Preview: Champions Cup, Round Five
HEAVYWEIGHT CLASHES: The two most successful clubs in European history go head-to-head, with Pool One supremacy and eventual qualification for the knockout stage on the line.
Leinster entertain fellow four-time tournament winners Toulouse at the RDS on Saturday.
A win against the holders would not only give the Top 14 club a clean sweep of away wins in the pool, but by denying Leinster two losing bonus points, Toulouse would also book a place in the quarterfinals for the 17th time.
The contenders on the Road to Newcastle will be defined over the concluding two rounds and next May’s Finals weekend at St James’ Park has proved incredibly popular with fans across the world.
Other Round 5 highlights this weekend include:
* A mere four points cover the four clubs in Pool Two, meaning Gloucester could cause a massive shift in the balance of power if they manage to defeat Munster at a sold-out Kingsholm on Friday. Premiership front-runners Exeter Chiefs and French champions Castres Olympique are both waiting to pounce on any slip-up from Munster when they clash at Sandy Park on Sunday.
* Both Scottish clubs hold their destiny in their own hands heading into the last two weekends. Glasgow Warriors welcome the Cardiff Blues to Scotstoun looking to strengthen their position in Pool Three, where they are currently four points behind Saracens, whilst in-form Edinburgh is perched at the top of Pool Five as they head to RC Toulon on Saturday.
* Mako Vunipola is set to make his 50th tournament appearance if selected for Saracens’ visit to Lyon while Jonathan Davies will reach the same milestone if included in the Scarlets matchday squad against Leicester Tigers.
* Unbeaten Racing 92 will secure a place in the knockout stage for the fourth time in five seasons if they win away against Ulster on Saturday. The Pool Four pacesetters will have their work cut out though as the Irish province are celebrating the 20th anniversary of their 1999 European Cup triumph which came on the back of victories against French opposition in the guise of Toulouse, Stade Français Paris and then in the Final against Colomiers who included current Racing 92 Joint Head Coach Laurent Labit in their line-up.
We look at all the Round Five matches!
Friday, January 11
Gloucester v Munster
(Kingsholm Stadium, Gloucester – Kick-off: 19.45; 19.45 GMT)
Munster can take a huge step towards the knockout stages if they are able to defeat Gloucester in this Pool Two encounter.
Munster have won each of their last five meetings with Gloucester, those victories all coming by more than 12 points.
The Irish province’s last six away games have all been decided by single-figure margins, with their record evenly split in that period, winning twice, drawing twice and losing twice.
Gloucester has won six of their eight European Cup games when hosting Irish opposition, however, their two defeats in that run both came against Munster.
Munster have stolen 10 line-outs this season, more than any other side after four rounds of action.
Munster’s Peter O’Mahony has stolen five line-outs this season, more than any other player and one more than former Munster and current Gloucester forward Gerbrandt Grobler.
The teams:
Gloucester: 15 Tom Hudson, 14 Charlie Sharples, 13 Billy Twelvetrees, 12 Mark Atkinson, 11 Ollie Thorley, 10 Danny Cipriani, 9 Callum Braley, 8 Ben Morgan (captain), 7 Lewis Ludlow, 6 Franco Mostert, 5 Gerbrandt Grobler, 4 Ed Slater, 3 Fraser Balmain, 2 Henry Walker, 1 Josh Hohneck.
Replacements: 16 Franco Marais, 17 Alex Seville, 18 Ciaran Knight, 19 Freddie Clarke, 20 Gareth Evans, 21 Ben Vellacott, 22 Owen Williams, 23 Henry Trinder.
Munster: 15 Mike Haley, 14 Andrew Conway, 13 Chris Farrell, 12 Rory Scannell, 11 Keith Earls, 10 Joey Carbery, 9 Conor Murray, 8 Christiaan Stander, 7 Tommy O’Donnell, 6 Peter O’Mahony (captain), 5 Tadhg Beirne, 4 Jean Kleyn, 3 Stephen Archer, 2 Niall Scannell, 1 Dave Kilcoyne.
Replacements: 16 Rhys Marshall, 17 Jeremy Loughman, 18 John Ryan, 19 Billy Holland, 20 Arno Botha, 21 Alby Mathewson, 22 Tyler Bleyendaal, 23 Dan Goggin.
Referee: Romain Poite (France)
Assistant referees: Cyril Lafon (France), Stephane Boyer (France)
TMO: Denis Grenouillet (France)
Saturday, January 12
Montpellier v Newcastle Falcons
(GGL Stadium, Montpellier – Kick-off: 14.00; 13.00 UK time; 13.00 GMT)
Montpellier and Newcastle Falcons will be looking to cut the gap on Pool Five leaders Edinburgh.
Montpellier and Newcastle have met three times in Europe with Montpellier winning both their Challenge Cup clashes in 2010/11, however, the Falcons were victorious in their only Champions Cup clash, winning 23-20 in Round Two.
Montpellier have won both of their home games this season and will be aiming to win all three for the second time in the last three seasons.
Newcastle has lost three of their four away games against TOP 14 opposition in the Champions Cup.
Montpellier have made 760 tackles this season, almost 100 more than any other side.
Newcastle’s Joel Hodgson has slotted all 10 of his kicks at goal this season, no other player has attempted as many without missing at least once.
Teams
Montpellier: 15 Frans Steyn, 14 Timoci Nagusa, 13 Arthur Vincent, 12 Yvan Reilhac, 11 Henry Immelman, 10 Johan Goosen, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Louis Picamoles (captain), 7 Kevin Kornath, 6 Kelian Galletier, 5 Konstantine Mikautadze, 4 Nico Janse van Rensburg, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Vincent Giudicelli, 1 Grégory Fichten.
Replacements:16 Romain Ruffenach, 17 Usha Tcheisvhili, 18 Levan Chilachava, 19 Fulgence Ouedraogo, 20 Benoit Paillaugue, 21 Jan Serfontein, 22 Vincent Martin, 23 Paul Willemse.
Newcastle Falcons: 15 Simon Hammersley, 14 Vereniki Goneva, 13 Chris Harris, 12 Josh Matavesi, 11 Tom Arscott, 10 Toby Flood (c), 9 Sonatane Takulua, 8 Ryan Burrows, 7 John Hardie, 6 Gary Graham, 5 Glen Young, 4 Will Witty, 3 Trevor Davison, 2 Kyle Cooper, 1 Adam Brocklebank,
Replacements:16 Santiago Socino, 17 Sami Mavinga, 18 Jack Payne, 19 Calum Green, 20 Callum Chick, 21 Michael Young, 22 Brett Connon, 23 Zach Kibirige.
Referee: Marius Mitrea (Italy)
Assistant referees: Andrea Piardi (Italy), Vincenzo Schipani (Italy)
TMO: Stefano Penne (Italy)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqUp5yJurnQ
Leinster v Toulouse
(RDS Arena, Dublin – Kick-off: 13.00; 14.00 French time; 13.00 GMT)
Toulouse can secure a spot in this season’s knockout stages with a victory over the defending champions, Leinster – in what should be a Pool One classic.
The winner has alternated in the last nine meetings between Leinster and Toulouse, with the TOP 14 side winning five of those encounters to Leinster’s four.
Toulouse is one of just three clubs to have won all four games so far this season, along with Saracens and Racing 92.
Toulouse is on a run of four consecutive victories, and the last time they enjoyed a longer winning run was between December 2009 and January 2011, during which they lifted the European Cup for the fourth time in 2010.
Leinster have won 22 of their last 24 games when hosting Top 14 clubs, picking up losing bonus points in both of their defeats in that sequence.
Toulouse has lost each of their last four games away to Irish opposition, with three of those defeats coming by margins of more than 20 points.
Leinster have conceded just 47 turnovers this season, fewer than any other side, while Toulouse has won the most (34).
Toulouse’s Thomas Ramos (51) is the top point scorer after four rounds while teammate Sofiane Guitoune is one of the top try scorers this season (four, level with Jacob Stockdale, Juan Imhoff and Sean Maitland).
Teams
Leinster: 15 Jordan Larmour, 14 Adam Byrne, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Rory O’Loughlin, 11 Dave Kearney, 10 Ross Byrne, 9 Luke McGrath, 8 Jack Conan, 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Rhys Ruddock (captain), 5 James Ryan, 4 Scott Fardy, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Sean Cronin, 1 Cian Healy.
Replacements: 16 James Tracy, 17 Ed Byrne, 18 Andrew Porter, 19 Ross Molony, 20 Max Deegan, 21 Jamison Gibson-Park, 22 Noel Reid, 23 Conor O’Brien.
Toulouse: 15 Maxime Médard, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Sofiane Guitoune, 12 Romain Ntamack, 11 Yoann Huget, 10 Thomas Ramos, 9 Antoine Dupont, 8 Jerome Kaino, 7 Rynhardt Elstadt, 6 Francois Cros, 5 Joe Tekori, 4 Richie Arnold, 3 Charlie Faumuina, 2 Julien Marchand (captain), 1 Clément Castets.
Replacements: 16 Peato Mauvaka, 17 Cyril Baille, 18 Dorian Aldegheri, 19 Piula Faasalele, 20 Louis-Benoit Madaule, 21 Alban Placines, 22 Sébastien Bézy, 23 Zack Holmes.
Referee: Luke Pearce (England)
Assistant referees: Tom Foley (England), Jonathan Healy (England)
TMO: Graham Hughes (England)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mmSbieYnDY
Bath v Wasps
(Recreation Ground, Bath – Kick-off: 15.15; 15.15 GMT)
Both Bath and Wasps can end a four-match winless streak at The Rec. ‘
Bath and Wasps have met three times in the tournament with their record evenly split, winning one game apiece and one draw.
Wasps have the best goal-kicking success rate this season, while Bath has the third worst.
Wasps have missed more tackles than any other side this season, however, Bath has the lowest tackle success rate at 84%.
Bath’s Francois Louw and Wasps’ Thomas Young have each won nine turnovers this season. No player has won more.
Teams
Bath: 15 Darren Atkins, 14 Tom Homer, 13 Max Clark, 12 Max Wright, 11 Aled Brew, 10 Rhys Priestland, 9 Max Green, 8 Zach Mercer, 7 Josh Bayliss, 6 Taulupe Faletau, 5 Luke Charteris (captain), 4 Elliott Stooke, 3 Max Lahiff, 2 Jack Walker, 1 Jacques van Rooyen.
Replacements: 16 Michael van Vuuren, 17 Lucas Noguera, 18 Sam Nixon, 19 Dave Attwood, 20 Francois Louw, 21 Chris Cook, 22 Alex Davies, 23 Jackson Willison.
Wasps: 15 Rob Miller, 14 Ross Neal, 13 Michele Campagnaro, 12 Juan de Jongh, 11 Josh Bassett, 10 Lima Sopoaga, 9 Dan Robson, 8 Nathan Hughes, 7 Thomas Young, 6 Brad Shields, 5 Will Rowlands, 4 Joe Launchbury (captain), 3 Will Stuart, 2 Tom Cruse, 1 Zurabi Zhvania.
Replacements: 16 Antonio Harris, 17 Ben Harris, 18 Jake Cooper-Woolley, 19 Charlie Matthews, 20 Nizaam Carr, 21 Craig Hampson, 22 Billy Searle, 23 Gaby Lovobalavu.
Referee: Ben Whitehouse (Wales)
Assistant referees: Craig Evans (Wales), Wayne Davies (Wales)
TMO: Ian Davies (Wales)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdZBlCX7W40
Ulster v Racing 92
(Kingspan Stadium, Belfast – Kick-off: 15.15; 16.15 French time; 15.15 GMT)
Racing 92, 2018 finalists, can take a huge step towards the last eight with a victory over Ulster.
This will be the second meeting between Ulster and Racing 92, with the Top 14 side winning 44-12 in the Round Two clash at Paris La Défense Arena.
Racing is one of just three clubs to have won all four games this season, along with Toulouse and Saracens.
Ulster and Racing were the only two sides to claim maximum points in this season’s back-to-back matches, both claiming bonus point victories home and away against Scarlets and Leicester Tigers respectively.
Despite kicking from hand more often than any other side, Racing has made the most metres per game (566) and averaged the most clean breaks (13.8). Ulster has made the fourth most metres this season (474).
No player has made more try assists this season than Ulster’s Billy Burns (4, level with Scarlets’ Gareth Davies and Joe Simpson of Wasps) who has provided two pass assists and two kick assists in his four games.
Racing prop, Guram Gogichashvili, has made 33 tackles without missing this season, only Newcastle Falcons’ Mark Wilson (36/36) and Montpellier’s Wian Liebenberg (34) have made more without missing one.
Ulster’s Jacob Stockdale and Racing 92’s Juan Imhoff have each scored four tries this season, no other player has scored more (level with Sean Maitland of Saracens and Toulouse’s Sofiane Guitoune). Stockdale is the only player to cross the try line in every match this season.
Teams
Ulster: 15 Louis Ludik, 14 Robert Baloucoune, 13 Will Addison, 12 Stuart McCloskey, 11 Jacob Stockdale, 10 Billy Burns, 9 John Cooney, 8 Marcell Coetzee, 7 Jordi Murphy, 6 Sean Reidy, 5 Kieran Treadwell, 4 Alan O’Connor, 3 Marty Moore, 2 Rory Best (captain), 1 Eric O’Sullivan.
Replacements: 16 Rob Herring, 17 Andy Warwick, 18 Ross Kane, 19 Ian Nagle, 20 Nick Timoney, 21 Dave Shanahan, 22 Michael Lowry, 23 Darren Cave,
Racing 92: 15 Brice Dulin, 14 Simon Zebo, 13 Virimi Vakatawa, 12 Henry Chavancy, 11 Juan Imhoff, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Maxime Machenaud, 8 Antonie Claassen, 7 Baptiste Chouzenoux, 6 Wenceslas Lauret, 5 Leone Nakarawa, 4 Bernard Le Roux, 3 Ben Tameifuna, 2 Dimitri Szarzewski (captain), 1 Guram Gogichashvili.
Replacements: 16 Teddy Baubigny, 17 Vasil Kakovin, 18 Georges Henri Colombe, 19 Boris Palu, 20 Fabien Sanconnie, 21 Teddy Iribaren, 22 Olivier Klemenczak, 23 Ben Volavola.
Referee: Matthew Carley (England)
Assistant referees: Andrew Jackson (England), Wayne Falla (England)
TMO: Geoff Warren (England)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pigDikd_DM8
Scarlets v Leicester Tigers
(Parc y Scarlets, Llanelli – Kick-off: 17.30; 17.30 GMT)
Leicester Tigers will be hoping to end a run of nine Champions Cup matches without success, when they travel to Llanelli.
Leicester have won eight of the 10 previous meetings between the sides.
Scarlets have lost both of their home games this season, but each of those defeats was by just one point against both Racing 92 and Ulster.
Leicester have been shown four yellow cards this season, the joint most of any team alongside Munster.
Leicester’s Jordan Olowofela averages 15.9 metres per carry in the competition. Only Daniel Ikpefan of RC Toulon averages more.
Teams
Scarlets: 15 Johnny McNicholl, 14 Paul Asquith, 13 Kieron Fonotia, 12 Hadleigh Parkes, 11 Steff Evans, 10 Dan Jones, 9 Gareth Davies, 8 Ken Owens (captain), 7 Dan Davies, 6 Ed Kennedy, 5 David Bulbring, 4 Josh Helps, 3 Samson Lee, 2 Ryan Elias, 1 Rob Evans.
Replacements:16 Marc Jones, 17 Wyn Jones, 18 Simon Gardiner, 19 Tom Price, 20 Josh Macleod, 21 Kieran Hardy, 22 Steff Hughes, 23 Ioan Nicholas.
Leicester Tigers: 15 George Worth, 14 Jonah Holmes, 13 Gareth Owen, 12 Kyle Eastmond, 11 Jordan Olowofela, 10 Matt Toomua (captain), 9 Ben White, 8 Valentino Mapapalangi, 7 Will Evans, 6 Mike Williams, 5 Graham Kitchener, 4 Harry Wells, 3 Joe Heyes, 2 Jake Kerr, 1 Greg Bateman.
Replacements:16 Ross McMillan, 17 Facundo Gigena, 18 David Feao, 19 Mike Fitzgerald, 20 Brendon O’Connor, 21 Ben Youngs, 22 Joe Ford, 23 Sam Aspland-Robinson.
Referee: Mathieu Raynal (France)
Assistant referees: Thomas Charabas (France), Maxime Chalon (France)
TMO: Philippe Bonhoure (France)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SO8u29tEVs
RC Toulon v Edinburgh
(Stade Felix-Mayol, Toulon – Kick-off: 18.30; 17.30 UK time; 17.30 GMT)
Edinburgh will become the first Scottish team to win at Stade Felix-Mayol if they are able to defeat RC Toulon.
This will be the second meeting between RC Toulon and Edinburgh, with the Scottish club registering an emphatic 40-14 victory in Round Two this season.
Toulon has won 24 of their 26 home games in the tournament, although one of their two defeats came in Round One this season against Newcastle Falcons.
Edinburgh has won away in France just twice in 19 attempts, beating Castres Olympique in 2008/09 and Racing 92 in 2011/12.
Edinburgh has won their last three games in a row, their best run since winning four in a row on their way to the semifinals in 2011/12.
Toulon has lost three of their four games this season, and they have never lost four pool stage fixtures in the same campaign.
Edinburgh has conceded just seven second-half points, fewer than any other side, while Toulon has conceded 64 in the same period.
Toulon’s Daniel Ikpefan has gained 103 metres from just six carries this season, his average gain of 17.2 metres per carry is the best of any player.
Edinburgh’s Bill Mata has made the most carries (79) of any player and the most metres of any forward (258) this season.
Teams
Toulon: 15 Mathieu Smaili, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Mathieu Bastareaud (captain), 12 Francois Trinh-Duc, 11 Julian Savea, 10 Anthony Belleau, 9 Rhys Webb, 8 Raphael Lakafia, 7 Facundo Isa, 6 Stephane Onambele Mbarga, 5 Romain Taofifenua, 4 Juandré Kruger, 3 Emerick Setiano, 2 Guilhem Guirado, 1 Jean Baptiste Gros.
Replacements:16 Anthony Etrillard, 17 Xavier Chiocci, 18 Marcel van der Merwe, 19 Jean Monribot, 20 Louis Carbonel, 21 Antoine Zeghdar, 22 Yoann Cottin, 23 Mamuka Gorgodze.
Edinburgh: 15 Blair Kinghorn, 14 Darcy Graham, 13 James Johnstone, 12 Chris Dean, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Jaco van der Walt, 9 Henry Pyrgos, 8 Viliame Mata 7 Hamish Watson, 6 Jamie Ritchie, 5 Grant Gilchrist, 4 Ben Toolis, 3 WP Nel, 2 Stuart McInally (captain), 1 Pierre Schoeman.
Replacements:16 David Cherry, 17 Allan Dell, 18 Simon Berghan, 19 Fraser McKenzie, 20 Luke Crosbie, 21 Nathan Fowles, 22 Simon Hickey, 23 Juan Pablo Socino.
Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)
Assistant referees: Anthony Woodthorpe (England), Simon McConnell (England)
TMO: Rowan Kitt (England)
Sunday, January 13
Exeter Chiefs v Castres Olympique
(Sandy Park Stadium, Exeter – Kick-off: 13.00; 14.00 French time. 13.00 GMT)
Exeter Chiefs and Castres Olympique will be hoping to kick-start their knockout stage prospects with a victory at Sandy Park.
This will be just the second meeting between the two sides after Castres’ victory in Round Two.
Exeter are winless in their two home games this season and have never gone three home outings without a victory.
Castres have lost their last 15 away games in the Champions Cup.
Exeter have spent the most time in possession of any side this season, averaging 22 minutes and 20 seconds per game, while Castres have had the least possession.
Exeter’s Santiago Cordero has beaten 31 defenders this season, more than any other player after four rounds.
Teams
Exeter Chiefs: 15 Jack Nowell, 14 Santiago Cordero, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Ollie Devoto, 11 Tom O’Flaherty, 10 Joe Simmonds, 9 Nic White, 8 Matt Kvesic, 7 Don Armand, 6 Sam Skinner, 5 Jonny Hill, 4 Dave Dennis, 3 Tomas Francis, 2 Jack Yeandle (captain), 1 Alec Hepburn.
Replacements: 16 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 17 Ben Moon, 18 Harry Williams, 19 Mitch Lees, 20 Sean Lonsdale, 21 Jack Maunder, 22 Gareth Steenson, 23 Ian Whitten.
Castres: 15 Geoffrey Palis, 14 David Smith, 13 Thomas Combezou, 12 Robert Ebersohn (captain), 11 Taylor Paris, 10 Benjamin Urdapilleta, 9 Ludovic Radosavljevic, 8 Maama Vaipulu, 7 Baptiste Delaporte, 6 Camille Gerondeau, 5 Loic Jacquet, 4 Thibault Lassalle, 3 Daniel Kotze, 2 Jody Jenneker, 1 Antoine Tichit.
Replacements: 16 Kevin Firmin, 17 Tudor Stroe, 18 Marc Clerc, 19 Steve Mafi, 20 Alex Tulou, 21 Anthony Jelonch, 22 Florian Vialelle, 23 Rory Kockott.
Referee: George Clancy (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Sean Gallagher (Ireland), Mark Patton (Ireland)
TMO: Olly Hodges (Ireland)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihGiAIChPqI
Lyon v Saracens
(Matmut Stadium de Gerland, Lyon – Kick-off: 16.15; 15.15 UK time; 15.15 GMT)
Two-time Champions Cup winners Saracens will take a giant step towards the last eight if they can defeat Lyon.
Saracens and Lyon have met just once before in Europe, with the Gallagher Premiership side winning 29-10 in Round Two.
Saracens are one of three clubs to have won every game so far this season alongside Racing 92 and Toulouse.
The English side have the best lineout success rate this season, losing just one of 54 lineouts on their own throw.
Sean Maitland has made nine clean breaks this season, more than any other player, while he’s one of four players to have crossed for a tournament-high four tries.
Teams
Lyon: 15 Toby Arnold, 14 Noa Nakaitaci, 13 Pierre-Louis Barassi, 12 Thibaut Regard, 11 Alexis Palisson, 10 Jonathan Wisniewski, 9 Jean-Marc Doussain, 8 Deon Fourie, 7 Dylan Cretin, 6 Julien Puricelli (captain), 5 Francois van der Merwe, 4 Hendrik Roodt, 3 Francisco Gomez Kodela, 2 Virgile Lacombe, 1 Alexandre Menini.
Replacements: 16 Jeremie Maurouard, 17 Albertus Buckle, 18 Kévin Yaméogo, 19 Etienne Oosthuizen, 20 Liam Gill, 21 Rudi Wulf, 22 Jean-Marcellin Buttin, 23 Charl McLeod.
Saracens: 15 Alex Goode, 14 Sean Maitland, 13 Nick Tompkins, 12 Alex Lozowski, 11 Liam Williams, 10 Owen Farrell (captain), 9 Richard Wigglesworth, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Schalk Burger, 6 Jackson Wray, 5 George Kruis, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Jamie George, 1 Mako Vunipola.
Replacements: 16 Christopher Tolofua, 17 Richard Barrington, 18 Christian Judge, 19 Will Skelton, 20 Ben Earl, 21 Ben Spencer, 22 Marcelo Bosch, 23 David Strettle.
Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Joy Neville (Ireland), Nigel Correll (Ireland)
TMO: Simon McDowell (Ireland)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNBwjAaeLvY
Glasgow Warriors v Cardiff Blues
(Scotstoun Stadium, Glasgow – Kick-off: 15.15; 15.15 GMT)
Glasgow Warriors will be aiming to keep the pressure on Pool Three leaders Saracens with a win over Cardiff Blues.
Glasgow Warriors and Cardiff Blues have met five times in the tournament, with the Blues claiming three victories to Glasgow’s two, although the Warriors won the Round 2 clash this season.
Glasgow have won their last three games, and they’ve never previously won four in a row in Europe’s top flight.
Cardiff have won one of their last two away games this season and will aiming to win two-in-a-row for the first time since 2012.
Cardiff have made just 19 offloads this season, only Castres have made fewer.
Glasgow’s Jonny Gray has made the most tackles of any player this season, completing 80 and missing just two.
Teams
Glasgow Warriors: 15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Tommy Seymour, 13 Nick Grigg, 12 Sam Johnson, 11 DTH van der Merwe, 10 Brandon Thomson, 9 Ali Price, 8 Matt Fagerson, 7 Callum Gibbins (co-captain), 6 Ryan Wilson (co-captain), 5 Scott Cummings, 4 Rob Harley, 3 D’Arcy Rae, 2 Grant Stewart, 1 Oli Kebble.
Replacements: 16 Kevin Bryce, 17 Alex Allan, 18 Petrus du Plessis, 19 Tim Swinson, 20 Chris Fusaro, 21 George Horne, 22 Adam Hastings, 23 Lee Jones.
Cardiff Blues: 15 Dan Fish, 14 Owen Lane, 13 Harri Millard, 12 Willis Halaholo, 11 Tom James, 10 Steve Shingler, 9 Lloyd Williams, 8 Seb Davies, 7 Josh Navidi, 6 Shane Lewis-Hughes, 5 Rory Thornton, 4 George Earle, 3 Dillon Lewis, 2 Matthew Rees (captain), 1 Brad Thyer.
Replacements: 16 Ethan Lewis, 17 Rhys Carre, 18 Scott Andrews, 19 Macauley Cook, 20 Nick Williams, 21 Tomos Williams, 22 Jarrod Evans, 23 Aled Summerhill.
Referee: JP Doyle (England)
Assistant referees: John Meredith (England), Phil Watters (England)
TMO: David Grashoff (England)
Source: @ChampionsCup
