Champions Cup, Round One - Teams and Predictions

SATURDAY AND SUNDAY PREVIEW: South Africa’s participation in the Champions Cup enters its third season and fans and pundits will be wondering if the Bulls, Sharks or Stormers can go all the way and make some history.

Last season, the Bulls and Stormers were the only representatives from South Africa.

This time, the Sharks qualified by winning last season’s Challenge Cup, leading to the Ospreys missing out despite their superior finish in the United Rugby Championship table.

The Durban side will begin their campaign at home against an Exeter Chiefs side that has lost all seven of their Premiership games so far.

The Stormers have a “home” match against Toulon in Gqeberha, while the Bulls are on the road with a tough outing against Saracens in London.

The clash between Saracens and the Bulls is expected to be a humdinger with both sides being in decent form this season, with the men from Pretoria winning five of their six URC matches, while Saracens have won four of their seven Premiership games.

Saracens have had a good run at home with two wins in three matches, but they will be wary of the threat the Bulls pose as they have been in solid form on tour this season, where they won their matches against Benetton and Connacht and went down to the Scarlets by only one point.

Storm Darragh is set to bring strong winds and heavy rain to London this weekend, but White believes he has a matchday squad that can adapt to all conditions.

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“If we get caught in a thunderstorm, there is enough variation on the bench and in the starting line-up to play a certain way.

“If the rain comes past and for some unknown reason we can move the ball around, I think we have a group of players that we can swap around and they will be able to play like that.

“That is the secret to being successful in the European Cup.

“You have to have the ability to do everything on any given day, even in the same game.”

Meanwhile, Exeter Chiefs’ struggling start to the season, with their current last position on the Premiership log, means the Sharks will start strong favourites to get off to a good start when the sides face up in Durban.

However, Sharks head coach John Plumtree has noticed something in the Chiefs’ games to put his team on high alert.

“They are not doing well in the Premiership, but in five or six games they had bonus-point losses.

“They lost by five or six points to Bath who are a good side and they are a gutsy team and they work hard for each other.

“They’ve got aggressive line speed and X-factor talent in their side.

Plumtree added: “They are going to come at us and they are going to see us as a prize.”

Different tournament, same grind ⚙️⛓️#InvestecChampionsCup #SHAvEXE pic.twitter.com/SyNawxTMGx

— The Sharks (@SharksRugby) December 4, 2024

The Stormers, meanwhile, face a challenging encounter against Toulon at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.

It’s a match they will target to turn their season around and gain some winning momentum after a disappointing run in the URC.

Toulon, in turn, have been one of the pacesetters in the French Top 14 with seven victories in their 11 matches – where they are currently in fourth place on the table, behind Clermont on points’ difference, on 32 log points.

The Capetonians, however, will want to make the most of the vastly different weather conditions in South Africa and an expected big crowd in the Eastern Cape to give them a mental boost going into the clash.

They will also draw inspiration from the fact that Toulon has only won two of their six games away from home so far this season.

Toulon will have an experienced halfback pairing in the form of Dan Biggar and Baptiste Serin and Stormers Director of Rugby John Dobson knows those players will keep his defenders on their toes.

“Biggar’s game management is superb,” said Dobson.

“Baptiste Serin – when he was playing for France, he was unbelievable and then he got dropped for a fellow called [Antoine] Dupont.

“I remember him playing four or five years ago and he was really good.

“I think he is their game driver.

“He is a world-class scrumhalf. There is no question about that.”

See below for Saturday and Sunday’s teams and predictions!

Some of these opening match ups 😮‍💨

Which battles are you most excited for?#InvestecChampionsCup Round 1 line-ups ⬇️

— Investec Champions Cup (@ChampionsCup) December 6, 2024

Saturday, December 7:

Clermont Auvergne v Benetton
(Stade Marcel-Michelin, Clermont – Kick-off: 14.00 CET; 13.00 GMT)

Prediction

@rugby365com: Clermont by 14 points.

Teams:

Clermont: 15 Alex Newsome, 14 Lucas Tauzin, 13 Mathys Belaubre, 12 Pierre Fouyssac, 11 Alivereti Raka, 10 Ben Urdapilleta, 9 Sebastien Bezy, 8 Fritz Lee (captain), 7 Marcos Kremer, 6 Killian Tixeront, 5 Thomas Ceyte, 4 Peceli Yato, 3 Regis Montagne, 2 Barnabe Massa, 1 Etienne Falgoux.
Replacements: 16 Etienne Fourcade, 17 Giorgi Akhaladze, 18 Michael Ala’alatoa, 19 Anthime Hemery, 20 Alexandre Fischer, 21 Baptiste Jauneau, 22 Theo Giral, 23 Irae Simone.

Benetton: 15 Leonardo Marin, 14 Louis Lynagh, 13 Nacho Brex, 12 Tommaso Menoncello, 11 Onisi Ratave, 10 Tomas Albornoz, 9 Alessandro Garbisi, 8 Simon Koroiyadi, 7 Manuel Zuliani, 6 Sebastian Negri, 5 Federico Ruzza (captain), 4 Niccolo Cannone, 3 Simone Ferrari, 2 Agustin Creevy, 1 Thomas Gallo.
Replacements: 16 Bautista Bernasconi, 17 Mirco Spagnolo, 18 Tiziano Pasquali, 19 Riccardo Favretto, 20 Alessandro Izekor, 21 Toa Halafihi, 22 Lautaro Bazan Velez, 23 Jacob Umaga.

Referee: Christophe Ridley (England)
Assistant referees: Matthew Carley (England), Simon Harding (England)
TMO: Ian Tempest (England)

Sharks v Exeter Chiefs
(Kings Park, Durban – Kick-off: 15.00 SAST; 13.00 GMT)

Prediction

@rugby365com: Sharks by 19 points.

Teams:

Sharks: 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Eduan Keyter, 13 Ethan Hooker, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Jordan Hendrikse, 9 Grant Williams, 8 Siya Kolisi, 7 Vincent Tshituka, 6 James Venter, 5 Emile van Heerden, 4 Eben Etzebeth (captain), 3 Trevor Nyakane, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ox Nche.
Replacements: 16 Dylan Richardson, 17 Ntuthuko Mchunu, 18 Hanro Jacobs, 19 Jason Jenkins, 20 Phepsi Buthelezi, 21 Jaden Hendrikse, 22 Siya Masuku, 23 Francois Venter.

Exeter Chiefs: 15 Josh Hodge, 14 Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, 13 Ben Hammersley, 12 Tamati Tua, 11 Tommy Wyatt, 10 Will Haydon-Wood, 9 Stu Townsend, 8 Greg Fisilau, 7 Jacques Vermeulen (captain), 6 Ethan Roots, 5 Franco Molina, 4 Richard Capstick, 3 Marcus Street, 2 Dan Frost, 1 Scott Sio.
Replacements: 16 Jack Innard, 17 Will Goodrick-Clarke, 18 Jimmy Roots, 19 Christ Tshiunza, 20 Ross Vintcent, 21 Will Becconsall, 22 Harvey Skinner, 23 Will Rigg.

Referee: Jeremy Rozier (France)
Assistant referees: Luc Ramos (France), Adrien Marbot (France)
TMO: Thomas Charabas (France)

Northampton Saints v Castres Olympique
(Franklin’s Gardens, Northampton – Kick-off: 15.15 GMT; 16.15 CET)

Prediction

@rugb365com: Northampton by six points.

Teams:

Northampton Saints: 15 James Ramm, 14 Tommy Freeman, 13 Tom Litchfield, 12 Fraser Dingwall (captain), 11 Ollie Sleightholme, 10 Fin Smith, 9 Alex Mitchell, 8 Juarno Augustus, 7 Henry Pollock, 6 Angus Scott-Young, 5 Tom Lockett, 4 Temo Mayanavanua, 3 Elliot Millar-Mills, 2 Curtis Langdon, 1 Emmanuel Iyogun.
Replacements: 16 Craig Wright, 17 Tom West, 18 Luke Green, 19 Chunya Munga, 20 Alex Coles, 21 Jacob Petelo Mapu, 22 Archie McParland, 23 Rory Hutchinson.

Castres: 15 Theo Chabouni, 14 Josaia Raisuqe, 13 Adrien Seguret, 12 Joris Dupont, 11 Nathanael Hulleu, 10 Louis le Brun, 9 Santiago Arata (captain), 8 Feibyan Tukino, 7 Tyler Ardron, 6 Yann Peysson, 5 Leone Nakarawa, 4 Guillaume Ducat, 3 Aurelien Azar, 2 Loris Zarantonello, 1 Lois Guerois-Galisson.
Replacements: 16 Pierre Colonna, 17 Wayan de Benedittis, 18 Nicolas Corato, 19 Mathieu Babillot, 20 Abraham Papalii, 21 Jeremy Fernandez, 22 Vilimoni Botitu, 23 Rémy Baget.

Referee: Sam Grove-White (Scotland)
Assistant referees: Ian Kenny (Scotland), Dave Sutherland (Scotland)
TMO: Andrew McMenemy (Scotland)

Stormers v RC Toulon
(Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Gqeberha – 17.15 SAST; 16.15 CET; 15.15 GMT)

Prediction

@rugby365com: Stormers by five points.

Teams:

Stormers: 15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Suleiman Hartzenberg, 13 Ruhan Nel, 12 Jean-Luc du Plessis, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Paul de Wet, 8 Willie Engelbrecht, 7 Ben-Jason Dixon, 6 Keke Morabe, 5 Ruben van Heerden, 4 JD Schickerling, 3 Neethling Fouche (captain), 2 Joseph Dweba, 1 Ali Vermaak.
Replacements: 16 Andre-Hugo Venter, 17 Leon Lyons, 18 Sazi Sandi, 19 Adre Smith, 20 Marcel Theunissen, 21 Louw Nel, 22 Herschel Jantjies, 23 Seabelo Senatla.

Toulon: 15 Marius Domon, 14 Gaël Drean, 13 Jérémy Sinzelle, 12 Mathieu Smaili, 11 Gabin Villiere, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Baptiste Serin, 8 Facundo Isa, 7 Jules Coulon, 6 Lewis Ludlam, 5 David Ribbans (captain), 4 Matthias Halagahu, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 2 Teddy Baubigny, 1 Dany Priso
Replacements: 16 Mickael Ivaldi, 17 Daniel Brennan, 18 Beka Gigashvili, 19 Brian Alainu’uese, 20 Yannick Youyoutte, 21 Enzo Herve, 22 Antoine Frisch, 23 Jiuta Wainiqolo

Referee: Karl Dickson (England)
Assistant referees: Anthony Woodthorpe (England), John Meredith (England)
TMO: Dean Richards (England)

Munster v Stade Francais Paris
(Thomond Park, Limerick – Kick-off: 17.30 GMT; 18.30 CET)

Prediction

@rugby365com: Munster by two points.

Teams:

Munster: 15 Shane Daly, 14 Calvin Nash, 13 Tom Farrell, 12 Alex Nankivell, 11 Thaakir Abrahams, 10 Jack Crowley, 9 Craig Casey, 8 Gavin Coombes, 7 Alex Kendellen, 6 Peter O’Mahony, 5 Fineen Wycherley, 4 Evan O’Connell, 3 John Ryan, 2 Diarmuid Barron (captain), 1 Dian Bleuler.
Replacements: 16 Niall Scannell, 17 Kieran Ryan, 18 Stephen Archer, 19 Tadhg Beirne, 20 John Hodnett, 21 Paddy Patterson, 22 Billy Burns, 23 Jack O’Donoghue.

Stade Francais: 15 Joe Jonas, 14 Charles Laloi, 13 Joe Marchant, 12 Pierre Boudehent, 11 Samuel Ezeala, 10 Zack Henry, 9 Thibaut Motassi, 8 Yoan Tanga, 7 Ryan Chapuis (captain), 6 Pierre Huguet, 5 Baptiste Pesenti, 4 Pierre-Henri Azagoh, 3 Francisco Gomez Kodela, 2 Lucas Peyresblanques, 1 Clement Castets.
Replacements: 16 Luka Petriashvili, 17 Moses Alo-Emile, 18 Paul Alo-Emile, 19 Setareki Turagacoke, 20 Andy Timo, 21 Juan Martin Scelzo, 22 Louis Foursans-Bourdette, 23 Louis Carbonel.

Referee: Luke Pearce (England)
Assistant referees: Joe James (England), Jamie Leahy (England)
TMO: Andrew Jackson (Eng)

Saracens v Bulls
(Barnet Copthall, London – Kick-off: 17.30 GMT; 19.30 SAST)

Prediction

@rugby365com: Bulls by three points.

Teams:

Saracens: 15 Elliot Daly, 14 Tobias Elliott, 13 Lucio Cinti, 12 Nick Tompkins, 11 Rotimi Segun, 10 Fergus Burke, 9 Ivan van Zyl, 8 Tom Willis, 7 Juan Martin Gonzalez, 6 Theo McFarland, 5 Nick Isiekwe, 4 Maro Itoje (captain), 3 Marco Riccioni, 2 Jamie George, 1 Rhys Carre.
Replacements: 16 Theo Dan, 17 Eroni Mawi, 18 Alec Clarey, 19 Harry Wilson, 20 Ben Earl, 21 Gareth Simpson, 22 Tiff Eden, 23 Tom Parton.

Bulls: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Sebastian De Klerk, 13 Canan Moodie, 12 David Kriel, 11 Devon Williams, 10 Johan Goosen, 9 Embrose Papier, 8 Cameron Hanekom, 7 Cobus Wiese, 6 Marco van Staden, 5 JF van Heerden, 4 Ruan Vermaak, 3 Francois Klopper, 2 Johan Grobbelaar (captain), 1 Gerhard Steenekamp.
Replacements: 16 Akker van der Merwe, 17 Alulutho Tshakweni, 18 Mornay Smith, 19 Jannes Kirsten, 20 Marcell Coetzee, 21 Keagan Johannes, 22 Aphiwe Dyantyi, 23 Harold Vorster.

Referee: Craig Evans (Wales)
Assistant referees: Ben Whitehouse (Wales), Keith David (Wales)
TMO: Aled Griffiths (Wales)

Glasgow Warriors v Sale Sharks
(Scotstoun Stadium, Glasgow – Kick-off: 20.00 GMT)

Prediction

@rugby365com: Glasgow Warriors by seven points.

Teams:

Glasgow: 15 Josh McKay, 14 Seb Cancelliere, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Sione Tuipulotu (captain), 11 Kyle Rowe, 10 Tom Jordan, 9 George Horne, 8 Henco Venter, 7 Rory Darge, 6 Matt Fagerson, 5 Scott Cummings, 4 Olujare Oguntibeju, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 Gregor Hiddleston, 1 Jamie Bhatti.
Replacements: 16 Johnny Matthews, 17 Rory Sutherland, 18 Sam Talakai, 19 Alex Samuel, 20 Ally Miller, 21 Jack Mann, 22 Jamie Dobie, 23 Duncan Weir.

Sale Sharks: 15 Joe Carpenter, 14 Will Addison, 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 Asher Opoku-Fordjour, 2 Tadgh McElroy, 1 Bevan Rodd.
Replacements: 16 Harry Thompson, 17 Si McIntyre, 18 James Harper, 19 Ben Bamber, 20 Jonny Hill, 21 Raffi Quirke, 22 Tom Curtis, 23 Sam Dugdale.

Referee: Andrea Piardi (Italy)
Assistant referees: Filippo Russo (Italy), Clara Munarini (Italy)
TMO: Matteo Liperini (Italy)

Racing 92 v Harlequins
(Stade Dominique Duvauchelle, Créteil – Kick-off: 21.00 CET; 20.00 GMT)

Prediction

@rugby365com: Racing 92 by five points.

Teams:

Racing 92: 15 Max Spring, 14 Vinaya Habosi, 13 Gael Fickou (captain), 12 Josua Tuisova, 11 Wame Naituvi, 10 Antoine Gibert, 9 Nolann le Garrec, 8 Jordan Joseph, 7 Ibrahim Diallo, 6 Cameron Woki, 5 Fabien Sanconnie, 4 Boris Palu, 3 Lee-Marvin Mazibuko, 2 Janick Tarrit, 1 Guram Gogichashvili.
Replacements : 16 Camille Chat, 17 Lino Julien, 18 Gia Kharaishvili, 19 Maxime Baudonne, 20 Noa Zinzen, 21 Clovis le Bail, 22 Dan Lancaster, 23 Tristan Tedder.

Harlequins: 15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 Cadan Murley, 13 Luke Northmore, 12 Lennox Anyanwu, 11 Nick David, 10 Marcus Smith, 9 Will Porter, 8 Alex Dombrandt (captain), 7 Jack Kenningham, 6 Chandler Cunningham-South, 5 Stephan Lewies, 4 Dino Lamb, 3 Simon Kerrod, 2 Jack Walker, 1 Wyn Jones.
Replacements: 16 Sam Riley, 17 Jordan Els, 18 Titi Lamoistele, 19 James Chisholm, 20 Will Evans, 21 Danny Care, 22 Jarrod Evans, 23 Oscar Beard.

Referee: Chris Busby (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Keane Davison (Ireland), Stuart Gaffikin (Ireland)
TMO: Mark Patton (Ireland)

Sunday, December 8:

Union Bordeaux-Begles v Leicester Tigers
(Stade Chaban-Delmas, Bordeaux – Kick-off: 14.00 CET; 13.00 GMT)

Prediction

@rugby365com: Bordeaux by four points.

Teams:

Bordeaux-Begles: 15 Louis Bielle-Biarrey, 14 Damian Penaud, 13 Nicolas Depoortere, 12 Yoram Moefana, 11 Arthur Retiere, 10 Matthieu Jalibert, 9 Maxime Lucu (captain), 8 Pete Samu, 7 Bastien Vergnes, 6 Mahamadou Diaby, 5 Jonny Gray, 4 Guido Petti, 3 Ben Tameifuna, 2 Maxime Lamothe, 1 Jefferson Poirot.
Replacements: 16 Connor Sa, 17 Ugo Boniface, 18 Carlü Sadie, 19 Adam Coleman, 20 Lachie Swinton, 21 Tevita Tatafu, 22 Ben Tapuai, 23 Joey Carbery.

Leicester Tigers: 15 Freddie Steward, 14 Josh Bassett, 13 Izaia Perese, 12 Solomone Kata, 11 Ollie Hassell-Collins, 10 Jamie Shillcock, 9 Jack van Poortvliet (captain), 8 Olly Cracknell, 7 Emeka Ilione, 6 Hanro Liebenberg, 5 Come Joussain, 4 Harry Wells, 3 Joe Heyes, 2 Charlie Clare, 1 James Cronin.
Replacements: 16 Finn Theobald-Thomas, 17 James Whitcombe, 18 Will Hurd, 19 Jed Holloway, 20 Kyle Hatherell, 21 Tom Whiteley, 22 Joe Woodward, 23 Mike Brown.

Referee: Nika Amashukeli (Georgia)
Assistant referees: Saba Abulashvili (Georgia), Shota Tevzadze (Georgia)
TMO: Brian MacNeice (Ireland)

Stade Toulousain v Ulster
(Stade Ernest Wallon, Toulouse – Kick-off: 16.15; 15.15 GMT)

Prediction

@rugby365com: Stade Toulousain by 18 points.

Teams:

Stade Toulousain: 15 Thomas Ramos, 14 Ange Capuozzo, 13 Pierre-Louis Barassi, 12 Santiago Chocobares, 11 Matthis Lebel, 10 Romain Ntamack, 9 Antoine Dupont (captain), 8 Alexandre Roumat, 7 Leo Banos, 6 Jack Willis, 5 Emmanuel Meafou, 4 Thibaud Flament, 3 Dorian Aldegheri, 2 Peato Mauvaka, 1 David Ainu’u.
Replacements: 16 Julien Marchand, 17 Rodrigue Neti, 18 Joel Merkler, 19 Joshua Brennan, 20 Théo Ntamack, 21 Paul Graou, 22 Paul Costes, 23 Juan-Cruz Mallia.

Ulster: 15 Stewart Moore, 14 Werner Kok, 13 Ben Carson, 12 Stuart McCloskey, 11 Mike Lowry, 10 Aidan Morgan, 9 Nathan Doak, 8 James McNabney, 7 Marcus Rea, 6 Matty Rea, 5 Harry Sheridan, 4 Alan O’Connor (captain), 3 Scott Wilson, 2 James McCormick, 1 Andrew Warwick.
Replacements: 16 Rob Herring, 17 Eric O’Sullivan, 18 Tom O’Toole, 19 Iain Henderson, 20 Cormac Izuchukwu, 21 Dave Shanahan, 22 Jude Postlethwaite, 23 Nick Timoney.

Referee: Pierre Brousset (France)
Assistant referees: Vincent Blasco Baque (France), Julien Caulier (France)
TMO: Tual Trainini (France)

Bristol Bears v Leinster
(Ashton Gate, Bristol – Kick-off: 17.30; 17.30 GMT)

Prediction

@rugby365com: Leinster by six points.

Teams:

Bristol Bears: 15 Rich Lane, 14 Jack Bates, 13 Benhard Janse van Rensburg, 12 Kalaveti Ravouvou, 11 Gabriel Ibitoye, 10 AJ MacGinty, 9 Harry Randall, 8 Bill Mata, 7 Fitz Harding (captain), 6 Santiago Grondona, 5 Joe Owen, 4 James Dun, 3 Max Lahiff, 2 Harry Thacker, 1 Ellis Genge.
Replacements: 16 Gabriel Oghre, 17 Jake Woolmore, 18 Lovejoy Chawatama, 19 Steven Luatua, 20 Benjamin Grondona, 21 Kieran Marmion, 22 Joe Jenkins, 23 Benjamin Elizalde.

Leinster: 15 Ciaran Frawley, 14 Jordan Larmour, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Robbie Henshaw, 11 Jimmy O’Brien, 10 Sam Prendergast, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Jack Conan (captain), 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Max Deegan, 5 James Ryan, 4 Joe McCarthy, 3 Rabah Slimani, 2 Ronan Kelleher, 1 Jack Boyle.
Replacements: 16 Gus McCarthy, 17 Andrew Porter, 18 Tom Clarkson, 19 RG Snyman, 20 Caelan Doris, 21 Luke McGrath, 22 Ross Byrne, 23 Jordie Barrett.

Referee: Pierre Brousset (France)
Assistant referees: Vincent Blasco Baque (France), Julien Caulier (France)
TMO: Tual Trainini (France)

Additional sources: @ChampionsCup, AFP & SARU