Emmanuel Meafou, 4 Thibaud Flament, 3 Dorian Aldegheri, 2 Peato Mauvaka, 1 Rodrigue Neti.
Replacements: 16 Julien Marchand, 17 Cyril Baille, 18 Joel Merkler, 19 Joshua Brennan, 20 Leo Banos, 21 Paul Graou, 22 Juan Cruz Mallia, 23 Ange Capuozzo.

Referee: Luke Pearce (England)
Assistant referees: Adam Leal (England) & Hamish Grant (England)
TMO: Stuart Terheege (England)

Munster v Saracens
(Thomond Park, Limerick - Kick-off: 17.30; 17.30 GMT)

Prediction

Teams

Munster: 15 Mike Haley, 14 Calvin Nash, 13 Tom Farrell, 12 Rory Scannell, 11 Shane Daly, 10 Jack Crowley, 9 Conor Murray, 8 Gavin Coombes, 7 Alex Kendellen, 6 Jack O'Donoghue, 5 Tadhg Beirne (captain), 4 Fineen Wycherley, 3 Oli Jager, 2 Niall Scannell, 1 Dian Bleuler.
Replacements: 16 Diarmuid Barron, 17 John Ryan, 18 Stephen Archer, 19 Tom Ahern, 20 John Hodnett, 21 Paddy Patterson, 22 Billy Burns, 23 Brian Gleeson.

Saracens: 15 Elliot Daly, 14 Liam Williams, 13 Alex Lozowski, 12 Nick Tompkins, 11 Lucio Cinti, 10 Fergus Burke, 9 Ivan van Zyl, 8 Tom Willis, 7 Ben Earl, 6 Juan Martin Gonzalez, 5 Harry Wilson, 4 Maro Itoje (captain), 3 Marco Riccioni, 2 Jamie George, 1 Phil Brantingham.
Replacements: 16 Theo Dan, 17 Eroni Mawi, 18 Alec Clarey, 19 Max Eke, 20 Nathan Michelow, 21 Gareth Simpson, 22 Olly Hartley, 23 Tobias Elliott.

Referee: Pierre Brousset (France)
Assistant referees: Vivien Praderie (France) & Pierre Bru (France)
TMO: Tual Trainini (France)

Stade Francais v Northampton Saints
(Stade Jean Bouin; Paris - Kick-off: 18.30; 17.30 GMT; 17.30 UK time)

Prediction

Teams

Stade Francais: 15 Joe Jonas, 14 Peniasi Dakuwaqa, 13 Samuel Ezeala, 12 Julien Delbouis, 11 Lester Etien, 10 Zack Henry, 9 Louis Foursans-Bourdette, 8 Yoan Tanga, 7 Romain Briatte, 6 Tanginoa Halaifonua, 5 JJ van der Mescht, 4 Paul Gabrillagues (captain), 3 Francisco Gomez Kodela, 2 Giacomo Nicotera, 1 Moses Alo-Emile.
Replacements: 16 Alvaro Garcia Albo, 17 Isaac Koffi, 18 Hugo N'Diaye, 19 Sekou Macalou, 20 Baptiste Pesenti, 21 Brad Weber, 22 Louis Carbonel, 23 Joe Marchant.

Northampton Saints: 15 James Ramm, 14 Tommy Freeman, 13 Tom Litchfield, 12 Rory Hutchinson, 11 Tom Seabrook, 10 Fin Smith, 9 Alex Mitchell, 8 Henry Pollock, 7 Angus Scott-Young, 6 Josh Kemeny (captain), 5 Tom Lockett, 4 Ed Prowse, 3 Trevor Davison, 2 Henry Walker, 1 Tarek Haffar.
Replacements: 16 Curtis Langdon, 17 Tom West, 18 Luke Green, 19 Callum Hunter-Hill, 20 Fyn Brown, 21 Tom Pearson, 22 Archie McParland, 23 Charlie Savala.

Referee: Eoghan Cross (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Keane Davison (Ireland) & Paul Haycock (Ireland)
TMO: Leo Colgan (Ireland)

Leicester Tigers v Ulster
(Welford Road, England - Kick-off: 20.00; 20.00 GMT)

Prediction

Teams

Leicester Tigers: 15 Freddie Steward, 14 Josh Bassett, 13 Izaia Perese, 12 Solomone Kata, 11 Ollie Hassell-Collins, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Jack van Poortvliet, 8 Olly Cracknell, 7 Tommy Reffell, 6 Finn Carnduff, 5 Jed Holloway, 4 Cameron Henderson, 3 Joe Heyes, 2 Julian Montoya (captain), 1 Nicky Smith.
Replacements: 16 Charlie Clare, 17 James Whitcombe, 18 Dan Cole, 19 Harry Wells, 20 Emeka Ilione, 21 Ben Youngs, 22 Jamie Shillcock, 23 Joe Woodward.

Ulster: 15 Ethan Mcilroy, 14 Werner Kok, 13 Ben Carson, 12 Jude Postlethwaite, 11 Zac Ward, 10 Aidan Morgan, 9 Nathan Doak, 8 Dave McCann, 7 Nick Timoney, 6 James McNabney, 5 Cormac Izuchukwu, 4 Iain Henderson (captain), 3 Scott Wilson, 2 John Andrew, 1 Andrew Warwick.
Replacements: 16 James McCormick, 17 Eric O'Sullivan, 18 Corrie Barrett, 19 Kieran Treadwell, 20 Harry Sheridan, 21 John Cooney, 22 Jack Murphy, 23 Rory Telfer.

Referee: Craig Evans (Wales)
Assistant referees: Ben Connor (Wales), Rhys Jones (Wales)
TMO: Keith David (Wales)

Castres Olympique v Bulls
(Stade Pierre-Fabre, Castres - Kick-off: 21.00; 20.00 GMT; 22.00 South African time)

Prediction

Teams

Castres: 15 Julien Dumora, 14 Geoffrey Palis, 13 Vilimoni Botitu, 12 Jack Goodhue, 11 Rémy Baget, 10 Pierre Popelin, 9 Jeremy Fernandez, 8 Abraham Papalii, 7 Tyler Ardron, 6 Mathieu Babillot (captain), 5 Florent Vanverberghe, 4 Guillaume Ducat, 3 Levan Chilachava, 2 Gaetan Barlot, 1 Antoine Tichit.
Replacements: 16 Pierre Colonna, 17 Lois Guerois-Galisson, 18 Nicolas Corato, 19 Leone Nakarawa, 20 Simon Meka, 21 Santiago Arata, 22 Theo Chabouni, 23 Adrien Seguret.

Bulls: 15 Henry Immelman, 14 Sibongile Novuka, 13 Katlego Letebele, 12 Chris Barend Smit, 11 Aphiwe Dyantyi, 10 Boeta Chamberlain, 9 Bernard van der Linde, 8 Nizaam Carr (captain), 7 Celimpilo Gumede, 6 Kuyenzeka Xaba, 5 Sintu Manjezi, 4 JF van Heerden, 3 Mornay Smith, 2 Jan-hendrik Wessels, 1 Alulutho Tshakweni.
Replacements: 16 Joe van Zyl, 17 Dylan Smith, 18 Sebastian Lombard, 19 Deon Slabbert, 20 Corné Beets, 21 Keagan Johannes, 22 Jaco van der Walt, 23 Cornel Smit.

Referee: Matthew Carley (England)
Assistant referees: Hamish Smales (England) & Jamie Leahy (England)
TMO: David Rose (England)

Sunday, January 12

Toulon v Harlequins
(Stade Mayol, Toulon - Kick-off: 16.00; 15.00 GMT; 15.00 UK Time)

Prediction

Teams

Toulon: 15 Marius Domon, 14 Gaël Drean, 13 Antoine Frisch, 12 Jérémy Sinzelle, 11 Jiuta Wainiqolo, 10 Paolo Garbisi, 9 Baptiste Serin, 8 Facundo Isa, 7 Esteban Abadie, 6 Lewis Ludlam, 5 David Ribbans (captain), 4 Matthias Halagahu, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 2 Gianmarco Lucchesi, 1 Dany Priso
Replacements: 16 Mickael Ivaldi, 17 Daniel Brennan, 18 Emerick Setiano, 19 Brian Alainu'uese, 20 Swan Rebbadj, 21 Jules Coulon, 22 Ben White, 23 Dan Biggar

Harlequins: 15 Tyrone Green, 14 Nick David, 13 Oscar Beard, 12 Luke Northmore, 11 Cadan Murley, 10 Marcus Smith, 9 Will Porter, 8 Alex Dombrandt (captain), 7 Jack Kenningham, 6 James Chisholm, 5 George Hammond, 4 Joe Launchbury, 3 Titi Lamositele, 2 Jack Walker, 1 Fin Baxter
Replacements: 16 Sam Riley, 17 Wyn Jones, 18 Simon Kerrod, 19 Chandler Cunningham-South, 20 Will Evans, 21 Danny Care, 22 Jarrod Evans, 23 Ben Waghorn

Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Robbie Jenkinson (Ireland) & Padraic Reidy (Ireland)
TMO: Olly Hodges (Ireland)

Stade Rochelais v Leinster
(Stade Marcel-Deflandre stadium, La Rochelle - Kick-off: 16.15; 15.15 GMT; 15.15 UK time)

Prediction

Teams

La Rochelle: 15 Brice Dulin, 14 Jack Nowell, 13 UJ Seuteni, 12 Jules Favre, 11 Dillyn Leyds, 10 Antoine Hastoy, 9 Tawera Kerr-Barlow, 8 Grégory Alldritt (captain), 7 Oscar Jegou, 6 Paul Boudehent, 5 Kane Douglas, 4 Thomas Lavault, 3 Uini Atonio, 2 Quentin Lespiaucq, 1 Reda Wardi.
Replacements: 16 Nikoloz Sutidze, 17 Alexandre Kaddouri, 18 Georges-Henri Colombe, 19 Ultan Dillane, 20 Levani Botia, 21 Judicael Cancoriet, 22 Matthias Haddad, 23 Hoani Bosmorin.

Leinster: 15 Jamie Osborne, 14 Tommy O'Brien, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Robbie Henshaw, 11 Jimmy O'Brien, 10 Sam Prendergast, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Caelan Doris (captain), 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Ryan Baird, 5 James Ryan, 4 Joe McCarthy, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Ronan Kelleher, 1 Cian Healy.
Replacements: 16 Gus McCarthy, 17 Andrew Porter, 18 Rabah Slimani, 19 RG Snyman, 20 Jack Conan, 21 Luke McGrath, 22 Ross Byrne, 23 Jordie Barrett.

Referee: Nika Amashukeli (Georgia)
Assistant referees: Christophe Ridley (England) & Sam Grove-White (Scotland)
TMO: Ian Tempest (England)

Bristol Bears v Benetton
(Ashton Gate Stadium, Bristol - Kick-off: 15.15; 15.15 GMT; 17.15 Italy time)

Prediction

Teams

Bristol Bears: 15 Benjamin Elizalde, 14 Jack Bates, 13 Kalaveti Ravouvou, 12 James Williams, 11 Noah Heward, 10 Harry Byrne, 9 Kieran Marmion, 8 Bill Mata, 7 Fitz Harding (captain), 6 Santiago Grondona, 5 Joe Batley, 4 Joe Owen, 3 Max Lahiff, 2 Harry Thacker, 1 Yann Thomas.
Replacements: 16 Gabriel Oghre, 17 Ellis Genge, 18 George Kloska, 19 Steele Barker, 20 Steven Luatua, 21 Harry Randall, 22 Benhard Janse van Rensburg, 23 Rich Lane.

Benetton: 15 Rhyno Smith, 14 Matt Gallagher, 13 Tommaso Menoncello, 12 Nacho Brex, 11 Onisi Ratave, 10 Tomas Albornoz, 9 Andy Uren, 8 Lorenzo Cannone, 7 Manuel Zuliani, 6 Michele Lamaro (captain), 5 Federico Ruzza, 4 Niccolo Cannone, 3 Giosue Zilocchi, 2 Siua Maile, 1 Thomas Gallo.
Replacements: 16 Bautista Bernasconi, 17 Simone Ferrari, 18 Enzo Avaca, 19 Eli Snyman, 20 Riccardo Favretto, 21 Alessandro Izekor, 22 Alessandro Garbisi, 23 Leonardo Marin.

Referee: Luc Ramos (France)
Assistant referees Thomas Charabas (France) & Jonathan Gasnier (France)
TMO: Julien Castaignede (France)

Bath v Clermont Auvergne
(The Recreation Ground, Bath - Kick-off: 17.30; 17.30 GMT; 18.30 France time)

Prediction

Teams

Bath: 15 Tom de Glanville, 14 Joe Cokanasiga, 13 Ollie Lawrence, 12 Max Ojomoh, 11 Ruaridh McConnochie, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Ben Spencer (captain), 8 Alfie Barbeary, 7 Miles Reid, 6 Ted Hill, 5 Charlie Ewels, 4 Quinn Roux, 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Tom Dunn, 1 Beno Obano.
Replacements: 16 Niall Annett, 17 Francois van Wyk, 18 Will Stuart, 19 Ross Molony, 20 Josh Bayliss, 21 Louis Schreuder, 22 Orlando Bailey, 23 Ethan Staddon.

Clermont: 15 Alex Newsome, 14 Bautista Delguy, 13 Pierre Fouyssac, 12 Irae Simone, 11 Lucas Tauzin, 10 Anthony Belleau, 9 Baptiste Jauneau, 8 Fritz Lee (captain), 7 Marcos Kremer, 6 Killian Tixeront, 5 Peceli Yato, 4 Rob Simmons, 3 Regis Montagne, 2 Folau Fainga'a, 1 Giorgi Akhaladze.
Replacements: 16 Etienne Fourcade, 17 Sacha Lotrian, 18 Michael Ala'alatoa, 19 Thomas Ceyte, 20 Oskar Rixen, 21 Sebastien Bezy, 22 Theo Giral, 23 Alivereti Raka.

Referee: Chris Busby (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Andrew Cole (Ireland) & Andrew Fogarty (Ireland)
TMO: Mark Patton (Ireland)

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* Additional reporting by @ChampionsCup

* Picture credit: Steve Haag Sport/Darren Stewart