Champions Cup, Round One - Teams and Predictions
FRIDAY PREVIEW: Europe’s premier club competition gets underway this week, with the crème de la crème set to take the field in Round One of the Champions Cup.
The action begins on Friday with the Stormers travelling to face Aviron Bayonnais, while Sale Sharks host Glasgow Warriors.
There are also matches on Saturday and Sunday. (Preview part 2 pending)
The Capetonians head into their clash brimming with confidence. They sit top of the United Rugby Championship table after a perfect six-from-six start – a run that includes last weekend’s superb win over Munster in Limerick, ending the Irish side’s unbeaten streak after Round Five.
But despite their strong form, the Stormers know the Champions Cup is a different beast altogether – a new competition, new conditions, and a very different set of challenges.
With only a short turnaround after playing on Saturday, the Cape Town franchise has limited time to prepare.
However, director of rugby John Dobson will not use that as an excuse.
Instead, it’s an extra motivator to deliver a W.
“The guys had some fun. Some of them had some fun last Saturday night and enjoyed the win.
“We then had a full day’s travel, pretty much from [7 the morning to 7 the evening] to get from Limerick to here [Bayonne],” Dobson explained to reporters on Thursday.
“By the time we got here, it was Sunday evening. We had a chat with the players on Sunday evening, discussing the win. That’s history. We got four or five days to get ready for Bayonne in a completely different competition.
“We even put up the log, which is play 0 won 0
“We had to move forward very quickly into a new competition.
“I think the team responded really well. Traditional training-wise, we only had Monday and Tuesday.
“We couldn’t even review Munster, which meant we weren’t stuck in there or stuck in self-congratulatory mode. We were installing our Bayonne plans on Monday already.
“I said, before, we put a lot of emotional energy into Munster and Limerick, and then a French team away like Bayonne, who have only lost one game at home in three years. Maybe it’s a spin and win. It’s nice to have. The team changed that narrative verbally in the week to say, No, no, we’re going for this properly now.”
The Stormers will be boosted by the return of their Springboks in the form of Ben-Jason Dixon and Ntuthuko Mchunu.
The former Sharks prop Mchunu is set to make his debut when he gets a start alongside Neethling Fouché and JJ Kotzé.
#TeamAnnouncement: A massive one for Stormers as they open their Champions Cup campaign in France #rugby #news #sports https://t.co/6E535h4qCt
— Rugby365 (@rugby365com) December 4, 2025
In the other fixture, Glasgow Warriors coach Franco Smith admits that Sale Sharks will be a very physical side.
“We are proud to be running out once more in the Champions Cup, and tackling the different challenges this competition presents.
“Sale will provide a highly physical test, backed by a proud home support at a stadium at which they have a strong record across all competitions.
“I would also like to congratulate Stafford [McDowall] on reaching 100 appearances for us – being a Warrior means a great deal to him, and he is someone who gives his all for this and for his teammates every time he pulls on the jersey.”
Friday, December 5
Aviron Bayonnais v Stormers
(Stade Jean Dauger, Bayonne – Kick-off: 21.00; 20.00 GMT; 22.00 SA Time)
Prediction:
Rugby365: Stormers by five points
Teams:
Aviron Bayonnais: 15 Yohan Orabe, 14 Tom Spring, 13 Cheikh Tiberghien, 12 Federico Mori, 11 Victor Hannoun, 10 Joris Segonds, 9 Herschel Jantjies, 8 Nika Lomidze, 7 Arthur Iturria, 6 Alexandre Fischer, 5 Lucas Paulos, 4 Alvaro Garcia Iandolino, 3 Marco Fepulea’i, 2 Vincent Giudicelli, 1 Ignacio Calles
Replacements: 16 Lucas Martin, 17 Swan Cormenier, 18 Pascal Cotet, 19 Manex Ariceta, 20 Facundo Bosch, 21 Raphael Marchesin, 22 Baptiste Tilloles, 23 Arnaud Erbinartegaray
Stormers: 15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Dylan Maart, 13 Wandisile Simelane, 12 Dan du Plessis, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Clinton Swart, 9 Imad Khan, 8 Ruan Ackermann, 7 Ben-Jason Dixon, 6 Paul de Villiers, 5 Connor Evans, 4 Salmaan Moerat (captain), 3 Neethling Fouché, 2 JJ Kotzé, 1 Ntuthuko Mchunu.
Replacements: 16 Lukhanyo Vokozela, 17 Ali Vermaak, 18 Sazi Sandi, 19 Adré Smith, 20 JD Schickerling, 21 Evan Roos, 22 Dewaldt Duvenage, 23 Jonathan Roche.
Referee: Nika Amashukeli (Georgia)
Assistant referees: Saba Abulashvili (Georgia) & Saba Makharadze (Georgia)
TMO: Ben Whitehouse (Wales)
Sale Sharks v Glasgow Warriors
(CorpAcq Stadium, Manchester – Kick-off: 20.00; 20.00 GMT)
Prediction:
Rugby365: Sale Sharks by seven points
Teams:
Sale Sharks: 15 Arron Reed, 14 Tom O’Flaherty, 13 Rekeiti Ma’asi-White, 12 Marius Louw, 11 Alex Wills, 10 Rob du Preez, 9 Raffi Quirke, 8 Tom Curry, 7 Ernst van Rhyn (captain), 6 Jacques Vermeulen, 5 Ben Bamber, 4 Tom Burrow, 3 WillGriff John, 2 Nathan Jibulu, 1 Si McIntyre
Replacements: 16 Ethan Caine, 17 Tumy Onasanya, 18 James Harper, 19 Hyron Andrews, 20 Ben Curry, 21 Gus Warr, 22 Ollie Davies, 23 Gurshwin Wehr
Glasgow Warriors: 15 Josh McKay, 14 Kyle Steyn, 13 Stafford McDowall, 12 Sione Tuipulotu, 11 Ollie Smith, 10 Adam Hastings, 9 George Horne, 8 Jack Dempsey, 7 Rory Darge, 6 Matt Fagerson, 5 Scott Cummings, 4 Max Williamson, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 Gregor Hiddleston, 1 Nathan McBeth.
Replacements: 16 Seb Stephen, 17 Rory Sutherland, 18 Sam Talakai, 19 Alex Samuel, 20 Gregor Brown, 21 Ally Miller, 22 Jamie Dobie, 23 Dan Lancaster.
Referees: Pierre Brousset (France)
Assistant referees: Vincent Blasco Baque (France) & Julien Caulier (France)
TMO: Tual Trainini (France)
