Preview: European Cup, Round One
An exciting new chapter in the rich history of European professional club rugby will be written when the first shots are fired in the inaugural European Rugby Champions Cup tournament.
Built on 19 years of outstanding matches and unforgettable moments, the tournament has been streamlined by the European Professional Club Rugby. The new format now means the competing clubs qualify on merit from their domestic leagues – the Premiership, Top 14 and PRO12 – or through a play-off series.
With 20 clubs in five pools, the Champions Cup is set to become even more rarefied as reigning champions, Toulon, target an unprecedented third consecutive European title.
Only the five pool winners and the three best pool runners-up will qualify for the knock-out stage.
Toulon begin the defence of their crown at home to Scarlets this weekend, while last year's beaten finalists Saracens entertain French heavyweights Clermont in a revamped competition.
It means each weekend throws up must-win matches in some very tough pools, but Toulon captain Carl Hayman was confident his star-studded side could go the distance for a third successive season, with the final slated for Twickenham on May 2.
"It's within our capabilities to have a hat-trick of European wins. We have enough in the squad to make the play-offs, but must top our pool to get a game at the Mayol, Nice or Marseille.
"People say 'It's the same size field', but percentages show that home advantage makes a win more likely," the former All Black prop said.
Hayman said their first European victory in 2013 was a turning point for a team often derided for bringing in aging international imports rather than relying on home-grown French talent.
"Toulon has changed a lot. It's more professional and a lot of that comes from Bernard Laporte. It's almost been a fairytale ride for this club since 2007," Hayman said.
There has also been change at Clermont, who have seen coach Vern Cotter take over Scotland.
The club will be seeking to avenge last season's European Cup semifinal mauling at the hands of Saracens when the two sides clash in their opening game.
The French side were trounced 46-6 at Twickenham in the semifinals last term before the English side went on to lose the final against Toulon.
"They are a huge outfit, and they have a lot of good players. I think it's fair to say they're one of the most respected teams in Europe.
"Statistically, Clermont have the best scrum in the Top 14. Like all French sides they have a great maul, and they have some really physical players," said Saracens' lock, Jim Hamilton.
English Premiership champions Northampton are away at Racing Metro in Pool 5 while Ospreys will meet the sole Italian representatives, Treviso, in the other group game.
Celtic League champions Leinster will entertain Wasps in Pool 2, with struggling Top 14 club Castres travelling to Harlequins.
Four-time winners Toulouse entertain Montpellier and Glasgow host Bath in Pool 4.
All the teams and match details for Round One:
Friday, October 17
Harlequins v Castres
Harlequins: 15 Mike Brown, 14 Marland Yarde, 13 Matt Hopper, 12 George Lowe, 11 Asaeli 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 Rob Buchanan, 17 Mark Lambert, 18 Kyle Sinckler, 19 Sam Twomey, 20 Joe Trayfoot, 21 Karl Dickson, 22 Jordan Turner-Hall, 23 Ollie Lindsay-Hague.
Castres: 15 Geoffrey Palis, 14 Max Evans, 13 Christopher Tuatara-Morrison, 12 Thomas Combezou, 11 Rémy Grosso, 10 Rémi Talès (captain), 9 Rory Kockott, 8 Jannie Bornman, 7 William Whetton, 6 Ibrahim Diarra, 5 Piula Faasalele, 4 Richie Gray, 3 Yohan Montes, 2 Brice Mach, 1 Saimone Taumoepeau.
Replacements: 16 Marc-Antoine Rallier, 17 Mihaita Lazar, 18 Paea Faanunu, 19 Mathieu Babillot, 20 Christophe Samson, 21 Julien Dumora, 22 Romain Cabannes, 23 Cédric Garcia.
Date: Friday, October 17
Venue: The Stoop
Kickoff: 19:45 local (18:45 GMT)
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant Referees: Sean Brickell (Wales), Wayne Davies (Wales)
TMO: Derek Bevan (Wales)
Saturday, October 18
Sale Sharks v Munster
Sale Sharks: 15 Michael Haley, 14 Tom Brady, 13 Johnny Leota, 12 Sam Tuitupou, 11 Tom Arscott, 10 Danny Cipriani, 9 Chris Cusiter, 8 Mark Easter 7 David Seymour (captain), 6 Magnus Lund, 5 Michael Paterson, 4 Jon Mills, 3 Vadim Cobilas, 2 Marc Jones, 1 Eifion Lewis-Roberts.
Replacements: 16 Shalva Mamukashvili, 17 Ross Harrison, 18 Alberto de Marchi, 19 Andrei Ostrikov, 20 Josh Beaumont, 21 Will Cliff, 22 Joe Ford, 23 Mark Jennings.
Munster: 15 Felix Jones, 14 Andrew Conway, 13 Andrew Smith, 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 Stephen Archer, 2 Duncan Casey, 1 Dave Kilcoyne.
Replacements: 16 Eusebio Guinazu, 17 James Cronin, 18 BJ Botha, 19 Billy Holland, 20 Robin Copeland, 21 Duncan Williams, 22 JJ Hanrahan, 23 Gerhard van den Heever.
Date: Saturday, October 18
Venue: AJ Bell Stadium
Kickoff: 14.00 local (13.00 GMT)
Referee: Mathieu Raynal (France)
Assistant referees: Laurent Cardona (France), Thomas Déjean (France)
TMO: Bruno Bessot (France)
Glasgow Warriors v Bath
Glasgow Warriors: 15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Sean Maitland, 13 Mark Bennett, 12 Peter Horne, 11 Tommy Seymour, 10 Duncan Weir, 9 Henry Pyrgos (captain), 8 Adam Ashe, 7 Chris Fusaro, 6 Rob Harley, 5 Jonny Gray, 4 Leone Nakarawa, 3 Euan Murray, 2 Pat MacArthur, 1 Gordon Reid.
Replacements: 16 Dougie Hall, 17 Jerry Yanuyanutawa, 18 Rossouw de Klerk, 19 Tim Swinson, 20 Tyrone Holmes, 21 Niko Matawalu, 22 Finn Russell, 23 DTH van der Merwe.
Bath: 15 Gavin Henson, 14 Semesa Rokoduguni, 13 Jonathan Joseph, 12 Kyle Eastmond, 11 Anthony Watson; 10 George Ford, 9 Micky Young, 8 David Sisi, 7 Guy Mercer, 6 Dominic Day, 5 David Attwood, 4 Stuart Hooper (captain), 3 Henry Thomas, 2 Ross Batty, 1 Nick Auterac.
Replacements: 16 Rob Webber, 17 Paul James, 18 David Wilson, 19 Charlie Ewels, 20 Tom Ellis, 21 Peter Stringer, 22 Ollie Devoto, 23 Horacio Agulla.
Date: Saturday, October 18
Venue: Scotstoun
Kickoff: 14.15 local (13.15 GMT)
Referee: Jérôme Garcès (France)
Assistant referees: Patrick Pechambert (France), Thomas Charabas (France)
TMO: Jean-Marie Piraveau (France)
Saracens v Clermont Auvergne
Saracens: 15 Alex Goode, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Chris Wyles, 12 Brad Barritt, 11 David Strettle, 10 Charlie Hodgson, 9 Richard Wigglesworth, 8 Billy Vunipola 7 Will Fraser, 6 Kelly Brown, 5 Alistair Hargreaves (captain), 4 George Kruis, 3 Petrus du Plessis, 2 Jamie George, 1 Richard Barrington.
Replacements: 16 Schalk Brits, 17 Rhys Gill, 18 James Johnston, 19 Jim Hamilton, 20 Jackson Wray, 21 Neil de Kock, 22 Owen Farrell, 23 Marcelo Bosch.
Clermont: 15 Nick Abendanon, 14 Noa Nakaitaci, 13 Aurélien Rougerie, 12 Wesley Fofana, 11 Zac Guildford, 10 Camille Lopez, 9 Ludovic Radosavljevic, 8 Damien Chouly (captain), 7 Julien Bonnaire, 6 Fritz Lee, 5 Sebastien Vahaamahina, 4 Jamie Cudmore, 3 Davit Zirakashvili, 2 Benjamin Kayser, Thomas Domingo.
Replacements: 16 John Ulugia, 17 Raphael Chaume, 18 Clement Ric, 19 Loïc Jacquet, 20 Julien Bardy, 21 Thierry Lacrampe, 22 Brock James, 23 Benson Stanley.
Date: Saturday, October 18
Venue: Allianz Park
Kickoff: 16.15 local (15.15 GMT)
Referee: John Lacey (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Leo Colgan (Ireland), Eddie Hogan-O'Connell (Ireland)
TMO: Marshall Kilgore (Ireland)
Racing Metro v Northampton Saints
Racing Métro: 15 Brice Dulin, 14 Juan Imhoff, 13 Alexandre Dumoulin, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 Marc Andreu, 10 Johnny Sexton, 9 Maxime Machenaud, 8 Antoine Claassen, 7 Bernard le Roux, 6 Wenceslas Lauret, 5 Francois van der Merwe (captain), 4 Juandré Kruger, 3 Luc Ducalcon, 2 Virgile Lacombe, 1 Julien Brugnaut.
Replacements: 16 Jeremie Maurouard, 17 Eddy Ben Arous, 18 Brian Mujati, 19 Luke Charteris, 20 Camille Gerondeau, 21 Mike Phillips, 22 Johan Goosen, 23 Yoan Audrin.
Northampton: 15 Ben Foden, 14 Ken Pisi, 13 George Pisi, 12 Luther Burrell, 11 George North, 10 Stephen Myler, 9 Kahn Fotuali'i, 8 Samu Manoa, 7 Tom Wood, 6 Calum Clark, 5 Christian Day, 4 Courtney Lawes, 3 Salesi Ma'afu, 2 Dylan Hartley (captain), 1 Alex Waller.
Replacements: 16 Mikey Haywood, 17 Ethan Waller, 18 Gareth Denman, 19 James Craig, 20 Phil Dowson, 21 Lee Dickson, 22 James Wilson, 23 Jamie Elliott.
Date: Saturday, October 18
Venue: Stade Yves-du-Manoir
Kickoff: 18.15 local (17.15 GMT)
Referee: George Clancy (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Gary Conway (Ireland), Mark Patton (Ireland)
TMO: Kevin Beggs (Ireland)
Leicester Tigers v Ulster
Leicester Tigers: 15 Mathew Tait, 14 Blaine Scully, 13 Manusamoa Tuilagi, 12 Owen Williams, 11 Vereniki Goneva, 10 Freddie Burns, 9 Ben Youngs (captain), 8 Jordan Crane, 7 Julian Salvi, 6 Jamie Gibson, 5 Graham Kitchener, 4 Brad Thorn, 3 Fraser Balmain, 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 1 Marcos Ayerza.
Replacements: 16 Harry Thacker, 17 Michele Rizzo, 18 Tiziano Pasquali, 19 Sebastian de Chaves, 20 Robert Barbieri, 21 David Mélé, 22 Sam Harrison, 23 Miles Benjamin.
Ulster: 15 Louis Ludik, 14 Tommy Bowe, 13 Jared Payne, 12 Stuart McCloskey, 11 Craig Gilroy, 10 Paddy Jackson, 9 Paul Marshall, 8 Nick Williams, 7 Chris Henry, 6 Robbie Diack, 5 Franco van der Merwe, 4 Lewis Stevenson, 3 Wiehahn Herbst, 2 Rory Best (captain), 1 Andy Warwick.
Replacements: 16 Rob Herring, 17 Callum Black, 18 Declan Fitzpatrick, 19 Clive Ross, 20 Roger Wilson, 21 Michael Heaney, 22 Stuart Olding, 23 Darren Cave.
Date: Saturday, October 18
Venue: Welford Road
Kickoff: 20.45 local (19.45 GMT)
Referee: Romain Poite (France)
Assistant referees: Christophe Berdos (France), Stéphane Boyer (France)
TMO: Bernard Dal Maso (France)
Sunday, October 19
Ospreys v Treviso
Ospreys: 15 Daniel Evans, 14 Jeff Hassler, 13 Andrew Bishop, 12 Josh Matavesi, 11 Eli Walker, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Rhys Webb, 8 Dan Baker, 7 Sam Lewis, 6 James King, 5 Alun-Wyn Jones (captain), 4 Lloyd Peers, 3 Dmitri Arhip, 2 Scott Baldwin, 1 Nicky Smith.
Replacements: 16 Scott Otten, 17 Duncan Jones, 18 Aaron Jarvis, 19 Rynier Bernardo, 20 Joe Bearman, 21 Justin Tipuric, 22 Martin Roberts, 23 Sam Davies.
Benetton Treviso: 15 Jayden Hayward, 14 Angelo Esposito, 13 Luca Morisi, 12 Enrico Bacchin, 11 Ludovico Nitoglia, 10 Joe Carlisle, 9 Alberto Lucchese, 8 Francesco Minto 7 Alessandro Zanni, 6 Simone Favaro, 5 Tomas Vallejos, 4 Antonio Pavanello (captain), 3 Rupert Harden, 2 Albert Alfred Anae, 1 Matteo Zanusso.
Replacements: 16 Davide Giazzon, 17 Romulo Acosta, 18 Salesi Manu, 19 Marco Fuser, 20 Meyer Swanepoel, 21 Marco Barbini, 22 Michele Campagnaro, 23 Edoardo Gori.
Date: Sunday, October 19
Venue: Liberty Stadium
Kickoff: 14.00 local (13.00 GMT)
Referee: Pascal Gauzère (France)
Assistant referees: Alexandre Ruiz (France), Jean-Luc Rebollal (France)
TMO: Daniel Irazoqui (France)
Toulouse v Montpellier
Toulouse: 15 Maxime Médard, 14 Timoci Matanavou, 13 Florian Fritz, 12 Gaël Fickou, 11 Yoann Huget, 10 Luke McAlister, 9 Jean-Marc Doussain, 8 Imanol Harinordoquy, 7 Thierry Dusautoir (captain), 6 Yacouba Camara, 5 Yoann Maestri, 4 Joe Tekori, 3 Neemia Tialata, 2 Corey Flynn, 1 Gürthro Steenkamp.
Replacements: 16 Julien Marchand, 17 Kisi Pulu, 18 Census Johnston, 19 Patricio Albacete, 20 Edwin Maka, 21 Sébastien Bézy, 22 Toby Flood, 23 Vincent Clerc.
Montpellier: 15 Benjamin Fall, 14 Timoci Nagusa, 13 Rene Ranger, 12 Wynand Olivier, 11 Samisoni Viriviri, 10 Enzo Selponi, 9 Teddy Iribaren, 8 Ben Mowen, 7 Akapusi Qera, 6 Alexandre Bias, 5 Thibaut Privat (captain), 4 Sitaleki Timani, 3 Nicolas Mas, 2 Mickaël Ivaldi, 1 Mikheil Nariashvili.
Replacements: 16 Charles Géli, 17 Yvan Watremez, 18 Chris King, 19 Robins Tchale-Watchou, 20 Kélian Galletier, 21 Benoit Paillaugue, 22 Anthony Tuitavake, 23 Benoit Sicart.
Date: Sunday, October 19
Venue: Stade Ernest Wallon
Kickoff: 14.00 local (13.00 GMT)
Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)
Assistant referees: Greg Garner, Nigel Carrick
TMO: Rowan Kitt (England)
Toulon v Scarlets
Toulon: 15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 David Smith, 13 Mathieu Bastareaud, 12 Maxime Mermoz, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Matt Giteau, 9 Sebastien Tillous-Borde, 8 Steffon Armitage 7 Juán Martín Fernández Lobbe, 6 Juan Smith, 5 Ali Williams, 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 Carl Hayman (captain), 2 Jean-Charles Orioli, 1 Xavier Chiocci.
Replacements:16 Guilhem Guirado, 17 Alexandre Menini, 18 Levan Chilachava, 19 Chris Masoe, 20 James O'Connor, 21 Rudi Wulf, 22 Michael Claassens, 23 Romain Taofifenua.
Scarlets: 15 Liam Williams, 14 Harry Robinson, 13 Michael Tagicakibau, 12 Scott Williams (captain), 11 Kristian Phillips, 10 Rhys Priestland, 9 Aled Davies, 8 Rory Pitman, 7 John Barclay, 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 James Davies, 21 Rhodri Williams, 22 Steven Shingler, 23 Jordan Williams.
Date: Sunday, October 19
Venue: Stade Felix Mayol
Kickoff: 16.45 local (15.45 GMT)
Referee: JP Doyle (England)
Assistant referees: Steve Lee (England), Paul Dix (England)
TMO: Graham Hughes (England)
Leinster v London Wasps
Leinster: 15 Ian Madigan, 14 Zane Kirchner, 13 Gordon D'Arcy, 12 Noel Reid, 11 Darragh Fanning, 10 Jimmy Gopperth, 9 Eoin Reddan, 8 Jamie Heaslip (captain), 7 Dominic Ryan, 6 Rhys Ruddock, 5 Devin Toner, 4 Mike McCarthy, 3 Michael Bent, 2 Sean Cronin, 1 Jack McGrath.
Replacements: 16 Richardt Strauss, 17 Ed Byrne, 18 Tadhg Furlong, 19 Kane Douglas, 20 Jack Conan, 21 Isaac Boss, 22 Mick McGrath, 23 Luke Fitzgerald.
London Wasps: 15 Andrea Masi, 14 Christian Wade, 13 Elliot Daly, 12 Alapati Leiua, 11 Sailosi Tagicakibau, 10 Andy Goode, 9 Joe Simpson, 8 Nathan Hughes, 7 James Haskell (captain), 6 Ashley Johnson, 5 Bradley Davies, 4 Joe Launchbury, 3 Lorenzo Cittadini, 2 Carlo Festuccia, 1 Matt Mullan.
Replacements: 16 Tom Lindsay, 17 Simon McIntyre, 18 Jake Cooper-Woolley, 19 James Gaskell, 20 Sam Jones, 21 Charlie Davies, 22 Rob Miller, 23 Chris Bell.
Date: Sunday, October 19
Venue: RDS Stadium
Kickoff: 18.45 local (17.45 GMT)
Referee: Leighton Hodges (Wales)
Assistant referees: Neil Hennessy (Wales), Simon Rees (Wales)
TMO: Gareth Simmonds (Wales)
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