Champions Cup, Round of 16 - teams and predictions

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SATURDAY & SUNDAY PREVIEW: The absence of South African teams in this weekend's Champions Cup Round of 16 should not be mistaken for insignificance.

The handprint of South African rugby on the tournament runs deep.

The Republic's legacy over the past 30 years is in those South African-born players who successfully chased club rugby's most prestigious star.

The two most dominant teams of the past decade, Toulon and Saracens, had a strong South African presence, and South Africans were influential in the title wins of Toulouse and Leinster.

If you dig deep enough, there is a South African story to be told from nearly every Final, starting with South African-born and raised Bath flyhalf Mike Catt in 1998.

Catt, a former South African Under-20 player, became a mainstay at Bath and for England.

His name heads an impressive list of South Africans, many of them World Cup winners for South Africa and internationals for England.

Toulon's record-breaking golden era, in which they won three successive Finals between 2013 and 2015, included World Cup winners Bakkies Botha, Juan Smith, Danie Rossouw and Bryan Habana, while loose-forward Joe van Niekerk was among the South African pioneers at Toulon.

Van Niekerk played 122 times for the club and led Toulon to their first title in 2013.

Saracens, when at their peak, had a Bok backbone, with hooker Schalk Brits, prop Vincent Koch, flanker Schalk Burger and scrumhalf Neil de Kock among the most influential Springboks at the club.

Brad Barritt, a former SA U20 midfielder, would play for England and the British & Irish Lions, and he would lead Saracens in some of their finest triumphs.

Barritt and Brits both played more than 200 matches each for Saracens and De Kock finished with 250 matches for the English club.

Toulouse's resurgence, in winning their fifth star, included the brilliance of winger Cheslin Kolbe and loose-forward Rynardt Elstadt, while current Springboks scrum coach Daan Human was a double star winner with Toulouse in a French club career that totalled 169 matches for Toulouse.

Toulouse added a sixth star last season with a pulsating win against Leinster.

The article continues below...

Saturday, April 5

Toulon v Saracens

(Stade Mayol, Toulon - Kick-off: 13.30; 12.30 UK time; 11.30 GMT)

Prediction

@rugby365com:Toulon by 10 points

Teams

Toulon: 15 Melvyn Jaminet, 14 Jiuta Wainiqolo, 13 Leicester Fainga'anuku, 12 Jérémy Sinzelle, 11 Gabin Villiere, 10 Paolo Garbisi, 9 Ben White, 8 Facundo Isa, 7 Esteban Abadie, 6 Lewis Ludlam, 5 David Ribbans (captain), 4 Matthias Halagahu, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 2 Teddy Baubigny, 1 Jean-Baptiste Gros.
Replacements: 16 Gianmarco Lucchesi, 17 Dany Priso, 18 Beka Gigashvili, 19 Brian Alainu'uese, 20 Matteo le Corvec, 21 Baptiste Serin, 22 Marius Domon, 23 Setariki Tuicuvu.

Saracens: 15 Alex Goode, 14 Tobias Elliott, 13 Nick Tompkins, 12 Olly Hartley, 11 Angus Hall, 10 Fergus Burke, 9 Ivan van Zyl (captain), 8 Andy Onyeama-Christie, 7 Juan Martin Gonzalez, 6 Theo McFarland, 5 Hugh Tizard, 4 Nick Isiekwe, 3 Marco Riccioni, 2 Theo Dan, 1 Eroni Mawi.
Replacements: 16 James Hadfield, 17 Rhys Carre, 18 Alec Clarey, 19 Harry Wilson, 20 Nathan Michelow, 21 Gareth Simpson, 22 Louie Johnson, 23 Brandon Jackson-Richards.

Referee: Nika Amashukeli (Georgia)
Assistant referees: Ben Whitehouse (Wales), Chris Busby (Ireland)
TMO: Olly Hodges (Ireland)

Leinster v Harlequins

(Croke Park, Dublin - Kick-off: 15.00; 12.30 GMT)

Prediction

@rugby365com: Leinster by 15 points

Teams

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

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

Referee: Pierre Brousset (France)
Assistant referees: Kevin Bralley (France), Thomas Charabas (France)
TMO: Tual Trainini (France)

Castres v Benetton

(Stade Pierre-Fabre, Castres - Kick-off: 16.00; 14.00 GMT)

Prediction

@rugby365com:Castres by five points

Teams

Castres: 15 Theo Chabouni, 14 Christian Ambadiang, 13 Adrien Seguret, 12 Andrea Cocagi, 11 Rémy Baget, 10 Louis le Brun, 9 Santiago Arata, 8 Abraham Papalii, 7 Gauthier Maravat, 6 Mathieu Babillot (captain), 5 Florent Vanverberghe, 4 Paul Jedrasiak, 3 Will Collier, 2 Gaetan Barlot, 1 Quentin Walcker.
Replacements: 16 Loris Zarantonello, 17 Lois Guerois-Galisson, 18 Aurelien Azar, 19 Leone Nakarawa, 20 Baptiste Delaporte, 21 Jeremy Fernandez, 22 Jack Goodhue, 23 Nathanael Hulleu.

Benetton: 15 Rhyno Smith, 14 Ignacio Mendy, 13 Tommaso Menoncello, 12 Nacho Brex, 11 Paolo Odogwu, 10 Tomas Albornoz, 9 Andy Uren, 8 Lorenzo Cannone, 7 Manuel Zuliani, 6 Riccardo Favretto, 5 Eli Snyman (captain), 4 Scott Scrafton, 3 Simone Ferrari, 2 Bautista Bernasconi, 1 Thomas Gallo.
Replacements: 16 Siua Maile, 17 Mirco Spagnolo, 18 Giosue Zilocchi, 19 Federico Ruzza, 20 Michele Lamaro, 21 Alessandro Garbisi, 22 Jacob Umaga, 23 Malakai Fekitoa.

Referee: Karl Dickson (England)
Assistant referees: Hamish Smales (England), Jonathan Healy (England)
TMO: Dean Richards (England)

La Rochelle v Munster

(Stade Marcel Deflandre, La Rochelle - Kick-off: 18.30; 17.30 Ireland time; 16.30 GMT)

Prediction 

@rugby365com: Munster by seven points

Teams 

La Rochelle: 15 Dillyn Leyds, 14 Jack Nowell, 13 Teddy Thomas, 12 UJ Seuteni, 11 Hoani Bosmorin, 10 Ihaia West, 9 Tawera Kerr-Barlow, 8 Grégory Alldritt (captain), 7 Oscar Jegou, 6 Levani Botia, 5 Will Skelton, 4 Thomas Lavault, 3 Uini Atonio, 2 Pierre Bourgarit, 1 Reda Wardi.
Replacements: 16 Quentin Lespiaucq, 17 Alexandre Kaddouri, 18 Aleksandre Kuntelia, 19 Ultan Dillane, 20 Judicael Cancoriet, 21 Matthias Haddad, 22 Antoine Hastoy, 23 Jules Favre.

Munster: 15 Thaakir Abrahams, 14 Calvin Nash, 13 Tom Farrell, 12 Sean O'Brien, 11 Andrew Smith, 10 Jack Crowley, 9 Craig Casey, 8 Gavin Coombes, 7 John Hodnett, 6 Peter O'Mahony, 5 Tadhg Beirne (captain), 4 Jean Kleyn, 3 Oli Jager, 2 Diarmuid Barron, 1 Jeremy Loughman.
Replacements: 16 Niall Scannell, 17 Josh Wycherley, 18 Stephen Archer, 19 Fineen Wycherley, 20 Tom Ahern, 21 Conor Murray, 22 Rory Scannell, 23 Alex Kendellen.

Referee: Andrea Piardi (Italy)
Assistant referees: Adam Leal (England), Filippo Russo (Italy)
TMO: Matteo Liperini (Italy)

Glasgow Warriors v Leicester Tigers

(Scotstoun Stadium, Glasgow - Kick-off: 20.00; 19.00 GMT)

Prediction

@rugby365com:Leicester Tigers by three points

Teams

Glasgow Warriors: 15 Kyle Rowe, 14 Jamie Dobie, 13 Stafford McDowall, 12 Tom Jordan, 11 Kyle Steyn (captain), 10 Adam Hastings, 9 George Horne, 8 Henco Venter, 7 Sione Vailanu, 6 Matt Fagerson, 5 JP du Preez, 4 Gregor Brown, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 Johnny Matthews, 1 Nathan McBeth.
Replacements: 16 Grant Stewart, 17 Jamie Bhatti, 18 Sam Talakai, 19 Alex Samuel, 20 Euan Ferrie, 21 Rory Darge, 22 Ben Afshar, 23 Sebastian Cancelliere.

Leicester Tigers: 15 Freddie Steward, 14 Adam Radwan, 13 Dan Kelly, 12 Solomone Kata, 11 Ollie Hassell-Collins, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Jack van Poortvliet, 8 Olly Cracknell, 7 Emeka Ilione, 6 Hanro Liebenberg (captain), 5 Harry Wells, 4 Cameron Henderson, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Finn Theobald-Thomas, 1 Nicky Smith.
Replacements: 16 Charlie Clare, 17 Archie van der Flier, 18 Will Hurd, 19 Tom Manz, 20 Finn Carnduff, 21 Ben Youngs, 22 Jamie Shillcock, 23 Joe Woodward.

Referee: Craig Evans (Wales)
Assistant referees: Ben Breakspear (Wales), Gareth Newman (Wales)
TMO: Adam Jones (Wales)

Sunday, April 6 

Bordeaux-Begles v Ulster

(Stade Chaban-Delmas, Bordeaux - Kick-off: 13.30; 12.30 Ireland time; 11.30 GMT)

Prediction

@rugby365com:Bordeaux-Begles by 16 points

Teams

Bordeaux-Begles: 15 Romain Buros, 14 Damian Penaud, 13 Yoram Moefana, 12 Ben Tapuai, 11 Pablo Uberti, 10 Joey Carbery, 9 Maxime Lucu (captain), 8 Pete Samu, 7 Guido Petti, 6 Mahamadou Diaby, 5 Adam Coleman, 4 Cyril Cazeaux, 3 Ben Tameifuna, 2 Maxime Lamothe, 1 Jefferson Poirot.
Replacements: 16 Romain Latterrade, 17 Matis Perchaud, 18 Sipili Falatea, 19 Pierre Bochaton, 20 Bastien Vergnes-Taillefer, 21 Yann Lesgourgues, 22 Rohan Janse van Rensburg, 23 Matthieu Jalibert.

Ulster: 15 Mike Lowry, 14 Zac Ward, 13 James Hume, 12 Stuart McCloskey, 11 Jacob Stockdale, 10 Jack Murphy, 9 John Cooney, 8 Dave McCann, 7 Nick Timoney, 6 James McNabney, 5 Kieran Treadwell, 4 Alan O'Connor (captain), 3 Tom O'Toole, 2 Rob Herring, 1 Andrew Warwick.
Replacements: 16 Tom Stewart, 17 Callum Reid, 18 Scott Wilson, 19 Matt Dalton, 20 Matty Rea, 21 Nathan Doak, 22 Aidan Morgan, 23 Stewart Moore.

Referee: Luke Pearce (England)
Assistant referees: Adam Leal (England), Joe James (England)
TMO: Andrew Jackson (England)

Toulouse v Sale Sharks

(Stadium de Toulouse, Toulouse - Kick-off: 16.00; 15.00 UK time; 14.00 GMT)

Prediction

@rugby365com:Toulouse by 18 points

Teams

Toulouse: 15 Thomas Ramos, 14 Ange Capuozzo, 13 Pierre-Louis Barassi, 12 Pita Ahki, 11 Blair Kinghorn, 10 Romain Ntamack, 9 Paul Graou, 8 Alexandre Roumat, 7 Jack Willis, 6 François Cros, 5 Emmanuel Meafou, 4 Thibaud Flament, 3 Dorian Aldegheri, 2 Julien Marchand (captain), 1 David Ainu'u.
Replacements: 16 Guillaume Cramont, 17 Rodrigue Neti, 18 Joel Merkler, 19 Clement Verge, 20 Anthony Jelonch, 21 Mathis Castro-Ferreira, 22 Juan-Cruz Mallia, 23 Paul Costes.

Sale Sharks: 15 Luke James, 14 Tom Roebuck, 13 Robert du Preez, 12 Rekeiti Maasi-White, 11 Arron Reed, 10 George Ford, 9 Gus Warr, 8 Jean-Luc du Preez, 7 Ben Curry (captain), 6 Tom Curry, 5 Jonny Hill, 4 Ernst van Rhyn, 3 Asher Opoku-Fordjour, 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 1 Si McIntyre.
Replacements: 16 Tadgh McElroy, 17 Ross Harrison, 18 Willgriff John, 19 Hyron Andrews, 20 Ben Bamber, 21 Sam Dugdale, 22 Nye Thomas, 23 Tom O'Flaherty.

Referee: Sam Grove-White (Scotland)
Assistant referees: Dave Sutherland (Scotland), Ruairdh Campbell (Scotland)
TMO: Mike Adamson (Scotland)

Sources: AFP & EPCR