Euro Cup: Toulon wary of Tiger trap
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Defending two-time champions Toulon face a tricky away game at Leicester in the third round of action in the European Champions Cup this weekend.
Fellow French giants Clermont travel to Irish province Munster, while Racing-Metro make the trip to Wales to play Ospreys.
Toulon warmed up for the Tigers clash in Pool Three by beating Clermont to move back atop the highly competitive Top 14 table.
"This weekend it'll be the same level as Clermont if not more against Leicester at their ground," said Toulon hooker Guilhem Guirado.
"We're preparing for a massive game which will be decisive for Champions Cup qualification.
"They're a team based around a strong forwards game. In the backline they have a lot of power and speed. They remain a very English team, strong on the basics."
Toulon will likely leave out Wales fullback Leigh Halfpenny, with Argentina's Nicolas Sanchez taking over the flyhalf role in the absence through injury of Australian duo Matt Giteau (groin) and James O'Connor (wrist).
Two-time European champions Leicester (2001, 2002) will join the elite trio of fellow former winners Leinster, Munster and Toulouse in hitting the one million home attendance mark in their 61st match at Welford Road on Sunday since making their debut in the 1996/97 season – and not missing one since.
Tigers flanker Jamie Gibson said the weekend's game didn't get any bigger.
"Playing against Clermont and Montpellier last year were a couple of huge games and Toulon are one of the best teams in Europe over the last few years," Gibson said.
"You can't play bigger games at club level. I can't wait."
Ulster host Scarlets in the pool's other game, both teams having been beaten by Toulon in the first two rounds.
Last year's beaten finalists Saracens travel to English Premiership rivals Sale in the tough Pool One topped by Munster ahead of Clermont.
The weekend's entertainment gets underway when stuttering French giants Montpellier, currently mid-table in the Top 14, entertain high-flying English side Bath on Friday.
All eyes will be on whether code convert Sam Burgess makes Bath's match-day squad after making his debut last weekend in the 25-6 Premiership victory over Harlequins.
The other game in Pool Four sees Glasgow travel to four-time former champions Toulouse, who will be without injured playmaker and ex-All Black Luke McAlister.
Glasgow will be on a high after their victory at Montpellier, who parted ways with forwards coach Mario Ledesma after that loss.
Pool Five sees Ospreys welcome Racing-Metro to Swansea and Northampton, who should have Wales wing George North on board, away at Treviso.
Sunday's Pool Two double-header features Wasps at Castres and Leinster travelling to Harlequins.
All of the weekend's match details:
Friday, December 5
Montpellier v Bath
(Stade Yves du Manoir – Kick-off: 20.45; 19.45 GMT)
Teams:
Montpellier: 15 Benjamin Fall, 14 Yohann Artru, 13 Rene Ranger, 12 Wynand Olivier, 11 Lucas Dupont, 10 Enzo Selponi, 9 Benoit Paillaugue, 8 Alex Tulou 7 Kelian Galletier, 6 Antoine Battut, 5 Thibaut Privat (captain), 4 Robins Tchale Watchou, 3 Pat Cilliers, 2 Thomas Bianchin, 1 Yvan Watremez.
Replacements: 16 Charles Geli, 17 Na'ama Leleimalefaga, 18 David Attoub, 19 Tom Donnelly, 20 Fulgence Ouedraogo, 21 Teddy Iribaren, 22 Jonathan Pelissie, 23 Benoit Sicar.
Bath: 15 Anthony Watson, 14 Horacio Agulla, 13 Jonathan Joseph, 12 Kyle Eastmond, 11 Matt Banahan, 10 George Ford, 9 Chris Cook, 8 Leroy Houston, 7 Carl Fearns, 6 David Sisi, 5 Dominic Day, 4 Stuart Hooper (captain), 3 Henry Thomas, 2 Ross Batty, 1 Nick Auterac.
Replacements: 16 Rob Webber, 17 Paul James, 18 David Wilson, 19 Dave Attwood, 20 Alafoti Fa'osiliva, 21 Peter Stringer, 22 Ollie Devoto, 23 Sam Burgess.
Referee: Ian Davies (Wales)
Assistant referees: Sean Brickell (Wales), Chris Williams (Wales)
TMO: Derek Bevan (Wales)
Saturday, December 6
Sale Sharks v Saracens
(AJ Bell Stadium – Kick-off: 13.00; 13.00 GMT)
Teams:
Sale Sharks: 15 Mike Haley, 14 Luke McLean, 13 Mark Jennings, 12 Sam Tuitupou, 11 Mark Cueto, 10 Danny Cipriani, 9 Chris Cusiter, 8 Josh Beaumont, 7 Magnus Lund (captain), 6 Mark Easter, 5 Andrei Ostrikov, 4 Jonathan Mills, 3 Vadim Cobilas, 2 Marc Jones, 1 Eifion Lewis-Roberts.
Replacements: 16 Shalva Mamukashvili, 17 Ross Harrison, 18 James Flynn, 19 Viliami Fihaki, 20 Andrew Highes, 21 Will Cliff, 22 Nick Macleod, 23 Will Addison.
Saracens: 15 Alex Goode, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Duncan Taylor, 12 Owen Farrell, 11 David Strettle, 10 Charlie Hodgson, 9 Richard Wigglesworth, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Jacques Burger, 6 Kelly Brown, 5 Alistair Hargreaves (captain), 4 George Kruis, 3 Petrus du Plessis, 2 Jamie George, 1 Mako Vunipola.
Replacements: 16 Brett Sharman, 17 Richard Barrington, 18 James Johnston, 19 Jim Hamilton, 20 Jackson Wray, 21 Neil de Kock, 22 Marcelo Bosch, 23 Chris Wyles.
Referee: Leighton Hodges (Wales)
Assistant referees: Gwyn Morris (Wales), Martyn Lewis (Wales)
TMO: Paul Adams (Wales)
Treviso v Northampton Saints
(Stadio Comunale di Monigo – Kick-off: 14.00; 13.00 GMT)
Teams:
Treviso: 15 Jayden Hayward, 14 Simone Ragusi, 13 Michele Campagnaro, 12 Sam Christie, 11 Ludovico Nitoglia, 10 Joe Carlisle, 9 Alberto Lucchese, 8 Dean Budd, 7 Alessandro Zanni, 6 Simone Favaro, 5 Antonio Pavanello (captain), 4 Francesco Minto, 3 Salesi Manu, 2 Davide Giazzon, 1 Matteo Muccignat.
Replavements: 16 Amar Kudin, 17 Matteo Zanusso, 18 Romulo Acosta, 19 Marco Fuser, 20 Tomas Vallejos, 21 Marco Barbini, 22 Luca Morisi, 23 Edoardo Gori.
Northampton Saints: 15 Ben Foden, 14 Ken Pisi, 13 Tom Stephenson, 12 Luther Burrell, 11 Jamie Elliott, 10 Stephen Myler, 9 Lee Dickson, 8 Samu Manoa, 7 Phil Dowson (captain), 6 Calum Clark, 5 Christian Day, 4 Sam Dickinson, 3 Salesi Ma'afu, 2 Mike Haywood. 1 Alex Waller.
Replacements: 16 Dylan Hartley, 17 Ethan Waller, 18 Gareth Denman, 19 Courtney Lawes, 20 Tom Wood, 21 Kahn Fotuali'i, 22 George Pisi, 23 James Wilson.
Referee: Peter Fitzgibbon (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Leo Colgan (Ireland), John Carvill (Ireland)
TMO: Jude Quinn (Ireland)
Ospreys v Racing Metro
(Liberty Stadium – Kick-off: 15.15; 15.15 GMT)
Teams:
Ospreys: 15 Dan Evans, 14 Tom Grabham, 13 Ashley Beck, 12 Josh Matavesi, 11 Eli Walker, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Rhys Webb, 8 Tyler Ardron, 7 Justin Tipuric, 6 James King, 5 Alun Wyn Jones (captain), 4 Lloyd Peers, 3 Dmitri Arhip, 2 Scott Baldwin, 1 Marc Thomas.
Replacements: 16 Sam Parry, 17 Gareth Thomas, 18 Daniel Suter, 19 Rynier Bernardo, 20 Sam Lewis, 21 Martin Roberts, 22 Sam Davies, 23 Hanno Dirksen.
Racing Métro: 15 Benjamin Lapeyre, 14 Adrien Planté, 13 Casey Laulala, 12 Alexandre Dumoulin, 11 Marc Andreu; 10 Johannes Goosen, 9 Mike Phillips, 8 Antonie Claassen, 7 Bernard Le Roux, 6 Wenceslas Lauret, 5 Francois van der Merwe, 4 Juandre Kruger, 3 Luc Ducalcon, 2 Dimitri Szarzewski (captain), 1 Eddy Ben Arous.
Replacements: 16 Virgile Lacombe, 17 Julien Brugnaut, 18 Walter Desmaison, 19 Luke Charteris, 20 Camille Gerondeau, 21 Maxime Machenaud, 22 Yoan Audrin, 23 Benjamin Dambielle.
Referee: JP Doyle (England)
Assistant referees: Andrew Small (England), Andrew Pearce (England)
TMO: Sean Davey (England)
Munster v Clermont Auvergne
(Thomond Park – Kick-off: 17.30; 17.30 GMT)
Teams:
Munster: 15 Felix Jones, 14 Gerhard van den Heever, 13 Pat Howard, 12 Denis Hurley, 11 Simon Zebo, 10 Ian Keatley, 9 Conor Murray, 8 CJ Stander, 7 Tommy O'Donnell, 6 Peter O'Mahony (captain), 5 Paul O'Connell, 4 Dave Foley, 3 BJ Botha, 2 Duncan Casey, 1 Dave Kilcoyne.
Replacements: 16 Kevin O'Byrne, 17 James Cronin, 18 Stephen Archer, 19 Billy Holland, 20 Sean Dougall, 21 Duncan Williams, 22 JJ Hanrahan, 23 Johne Murphy.
Clermont: 15 Nick Abendanon, 14 Noa Nakaitaci, 13 Aurélien Rougerie, 12 Wesley Fofana, 11 Napolioni Nalaga, 10 Camille Lopez, 9 Ludovic Radosavljevic, 8 Fritz Lee, 7 Julien Bonnaire, 6 Damien Chouly (captain), 5 Sébastien Vahaamahina, 4 Jamie Cudmore, 3 Clément Ric, 2 Benjamin Kayser, 1 Thomas Domingo.
Replacements: 16 John Ulugia, 17 Vincent Debaty, 18 Davit Zirakashvili, 19 Julien Pierre, 20 Alexandre Lapandry, 21 Thierry Lacrampe, 22 Brock James, 23 Jonathan Davies.
Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)
Assistant referees: Greg Garner (England), Paul Dix (England)
TMO: Rowan Kitt (England)
Ulster v Scarlets
(Kingspan Stadium – Kick-off: 19.45; 19.45 GMT)
Teams:
Ulster: 15 Louis Ludik, 14 Tommy Bowe, 13 Darren Cave, 12 Stuart Olding, 11 Craig Gilroy, 10 Ian Humphreys, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Nick Williams, 7 Roger Wilson, 6 Robbie Diack, 5 Franco van der Merwe, 4 Dan Tuohy, 3 Wiehahn Herbst, 2 Rory Best (captain), 1 Callum Black.
Replacements: 16 Rob Herring, 17 Andy Warwick, 18 Declan Fitzpatrick, 19 Alan O'Connor, 20 Clive Ross, 21 Paul Marshall, 22 Stuart McCloskey, 23 Michael Allen.
Scarlets: 15 Liam Williams, 14 Harry Robinson, 13 Regan King, 12 Scott Williams (captain), 11 Michael Tagicakibau, 10 Rhys Priestland, 9 Aled Davies, 8 Rory Pitman 7 James Davies, 6 Aaron Shingler, 5 Johan Snyman, 4 Jake Ball, 3 Samson Lee, 2 Emyr Phillips, 1 Rob Evans.
Replacements: 16 Kirby Myhill, 17 Phil John, 18 Rhodri Jones, 19 George Earle, 20 Lewis Rawlins, 21Rhodri Williams, 22 Steven Shingler, 23 Gareth Owen.
Referee: Luke Pearce (England)
Assistant referees: Tim Wigglesworth (England), Gareth Copsey England)
TMO: Trevor Fisher
Sunday, December 7
Castres v Wasps
(Stade Pierre Antoine – Kick-off: 14.00; 13.00 GMT)
Teams:
Castres: 15 Julien Dumora, 14 Sitiveni Sivivatu, 13 Thomas Combezou, 12 Remi Lamerat, 11 Remi Grosso, 10 Daniel Kirkpatrick, 9 Rory Kockott, 8 Johnnie Beattie, 7 Yannick Caballero (captain), 6 Ibrahim Diarra, 5 Benjamin Desroche, 4 Piula Faasalele, 3 Yohan Montes, 2 Mathieu Bonello, 1 Saimone Taumoepeau.
Replacements:16 Marc-Antoine Rallier, 17 Florian Houerie, 18 Ramiro Herrera, 19 Victor Moreaux, 20 Mathieu Babillot, 21 Romain Martial, 22 Max Evans, 23 Cedric Garcia.
Wasps: 15 Rob Miller, 14 Sailosi Tagicakibau, 13 Ben Jacobs, 12 Alapati Leiua, 11 Tom Varndell, 10 Andy Goode, 9 Charlie Davies, 8 Nathan Hughes, 7 James Haskell (captain), 6 Ashley Johnson, 5 Kearnan Myall, 4 Bradley Davies, 3 Lorenzo Cittadini, 2 Edd Shervington, 1 Matt Mullan.
Replacements: 16 Tom Lindsay, 17 Simon McIntyre, 18 Jake Cooper-Woolley, 19 James Gaskell, 20 Guy Thompson, 21 Tom Bliss, 22 Alex Lozowski, 23 Andrea Masi.
Referee: George Clancy (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Mark Patton (Ireland), Barrie O'Connell (Ireland)
TMO: Marshall Kilgore (Ireland)
Harlequins v Leinster
(Twickenham Stoop – Kick-off: 15.15; 15.15 GMT)
Teams:
Harlequins: 15 Mike Brown, 14 Marland Yarde, 13 Matt Hopper, 12 George Lowe, 11 Aseli Tikoirotuma, 10 Nick Evans, 9 Danny Care, 8 Nick Easter 7 Chris Robshaw, 6 Luke Wallace, 5 George Robson, 4 Charlie Matthews, 3 Will Collier, 2 Dave Ward, 1 Joe Marler (captain).
Replacements: 16 Joe Gray, 17 Mark Lambert, 18 Kyle Sinckler, 19 Sam Twomey, 20 Jack Clifford, 21 Karl Dickson, 22 Tim Swiel, 23 Tom Casson.
Leinster: 15 Rob Kearney, 14 Darragh Fanning, 13 Gordon D'Arcy, 12 Ian Madigan, 11 Luke Fitzgerald, 10 Jimmy Gopperth, 9 Eoin Reddan, 8 Jamie Heaslip (captain) 7 Jordi Murphy, 6 Rhys Ruddock, 5 Mike McCarthy, 4 Devin Toner, 3 Mike Ross, 2 Sean Cronin, 1 Jack McGrath.
Replacements: 16 Bryan Byrne, 17 Michael Bent, 18 Tadhg Furlong, 19 Kane Douglas, 20 Jack Conan, 21 Isaac Boss, 22 Noel Reid, 23 Zane Kirchner.
Referee: Jérôme Garcès (France)
Assistant referees: Maxime Chalon (France), Patrick Péchambert (France)
TMO: Philippe Bonhoure (France)
Toulouse v Glasgow Warriors
(Stade Ernest Wallon – Kick-off: 16.15; 15.15 GMT)
Teams:
Toulouse: 15 Clément Poitrenaud, 14 Vincent Clerc, 13 Yann David, 12 Gaël Fickou, 11 Maxime Médard, 10 Jean-Marc Doussain, 9 Sébastien Bézy, 8 Louis Picamoles, 7 Imanol Harinordoquy, 6 Yannick Nyanga (captain), 5 Yoann Maestri, 4 Joe Tekori, 3 Census Johnston, 2 Corey Flynn, 1 Vasil Kakovin.
Replacements: 16 Julien Marchand, 17 Kisi Pulu, 18 Neemia Tialata, 19 Thierry Dusautoir, 20 Edwin Maka, 21 Jano Vermaak, 22 Florian Fritz, 23 Yoann Huget.
Glasgow Warriors: 15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Sean Maitland, 13 Alex Dunbar, 12 Peter Horne, 11 Tommy Seymour, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Henry Pyrgos, 8 Josh Strauss (captain), 7 Chris Fusaro, 6 Robert Harley, 5 Jonny Gray, 4 Leone Nakarawa, 3 Jon Welsh, 2 Pat MacArthur, 1 Ryan Grant.
Replacements: 16 Fraser Brown, 17 Gordon Reid, 18 Rossouw de Klerk, 19 Tim Swinson, 20 Ryan Wilson, 21 Niko Matawalu, 22 Duncan Weir, 23 Richie Vernon.
Referee: John Lacey (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Sean Gallagher (Ireland), Brian MacNeice (Ireland)
TMO: Dermot Moloney (Ireland)
Leicester Tigers v Toulon
(Welford Road – Kick-off: 17.30; 17.30 GMT)
Teams:
Leicester: 15 Matthew Tait, 14 Blaine Scully, 13 Matt Smith, 12 Anthony Allen, 11 Vereniki Goneva, 10 Owen Williams, 9 Ben Youngs (captain), 8 Jordan Crane, 7 Julian Salvi, 6 Jamie Gibson, 5 Graham Kitchener, 4 Brad Thorn, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Tom Youngs, 1 Marcos Ayerza.
Replacements: 16 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 17 Michele Rizzo, 18 Fraser Balmain, 19 Geoff Parling, 20 Robert Barbieri, 21 Sam Harrison, 22 Freddie Burns, 23 Miles Benjamin.
Toulon: 15 Delon Armitage, 14 Drew Mitchell, 13 Mathieu Bastareaud, 12 Maxime Mermoz, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Nicolas Sanchez, 9 Sebastien Tillous-Borde, 8 Chris Masoe (captain), 7 Steffon Armitage, 6 Mamuka Gorgodze, 5 Ali Williams, 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 Martin Castrogiovanni, 2 Guilhem Guirado, 1 Xavier Chiocci.
Replacements: 16 Jean-Charles Orioli, 17 Florian Fresia, 18 Carl Hayman, 19 Juan Smith, 20 Rudi Wulf, 21 Jocelino Suta, 22 Eric Escande, 23 Romain Taofifenua.
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant referees: Wayne Davies (Wales), Jon Mason (Wales)
TMO: Gareth Simmonds (Wales)
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