Preview: Champions Cup, Round Six
The mega-rich French giants, whose controversial owner Mourad Boudjellal said he wants his team to play in the English top flight, travel to Bath on Saturday in their final Pool Five game on top of the table with a one-point lead over Wasps.
But they are living on their nerves in a tournament they have dominated for the last three years, needing a match-winning try from Australia wing Drew Mitchell after the final buzzer to beat Wasps 15-11 last week.
With only the five group winners guaranteed places in the quarterfinals, Toulon can't afford to slip up at Bath despite the English team playing only for pride with no chance of making the knockout rounds.
A defeat for them and a win for Wasps, who host rock-bottom Leinster, would leave the French side needing to secure a last-eight spot as one of the three best runners-up.
"It's going to be a very difficult game in Bath. All we want to do is keep on improving and start to find a way to win games away from home," said Toulon's Australian flyhalf Quade Cooper.
Wasps would have wrapped up Pool Five had they won in France last week, but now they must try and avoid slipping to a second successive home defeat in the tournament having lost 25-23 to Bath in their last Ricoh Arena outing.
"A few of the boys needed picking up after the game at Toulon because they were so disappointed. I was heartbroken for them," admitted Wasps Director of Rugby Dai Young.
Wasps crushed Leinster 33-6 in Dublin in their clubs' first meeting, but the Irish side are desperate to avoid finishing last in their pool for the first time in 21 years of European competition.
Top spot in Pool Two is also still up for grabs with Welsh side Ospreys leading last year's runners-up Clermont by two points.
Ospreys go to Exeter buoyed by a stunning 21-13 win over Clermont last week, overturning a seven-point half-time deficit in the process.
"We probably haven't got as many glittering individuals as other European teams have got, but what we have got is a massive team ethic and a massive spirit," said coach Steve Tandy.
Ospreys will be sweating on the fitness of Welsh international flyhalf Dan Biggar who limped out of last week's match with a thigh injury.
The Welsh side will travel to Exeter boosted by veteran lock Alun-Wyn Jones pledging his future to the Ospreys by re-signing his national dual contract this week.
Clermont face fellow Top 14 side Bordeaux without flank Viktor Kolelishvili who has been banned for 14 weeks for pushing the referee during the loss at the Ospreys.
The remaining three pools have already been wrapped up with Saracens clinching Pool One, Racing 92 claiming Pool Three while Leicester are guaranteed top spot in Pool Four.
Saracens and Leicester are the only teams with perfect records of five wins in five games.
With two further pool winners and the three best runners-up also booking their spots in the quarte-finals, 11 clubs go into Round Six with hopes of joining the top three in prolonging their European campaigns towards next May's Final in Lyon.
Last season, Bath's 19 points was the lowest total of the pool winners, while Racing emerged as No.1 seeds with 24 points. For a further indication of what might be required at the end of this weekend, the three best runners-up in 2014/15 were: Northampton Saints (19 points), Wasps (18) and Saracens (17).
If two clubs in the same pool are equal on match points at the end of the pool stage, then the two head-to-head games between the clubs will come into play to determine the rankings.
Ulster, second in Pool One with 13 points and the 1999 champions, have only a slim chance of taking a best runners-up spot and they host Oyonnax on Saturday having recovered from a 0-23 half-time deficit to beat the French side 24-23 in their first meeting.
Northampton, second in Pool Three on 14 points, go to Wales to meet the Scarlets who have the second worst record of the 20 teams in the tournament.
Scarlets suffered a club record European defeat when Racing 92 thrashed them 64-14 last time out while Northampton stayed alive with a 19-15 victory over Glasgow.
Stade Francais also have 14 points in second spot in Pool Four, a massive nine behind the Tigers who they host in Paris. French champions Stade lost 26-13 at Munster last week.
Round Six matches!
Saturday, January 23
Ulster v Oyonnax
(Kingspan Stadium – Kick-off: 13.00; 13.00 GMT)
Teams:
Ulster: 15 Jared Payne, 14 Andrew Trimble, 13 Darren Cave, 12 Luke Marshall, 11 Craig Gilroy, 10 Paddy Jackson, 9 Paul Marshall, 8 Nick Williams, 7 Sean Reidy, 6 Robbie Diack, 5 Franco van der Merwe, 4 Alan O'Connor, 3 Ricky Lutton, 2 Rob Herring, 1 Kyle McCall.
Replacements: 16 Rory Best, 17 Callum Black, 18 Bronson Ross, 19 Clive Ross, 20 Roger Wilson, 21 David Shanahan, 22 Ian Humphreys, 23 Rory Scholes.
Oyonnax: 15 Florian Denos, 14 Daniel Ikpefan, 13 Guillaume Bousses, 12 Alaska Taufa, 11 Dug Codjo, 10 Rory Clegg, 9 Julien Blanc, 8 Pedrie Wannenburg, 7 Pierrick Gunther, 6 Valentin Ursache, 5 Geoffrey Fabbri, 4 Leon Power, 3 Giorgi Vepkhvadze, 2 Thomas Bordes, 1 Soane Tonga'uiha.
Replacements: 16 Jeremie Maurouard, 17 Laurent Delboulbès, 18 Horace Pungea , 19 Fabrice Metz, 20 Maurie Fa'asavalu, 21 Fabien Cibray, 22 Regis Lespinas, 23 Eamonn Sherid.
Referee: Marius Mitrea (Italy)
Assistant referees: Matteo Liperini (Italy), Simone Boaretto (Italy)
TMO: Stefano Pennè (Italy)
Toulouse v Saracens
(Stade Ernest Wallon – Kick-off: 14.00; 13.00 GMT)
Teams:
Toulouse:15 Clément Poitrenaud, 14 Vincent Clerc, 13 Toby Flood, 12 Florian Fritz, 11 Paul Perez, 10 Luke McAlister, 9 Jean-Marc Doussain, 8 Gillian Galan, 7 Imanol Harinordoquy, 6 Yacouba Camara, 5 Patricio Albacete, 4 Romain Millo-Chluski, 3 Nemiah Tialata, 2 Corey Flynn, 1 Gurthro Steenkamp.
Replacements: 16 Christopher Tolofua, 17 Cyril Baille, 18 Gert Muller, 19 Joe Tekori, 20 Gregory Lamboley, 21 David Mele, 22 Gael Fickou, 23 Maxime Médard.
Saracens: 15 Alex Goode, 14 Duncan Taylor, 13 Marcelo Bosch, 12 Brad Barritt, 11 Chris Wyles, 10 Charlie Hodgson, 9 Neil de Kock, 8 Jackson Wray, 7 Jacques Burger, 6 Michael Rhodes, 5 George Kruis, 4 Jim Hamilton, 3 Juan Figallo, 2 Schalk Brits, 1 Richard Barrington.
Replacements: 16 Jamie George, 17 Mako Vunipola, 18 Petrus du Plessis, 19 Hayden Smith, 20 Billy Vunipola, 21 Ben Spencer, 22 Owen Farrell, 23 Ben Ransom.
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant referees: Rhys Thomas (Wales),Gwyn Morris (Wales)
TMO: Derek Bevan (Wales)
Bath v Toulon
(Recreation Ground – Kick-off: 15.15; 15 15 GMT)
Teams:
Bath: 15 Anthony Watson, 14 Semesa Rokoduguni, 13 Jonathan Joseph, 12 Kyle Eastmond, 11 Horacio Agulla, 10 George Ford (captain), 9 Chris Cook, 8 Leroy Houston, 7 Guy Mercer, 6 David Denton, 5 Dominic Day, 4 Charlie Ewels, 3 Henry Thomas, 2 Ross Batty, 1 Nick Auterac.
Replacements: 16 Tom Dunn, 17 Nathan Catt, 18 David Wilson, 19 Tom Ellis, 20 Matt Garvey, 21 Alafoti Faosiliva, 22 Rhys Priestland, 23 Ollie Devoto.
Toulon: 15 James O'Connor, 14 Josua Tuisova, 13 Maxime Mermoz, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Quade Cooper, 9 Sébastien Tillous-Borde, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Steffon Armitage, 6 Juan Smith, 5 Samu Manoa, 4 Jocelino Suta, 3 Levan Chilachava, 2 Guilhem Guirado, 1 Florian Fresia.
Replacements: 16 Jean-Charles Orioli, 17 Xavier Chiocci, 18 Manasa Saulo, 19 Mamuka Gorgodze, 20 Romain Taofifenua, 21 Mathieu Bastareaud, 22 Eric Escande, 23 Thibault Lassale.
Referee: John Lacey (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Dudley Phillips (Ireland), Kieran Barry (Ireland)
TMO: Simon McDowell (Ireland)
Wasps v Leinster
(Ricoh Arena – Kick-off: 15.15; 15.15 GMT)
Teams:
Wasps: 15 Charles Piutau, 14 Josh Bassett, 13 Elliot Daly, 12 Brendan Macken, 11 Frank Halai, 10 Jimmy Gopperth, 9 Joe Simpson 8 Sam Jones, 7 George Smith, 6 James Haskell (captain), 5 Bradley Davies, 4 Joe Launchbury, 3 Lorenzo Cittadini, 2 Edd Shervington, 1 Matt Mullan.
Replacements: 16 Ashley Johnson, 17 Tom Bristow, 18 Jake Cooper-Woolley, 19 James Gaskell, 20 Nathan Hughes, 21 Dan Robson, 22 Ruaridh Jackson, 23 Rob Miller.
Leinster: 15 Rob Kearney, 14 Zane Kirchner, 13 Luke Fitzgerald, 12 Noel Reid, 11 Dave Kearney, 10 Johnny Sexton (captain), 9 Eoin Reddan, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 Jordi Murphy, 6 Dominic Ryan, 5 Rhys Ruddock, 4 Devin Toner, 3 Martin Moore, 2 Sean Cronin, 1 Jack McGrath.
Replacements: 16 Richardt Strauss, 17 Peter Dooley, 18 Michael Bent, 19 Ross Molony, 20 Josh Van Der Flier, 21 Isaac Boss, 22 Cathal Marsh, 23 Ben Te'o.
Referee: Mathieu Raynal (France)
Assistant referees: Sébastien Minery (France), Thomas Déjean (France)
TMO: Eric Gauzins (France)
Glasgow Warriors v Racing 92
(Rugby Park – Kick-off: 17.30; 17.30 GMT)
Teams:
Glasgow Warriors: 15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Taqele Naiyaravoro, 13 Alex Dunbar, 12 Sam Johnson, 11 Tommy Seymour, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Ali Price, 8 Leone Nakarawa, 7 Simone Favaro, 6 James Eddie, 5 Jonny Gray (captain), 4 Greg Peterson, 3 Sila Puafisi, 2 Salva Mamukashvili, 1 Alex Allan.
Replacements: 16 James Malcolm, 17 Jerry Yanuyanutawa, 18 Zander Fagerson, 19 Scott Cummings, 20 Chris Fusaro, 21 Grayson Hart, 22 Duncan Weir, Lee Jones.
Racing 92: 15 Brice Dulin, 14 Louis Dupichot, 13 Henry Chavancy, 12 Alexandre Dumoulin, 11 Marc Andreu, 10 Remi Tales, 9 Maxime Machenaud, 8 Chris Masoe, 7 Bernard Le Roux, 6 Wenceslas Lauret, 5 Francois van der Merwe, 4 Luke Charteris, 3 Luc Ducalcon, 2 Camille Chat, 1 Julien Brugnaut.
Replacements: 16 Virgile Lacombe, 17 Davit Khinchagishvili, 18 Cedate Gomes Sa, 19 Thibault Dubarry, 20 Juandre Kruger, 21 Xavier Chauveau, 22 Etienne Dussartre, 23 Benjamin Dambielle.
Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)
Assistant referees: Luke Pearce (England), Peter Allan (England)
TMO: Trevor Fisher (England)
Scarlets v Northampton Saints
(Parc y Scarlets – Kick-off: 17.30; 17.30 GMT)
Teams:
Scarlets: 15 Michael Collins, 14 Tom Williams, 13 Regan King, 12 Steven Shingler, 11 DTH van der Merwe, 10 Aled Thomas, 9 Gareth Davies, 8 Morgan Allen, 7 Will Boyde, 6 Aaron Shingler, 5 Maselino Paulino, 4 Tom Price, 3 Samson Lee, 2 Ken Owens (captain),1 Phil John.
Replacements: 16 Kirby Myhill, 17 Dylan Evans, 18 Rhodri Jones, 19 Lewis Rawlins, 20 Tom Phillips, 21 Aled Davies, 22 Josh Lewis, 23 Steff Hughes.
Northampton Saints: 15 Ben Foden, 14 Jamie Elliot, 13 George Pisi, 12 Harry Mallinder, 11 George North, 10 Stephen Myler, 9 Tom Kessell, 8 Sam Dickinson, 7 Tom Wood, 6 Jamie Gibson, 5 Christian Day, 4 Courtney Laws, 3 Paul Hill, 2 Dylan Hartley (captain), 1 Alex Waller.
Replacements: 16 Mikey Haywood, 17 Ethan Waller, 18 Gareth Denman, 19 Michael Paterson, 20 Jon Fisher, 21 Lee Dickson, 22 JJ Hanrahan, 23 Luther Burrell.
Referee: Pascal Gauzère (France)
Assistant referees: Maxime Chalon (France), Jean-Luc Rebollal (France)
TMO: Jean-Marie Piraveau (France)
Bennetton Treviso v Munster
(Stadio Comunale di Monigo – Kick-off: 14.00; 13.00 GMT)
Teams:
Treviso: 15 Jayden Hayward, 14 Andrea Pratichetti, 13 Enrico Bacchin, 12 Alberto Sgarbi, 11 Simone Ragusi, 10 James Ambrosini, 9 Alberto Lucchese, 8 Abraham Steyn, 7 Alessandro Zanni, 6 Marco Lazzaroni, 5 Jean-François Montauriol, 4 Marco Fuser, 3 Simone Ferrari, 2 Ornel Gega, 1 Matteo Zanusso.
Replacements: 16 Davide Giazzon, 17 Andrea De Marchi, 18 Salesi Manu, 19 Tom Palmer, 20 Marco Barbini, 21 Tommaso Iannone, 22 Samuel Christie, 23 Luke McLean.
Munster: 15 Simon Zebo, 14 Keith Earls, 13 Francis Saili, 12 Rory Scannell, 11 Ronan O'Mahony, 10 Ian Keatley, 9 Conor Murray, 8 CJ Stander, 7 Tommy O’Donnell, 6 Billy Holland, 5 Donnacha Ryan, 4 Dave Foley, 3 John Ryan, 2 Mike Sherry, 1 Dave Kilcoyne
Replacements: 16 Niall Scannell, 17 James Cronin, 18 Mario Sagario, 19 Robin Copeland, 20 Mark Chisholm, 21 Jack O'Donoghue, 22 Tomas O'Leary, 23 Gerhard van den Heever.
Referee: Alexandre Ruiz (France)
Assistant referees: Cédric Marchat (France), Tual Trainini (France)
TMO: Philippe Bonhoure (France)
Stade Francais v Leicester Tigers
(Stade Jean Bouin – Kick-off: 14.00; 13.00 GMT)
Teams:
Stade Français: 15 Hugo Bonneval, 14 Jérémy Sinzelle, 13 Waisea Vuidarvuwalu, 12 Jonathan Danty, 11 Djibril Camara, 10 Jules Plisson, 9 Julien Dupuy, 8 Sergio Parisse (captain) 7 Raphael Lakafia, 6 Jonathan Ross, 5 Paul Gabrillagues, 4 Hugh Pyle, 3 Rabah Slimani, 2 Laurent Sempéré, 1 Zak Taulafo.
Replacements: 16 Laurent Panis, 17 Emmanuel Felsina, 18 Paul Alo Emile, 19 Pascal Papé, 20 Antoine Burban, 21 Julien Tomas, 22 Morné Steyn, 23 Geoffrey Doumayrou.
Leicester Tigers: 15 Matthew Tait, 14 Adam Thompstone, 13 Manu Tuilagi, 12 Matt Smith, 11 Telusa Veainu, 10 Freddie Burns, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Lachlan McCaffrey, 7 Tom Croft, 6 Michael Fitzgerald, 5 Graham Kitchener, 4 Dom Barrow, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Tom Youngs, 1 Marcos Ayerza.
Replacements: 16 Harry Thacker, 17 Logovii Mulipola, 18 Fraser Balmain, 19 Sebastian De Chaves, 20 Laurence Pearce, 21 Sam Harrison, 22 Thomas Bell, 23 Peter Betham.
Referee: George Clancy (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Peter Fitzgibbon (Ireland), Mark Patton (Ireland)
TMO: Marshall Kilgore (Ireland)
Exeter Chiefs v Ospreys
(Sandy Park – Kick-off: 15.15; 15.15 GMT)
Teams:
Exeter Chiefs: 15 Phil Dollman, 14 Olly Woodburn, 13 Michele Campagnaro, 12 Ian Whitten, 11 James Short, 10 Gareth Steenson, 9 Dave Lewis, 8 Tom Waldrom, 7 Don Armand, 6 Kai Horstmann, 5 Geoff Parling, 4 Jonny Hill, 3 Alex Brown, 2 Jack Yeandle, 1 Alec Hepburn.
Replacements: 16 Elvis Taione, 17 Ben Moon, 18 Harry Williams, 19 Ollie Atkins, 20 Tom Johnson, 21 Haydn Thomas, 22 Will Hooley, 23 Max Bodilly.
Ospreys: 15 Daniel Evans, 14 Hanno Dirksen, 13 Jonathan Spratt, 12 Josh Matavesi, 11 Eli Walker, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Brendon Leonard, 8 James King, 7 Justin Tipuric, 6 Sam Underhill, 5 Alun-Wyn Jones (captain), 4 Lloyd Ashley, 3 Dmitri Arhip, 2 Scott Baldwin, 1 Paul James.
Replacements: 16 Sam Parry, 17 Nicky Smith, 18 Aaron Jarvis, 19 Rory Thornton, 20 Dan Baker, 21 Thomas Habberfield, 22 Sam Davies , 23 Owen Watkin.
Referee: Jérôme Garcès (France)
Assistant referees: Salem Attalah (France), Pierre Brousset (France)
TMO: Hervé Dubes (France)
ASM Clermont Auvergne v Bordeaux-Begles
(Stade Marcel-Michelin – Kick-off: 16.15; 15.15 GMT)
Teams:
Clermont: 15 Scott Spedding, 14 Hosea Gear, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Wesley Fofana, 11 Noa Nakaitaci, 10 Camille Lopez, 9 Morgan Parra, 8 Fritz Lee, 7 Alexandre Japandry, 6 Damien Chouly, 5 Sébastien Vahaamahina, 4 Paul Jedrasiak, 3 Daniel Kotze, 2 John Ulugia, 1 Thomas Domingo.
Replacements: 16 Benjamin Kayser, 17 Raphael Chaume, 18 Mickael Simutoga, 19 Loic Jacquet, 20 Julien Bardy, 21 Ludovic Radosavljevic, 22 Pato Fernandez, 23 Aurélien Rougerie.
Bordeaux-Begles: 15 Darly Domvo, 14 Metuisela Talebula, 13 Jean-Baptiste Dubié, 12 Romain Lonca, 11 Sofiane Guitoune, 10 Lionel Beauxis, 9 Baptiste Serin, 8 Matthew Clarkin, 7 Peter Saili, 6 Luke Braid, 5 Adam Jaulhac, 4 Berend Botha, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Clement Maynadier, 1 Sébastien Taofifenua.
Replacements: 16 Ole Avei, 17 Steven Kitshoff, 18 Jean-Baptiste Poux, 19 Cyril Cazeaux, 20 Marco Tauleigne, 21 Heini Adams, 22 Pierre Bernard, 23 Paulin Riva.
Referee: JP Doyle (England)
Assistant referees: Matthew Carley (England), Paul Dix (England)
TMO: Graham Hughes (England)
Agence France-Presse
