Champions Cup, Quarterfinals - Saturday & Sunday's Teams and Predictions
PREVIEW: The race to the final four is filled with mouthwatering clashes worthy of a Final in itself, with six teams gunning for Champions Cup semifinal berths on Saturday and Sunday.
Toulouse hooker Peato Mauvaka is eyeing revenge on Sunday as the six-time Champions Cup winners head to Bordeaux-Begles in the quarterfinals after last season’s “heartbreaking” loss to their French rivals in the last four.
Mauvaka and superstar scrumhalf Antoine Dupont were missing through injury almost 12 months ago as Bordeaux-Begles continued their march to their first Champions Cup crown by surprising the tournament’s historic dominant force in the semifinals.
Toulouse reached this year’s last eight after hammering Bristol in the Round of 16 on Saturday, while Bordeaux-Begles thumped Leicester 24 hours later.
“We weren’t lucky enough to play that match,” France’s Mauvaka told AFP this week.
“Seeing your mates losing that semifinal, it was heartbreaking for us.
“We can’t wait for this weekend,” the 29-year-old added.
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Toulouse and Bordeaux-Begles have established themselves as the two leading clubs in France and on the continent in recent seasons.
They have met in the two most recent Top 14 Finals, while Toulouse won the Champions Cup in 2024 and Bordeaux-Begles did so a year later.
Bordeaux-Begles claimed the spoils in their most recent meeting, winning 44-20 in the league last month.
Both sides have lethal backs like Dupont and winger Louis Bielle-Biarrey, but front-rower Mauvaka predicts a tight tussle among the forwards.
“The game at their place three weeks ago, the score was heavy, but if you watch the game in detail, there was a battle up front,” Mauvaka said.
“Especially in the first half. We blew up a bit in the second half.
“It’s part of the work we have to do, to stay in the game, it promises to be war,” he added with Toulouse vying for an eighth consecutive last four appearance.
Elsewhere, three-time winners Toulon will be without former New Zealand centre Ma’a Nonu as they head to Glasgow.
The 43-year-old was banned for three weeks for a high tackle in last weekend’s knockout win over the Stormers.
Glasgow Warriors head coach Franco Smith said his side won’t underestimate Toulon, given their history in the competition.
“Toulon are well accustomed to knockout matches of this scale, with a proud heritage of success in this competition.
“They have a squad that blends a physical forward pack with a backline that can cause problems for any team, and we know that we must be at our best to meet their challenge.
“The atmosphere at Scotstoun for our European fixtures this season has been second to none, and we know that the Warrior Nation will be behind us all the way again tomorrow afternoon.”
Four-time winners Leinster and their All Black midfielder Rieko Ioane host Sale as the Irish province aims for a sixth-straight semifinal.
Dan Sheehan is set to captain the team, while Alex Usanov is due to make his first European start after a debut off the bench last week against Edinburgh. James Ryan returns from injury to cover the second row alongside Joe McCarthy.
Jack Conan takes over at 8 with Ryan Baird at blindside flanker and Josh van der Flier at openside.
Alex Usanov and Tadhg Furlong will scrum down either side of Dan Sheehan.
Hugo Keenan continues at fullback, Rieko Ioane moving to the wing with Tommy O’Brien on the opposite side.
Jamie Osborne continues at 12 with Garry Ringrose returning from injury to join him at centre.
Jamison Gibson-Park and Harry Byrne are named as the halfbacks. Rónan Kelleher, alongside Jerry Cahir and Thomas Clarkson, are the front row cover, while Max Deegan and Scott Penny complete the forward reinforcements.
Luke McGrath, Ciarán Frawley, and Robbie Henshaw complete the matchday 23.
*See all teams and predictions below!
Saturday, April 11
Glasgow Warriors v RC Toulon
(Scotstoun Stadium, Glasgow – Kick-off: 15.00 BST; 16.00 CEST; 14.00 GMT)
Prediction
Rugby365: Glasgow by 10 points
Teams
Glasgow Warriors: 15 Josh McKay, 14 Kyle Steyn (captain), 13 Stafford McDowall, 12 Sione Tuipulotu, 11 Ollie Smith, 10 Dan Lancaster, 9 Ben Afshar, 8 Jack Dempsey, 7 Rory Darge, 6 Matt Fagerson, 5 Alex Samuel, 4 Olujare Oguntibeju, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 Gregor Hiddleston, 1 Patrick Schickerling
Replacements: 16 Seb Stephen, 17 Jamie Bhatti, 18 Sam Talakai, 19 Max Williamson, 20 Euan Ferrie, 21 Angus Fraser, 22 Jack Oliver, 23 Adam Hastings
RC Toulon: 15 Melvyn Jaminet, 14 Gaël Drean, 13 Nacho Brex, 12 Jérémy Sinzelle, 11 Setariki Tuicuvu, 10 Tomas Albornoz, 9 Ben White, 8 Mikheil Shioshvili, 7 Charles Ollivon, 6 Junior Kpoku, 5 David Ribbans (captain), 4 Corentin Mezou, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 2 Teddy Baubigny, 1 Jean-Baptiste Gros
Replacements: 16 Gianmarco Lucchesi, 17 Daniel Brennan, 18 Beka Gigashvili, 19 Matthias Halagahu, 20 Zach Mercer, 21 Baptiste Serin, 22 Esteban Abadie, 23 Mathis Ferte
Referee: Karl Dickson (England)
Assistant referees: Adam Leal (England), Ben O’Connor (Ireland)
TMO: Stuart Terheege (England)
Leinster v Sale Sharks
(Aviva Stadium, Dublin – Kick-off: 17.30 IST; 16.30 BST; 16.30 GMT)
Prediction
Rugby365: Leinster by 14 points
Teams
Leinster: 15 Hugo Keenan, 14 Tommy O’Brien, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Jamie Osborne, 11 Rieko Ioane, 10 Harry Byrne, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Jack Conan, 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Ryan Baird, 5 James Ryan, 4 Joe McCarthy, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Dan Sheehan (captain), 1 Alex Usanov
Replacements: 16 Ronan Kelleher, 17 Jerry Cahir, 18 Tom Clarkson, 19 Max Deegan, 20 Scott Penny, 21 Luke McGrath, 22 Ciaran Frawley, 23 Robbie Henshaw
Sale Sharks: 15 Joe Carpenter, 14 Tom Roebuck, 13 Rob du Preez, 12 Rekeiti Ma’asi-White, 11 Tom O’Flaherty, 10 George Ford, 9 Gus Warr, 8 Dan du Preez, 7 Sam Dugdale, 6 Jacques Vermeulen, 5 Ben Bamber, 4 Ernst van Rhyn (captain), 3 Asher Opoku-Fordjour, 2 Ethan Caine, 1 Si McIntyre
Replacements: 16 Alfie Longstaff, 17 Ralph McEachran, 18 James Harper, 19 Reuben Logan, 20 Jos Gilmore, 21 Dom Hanson, 22 Marius Louw, 23 Alex Wills
Referee: Pierre Brousset (France)
Assistant referees: Gianluca Gnecchi (Italy), Filippo Russo (Italy)
TMO: Tual Trainini
Sunday, April 12
Union Bordeaux Begles v Stade Toulousain
(Stade Chaban-Delmas, Bordeaux – Kick-off: 16.00 CEST; 14.00 GMT)
Prediction
Rugby365: Bordeaux by four points
Teams
Union Bordeaux Bègles: 15 Salesi Rayasi, 14 Pablo Uberti, 13 Damian Penaud, 12 Yoram Moefana, 11 Louis Bielle-Biarrey, 10 Matthieu Jalibert, 9 Maxime Lucu (captain), 8 Marko Gazzotti, 7 Cameron Woki, 6 Pierre Bochaton, 5 Adam Coleman, 4 Boris Palu, 3 Carlü Sadie, 2 Maxime Lamothe, 1 Jefferson Poirot
Replacements: 16 Gaetan Barlot, 17 Matis Perchaud, 18 Ben Tameifuna, 19 Tiaan Jacobs, 20 Bastien Vergnes-Taillefer, 21 Temo Matiu, 22 Arthur Retiere, 23 Hugo Reus
Stade Toulousain: 15 Thomas Ramos, 14 Teddy Thomas, 13 Kalvin Gourgues, 12 Santiago Chocobares, 11 Matthis Lebel, 10 Romain Ntamack, 9 Antoine Dupont, 8 Anthony Jelonch, 7 Jack Willis, 6 François Cros, 5 Emmanuel Meafou, 4 Thibaud Flament, 3 Dorian Aldegheri, 2 Peato Mauvaka, 1 David Ainu’u
Replacements: 16 Julien Marchand, 17 Cyril Baille, 18 Joel Merkler, 19 Joshua Brennan, 20 Leo Banos, 21 Théo Ntamack, 22 Paul Graou, 23 Blair Kinghorn
Referee: Matthew Carley (England)
Assistant referees: Craig Evans (Wales), Morne Ferreira (Wales)
TMO: Andrew Jackson (England)
With additional reporting by: AFP
