Preview: European Cup, Round Three
And in other matches French giants Toulon and Toulouse both badly need wins.
The All Black superstar flyhalf, who retired from the international stage after winning the World Cup in England at the end of October, was named in the Racing match-day squad two weeks after arriving in France.
His club are currently second in Pool Two – after winning their opener – and can move ahead of first-placed Northampton with a win on Saturday.
The English side have two wins under their belt but have no bonus points.
The 33-year-old Carter says that he is ready to handle the pressure that comes with playing for such a high-profile team as Racing.
"There's always going to be pressure, that's part of the game that I love," he said.
"I don't think there's going to be any more pressure playing here after what's happened in my career than before most Test matches."
Also making his debut in the competition will be another star member of the All Blacks World Cup winning side Ma'a Nonu who will play for defending champions Toulon at home to Leinster.
The Cote d'Azur side were shocked last week in a 6-32 loss at Wasps and they are currently bottom of Pool Five, nine points adrift of the London side who have played twice.
A win is imperative in what is arguably the toughest of the five pools if Toulon are to have a realistic hope of winning the competition for an unprecedented fourth straight year.
Toulouse, meanwhile, travel to Belfast for a tough match-up against Ulster on Friday, trailing Saracens by five points in Pool One.
"It would be a real exploit to go there and win," said flank Gregory Lamboley.
"What worries us the most is the enthusiasm they bring to the game when they are playing at home.
"They are a side that are capable of keeping up a high intensity game for the whole 80 minutes. A bit like the Ireland national side."
Toulouse coach Ugo Mola who took over this season in place of veteran Guy Noves, who is now the head coach of the French national team, agreed that the Ulster game was crucial to his side's chances of reaching the knock-out stages.
"We still have the same ambitions, but if you look at the last three years it has been difficult for Toulouse to reach the final stages of the competition," he said.
Saracens, meanwhile, can bolster their position at the head of the pool with an away fixture at struggling Oyonnax on Sunday.
In a closely contested Pool Two Ospreys will be favourite at home to Bordeaux, while Exeter host Clermont with both teams one point adrift of the Welsh side who top the group.
In-form Clermont wing said that he was expecting a tough physical battle at Exeter.
"They are a good side and have been improving steadily over the last four years. It's a town that loves its rugby and they get good crowds."
In Pool Four Leicester have a maximum 10 points from two games, but face a daunting task away to Munster who have five points from one game.
Top 14 champions Stade Francais meanwhile will travel to Italy to take on Treviso knowing that a bonus-point win is essential if they are to stay in the running.
We look at all the Round Three matches!
Friday, December 11:
Ulster v Toulouse
(Kingspan Stadium – Kick-off: 19.45; 20.45 French time)
Teams:
Ulster: 15 Louis Ludik, 14 Andrew Trimble, 13 Luke Marshall, 12 Stuart McCloskey, 11 Craig Gilroy; 10 Paddy Jackson, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Nick Williams, 7 Chris Henry, 6 Robbie Diack, 5 Franco van der Merwe, 4 Alan O'Connor, 3 Wiehahn Herbst, 2 Rory Best (captain), 1 Kyle McCall.
Replacements: 16 Rob Herring, 17 Andy Warwick, 18 Ricky Lutton, 19 Clive Ross, 20 Roger Wilson, 21 Paul Marshall, 22 Ian Humphreys, 23 Rory Scholes.
Toulouse: 15 Clément Poitrenaud, 14 Vincent Clerc, 13 Gael Fickou, 12 Toby Flood, 11 Maxime Médard, 10 Luke McAlister, 9 Sébastien Bézy, 8 Louis Picamoles, 7 Thierry Dusautoir, 6 Yacouba Camara, 5 Joe Tekori, 4 Yoann Maestri, 3 Census Johnston, 2 Corey Flynn, 1 Vasil Kakovin.
Replacements: 16 Julien Marchand, 17 Cyril Baille, 18 Dorian Aldegheri, 19 Edwin Maka, 20 Gregory Lamboley, 21 Gillian Galan, 22 Jean-Marc Doussain, 23 Alexis Palisson.
Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)
Assistant referees: Tim Wigglesworth (England), Paul Dix (England)
TMO: Graham Hughes (England)
Saturday, December 12:
Glasgow Warriors v Scarlets
(Scotstoun Stadium – Kick-off: 13.00)
Teams:
Glasgow Warriors: 15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Taqele Naiyaravoro, 13 Alex Dunbar, 12 Peter Horne, 11 Tommy Seymour, 10 Duncan Weir, 9 Mike Blair, 8 Adam Ashe, 7 Simone Favaro, 6 Josh Strauss, 5 Jonny Gray, 4 Leone Nakarawa, 3 Sila Puafisi, 2 James Malcolm, 1 Ryan Grant.
Replacements: 16 Shalva Mamukashvili, 17 Jerry Yanuyanutawa, 18 Zander Fagerson, 19 Tim Swinson, 20 Robert Harley, 21 Grayson Hart, 22 Finn Russell, 23 Sean Lamont.
Scarlets: 15 Steff Evans, 14 Harry Robinson, 13 Regan King, 12 Gareth Owen, 11 Michael Tagicakibau, 10 Steven Shingler, 9 Gareth Davies, 8 Morgan Allen, 7 Tom Phillips, 6 Lewis Rawlins, 5 Tom Price, 4 George Earle, 3 Rhodri Jones, 2 Emyr Phillips, 1 Phil John.
Replacements: 16 Kirby Myhill, 17 Dylan Evans, 18 Samson Lee, 19 Maselino Paulino, 20 Jack Condy, 21 Rhodri Williams, 22 Aled Thomas, 23 Mike Collins.
Referee: Mathieu Raynal (France)
Assistant referees: Sébastien Minery (France), Thomas Déjean (France)
TMO: Vincent Azoulay (France)
Racing 92 v Northampton Saints
(Stade Yves-Du-Manoir – Kick-off: 16.15; 15.15 UK time)
Teams:
Racing Metro: 15 Brice Dulin, 14 Joe Rokocoko, 13 Casey Laulala, 12 Henry Chavancy, 11 Juan Imhoff, 10 Dan Carter, 9 Mike Phillips, 8 Chris Masoe, 7 Yannick Nyanga, 6 Wenceslas Lauret, 5 Francois van der Merwe, 4 Luke Charteris, 3 Ben Tameifuna, 2 Dimitri Szarzewski (captain), 1 Eddy Ben Arous.
Replacements: 16 Camille Chat, 17 Julien Brugnaut, 18 Cedate Gomes Sa, 19 Manuel Carizza, 20 Antonie Claassen, 21 Johannes Goosen, 22 Alexandre Dumoulin, 23 Maxime Machenaud.
Northampton Saints: 15 Ben Foden, 14 Jamie Elliott, 13 Luther Burrell, 12 Tom Stephenson, 11 George North 10 JJ Hanrahan, 9 Lee Dickson, 8 Sam Dickinson, 7 Teimana Harrison, 6 Courtney Lawes, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Michael Paterson, 3 Kieran Brookes, 2 Mikey Haywood, 1 Alex Waller.
Replacements: 16 Matti Williams, 17 Ethan Waller, 18 Paul Hill, 19 Christian Day, 20 Jamie Gibson, 21 Kahn Fotuali'i, 22 Steve Myler, 23 Ah See Tuala.
Referee: George Clancy (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Dudley Phillips (Ireland), Mark Patton (Ireland)
TMO: Marshall Kilgore (Ireland)
Benetton Treviso v Stade Francais
(Stadio Comunale di Monigo – Kick-off: 16.15; 16.15 French time)
Teams:
Treviso: 15 Luke McLean, 14 Andrea Pratichetti, 13 Enrico Bacchin, 12 Samuel Christie, 11 Edoardo Gori, 10 Jayden Hayward, 9 Chris Smylie, 8 Alessandro Zanni, 7 Francesco Minto, 6 Andrea De Marchi, 5 Filo Paulo, 4 Rudolph Naude, 3 Alberto de Marchi, 2 Ornel Gega, 1 Matteo Zanusso.
Replacements: 16 Roberto Santamaria, 17 Cherif Traore, 18 Rupert Harden, 19 Tom Palmer, 20 Marco Lazzaroni, 21 Alberto Sgarbi, 22 James Ambrosini, 23 Simone Ragusi.
Stade Français: 15 Djibril Camara, 14 Julien Arias, 13 Paul Williams, 12 Meyer Bosman, 11 Waisea Vuidarvuwalu, 10 Jules Plisson, 9 Will Genia, 8 Sergio Parisse, 7 Sylvain Nicolas, 6 Willem Alberts, 5 Pascal Papé, 4 Hugh Pyle, 3 Paul Alo Emile, 2 Laurent Sempéré, 1 Heinke van der Merwe.
Replacements: 16 Laurent Panis, 17 Zurabi Zhvania, 18 Zak Taulafo, 19 Paul Gabrillagues, 20 Raphael Lakafia, 21 Clement Daguin, 22 Jonathan Danty, 23 Hugo Bonneval
Referee: Matthew Carley (England)
Assistant referees: Luke Pearce (England), Peter Allan (England)
TMO: Rowan Kitt (England)
Exeter Chiefs v ASM Clermont Auvergne
(Sandy Park Stadium – Kick-off: 17.15; 18.15 French time)
Teams:
Exeter Chiefs: 15 Phil Dollman, 14 Jack Nowell, 13 Ian Whitten, 12 Sam Hill, 11 James Short, 10 Gareth Steenson, 9 Will Chudley, 8 Thomas Waldrom, 7 Julian Salvi, 6 Don Armand, 5 Damian Welch, 4 Mitch Lees, 3 Tomas Francis, 2 Jack Yeandle (captain), 1 Ben Moon.
Replacements: 16 Elvis Taione, 17 Carl Rimmer, 18 Moray Low, 19 Geoff Parling, 20 Tom Johnson, 21 Dave Lewis, 22 Will Hooley, 23 Olly Woodburn.
Clermont: 15 Scott Spedding, 14 David Strettle, 13 Aurélien Rougerie, 12 Hosea Gear, 11 Noa Nakaitaci, 10 Camille Lopez, 9 Morgan Parra, 8 Damien Chouly, 7 Vito Kolelishvili, 6 Peceli Yato, 5 Sébastien Vahaamahina, 4 Paul Jedrasiak, 3 Clément Ric, 2 John Ulugia, 1 Thomas Domingo.
Replacements: 16 Marthinius Van Der Westhuizen, 17 Raphael Chaume, 18 Daniel Kotze, 19 Flip Van Der Merwe, 20 Judicaël Cancoriet, 21 Ludovic Radoslavjevic, 22 Pato Fernandez, 23 Albert Vulivuli.
Referee: John Lacey (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Gary Conway (Ireland), Nigel Correll (Ireland)
TMO: Simon McDowell (Ireland)
Ospreys v Bordeaux-Begles
(Liberty Stadium – Kick-off: 17.15; 18.15 GMT)
Teams:
Ospreys: 15 Dan 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 Dan Lydiate, 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 Tom Habberfield, 22 Sam Davies, 23 Ben John.
Bordeaux-Bègles: 15 Jean-Marcellin Buttin, 14 Jean-Baptiste Dubié, 13 Felix Le Bourhis, 12 Charles Brousse, 11 Nans Ducuing, 10 Pierre Bernard, 9 Heini Adams, 8 Marco Tauleigne, 7 Hugh Chalmers, 6 Matthew Clarkin, 5 Adam Jaulhac, 4 Berend Botha, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Clement Maynadier, 1 Jefferson Poirot.
Replacements: 16 Ronan Chambord, 17 Jean-Baptiste Poux, 18 Patrick Toetu, 19 Cyril Cazeaux, 20 Louis Madaule, 21 Baptiste Serin, 22 Romain Lonca, 23 Paulin Riva.
Referee: JP Doyle (England)
Assistant referees: Greg Garner (England), Paul Burton (England)
TMO: Sean Davey (England)
Munster v Leicester Tigers
(Thomond Park – Kick-off: 19.45)
Teams:
Munster: 15 Andrew Conway, 14 Keith Earls, 13 Francis Saili, 12 Denis Hurley, 11 Simon Zebo, 10 Ian Keatley, 9 Conor Murray, 8 CJ Stander (captain), 7 Dave O'Callaghan, 6 Robin Copeland, 5 Donnacha Ryan, 4 Dave Foley, 3 BJ Botha, 2 Niall Scannell, 1 James Cronin.
Replacements: 16 Mike Sherry, 17 Dave Kilcoyne, 18 John Ryan, 19 Mark Chisholm, 20 Jack O'Donoghue, 21 Tomás O'Leary, 22 Tyler Bleyendaal, 23 Lucas Gonzalez Amorosino.
Leicester Tigers: 15 Telusa Veainu, 14 Adam Thompstone, 13 Matt Smith, 12 Seremaia Bai, 11 Vereniki Goneva, 10 Owen Williams, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Lachlan McCaffrey, 7 Brendon O'Connor, 6 Ed Slater (captain), 5 Mike Fitzgerald, 4 Graham Kitchener, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Tom Youngs, 1 Marcos Ayerza.
Replacements: 16 Harry Thacker, 17 Matias Aguero, 18 Fraser Balmain, 19 Dom Barrow, 20 Tom Croft, 21 Sam Harrison, 22 Tommy Bell, 23 Gonzalo Camacho.
Referee: Romain Poite (France)
Assistant referees: Tual Trainini (France), Laurent Breil (France)
TMO: Gilles Cogne (France)
Sunday, December 13:
Oyonnax v Saracens
(Stade Charles Mathon – Kick-off: 14.00; 13.00 GMT)
Teams:
Oyonnax: 15 Quentin Etienne, 14 Silvere Tian, 13 Guillaume Bousses, 12 Alaska Taufa, 11 Dug Codjo, 10 Rory Clegg, 9 Fabien Cibray, 8 Pedrie Wannenburg, 7 Olivier Missoup, 6 Valentin Ursache, 5 Geoffrey Fabbri, 4 Leon Power, 3 Horace Pungea, 2 Jeremie Maurouard, 1 Soane Tonga'uiha.
Replacements: 16 Thomas Bordes, 17 Lukas Rapant, 18 Marc Clerc, 19 Antoine Guillamon, 20 Pierrick Gunther, 21 Florian Faure, 22 Arthur Aziza, 23 Regis Lespinas.
Saracens: 15 Alex Goode, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Marcelo Bosch, 12 Brad Barritt (captain), 11 Chris Wyles, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Richard Wigglesworth, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Will Fraser, 6 Michael Rhodes, 5 Maro Itoje, 4 Jim Hamilton, 3 Juan Figallo, 2 Jamie George, 1 Mako Vunipola.
Replacements: 16 Schalk Brits, 17 Rhys Gill, 18 Petrus Du Plessis, 19 Kelly Brown, 20 Jackson Wray, 21 Neil De Kock, 22 Charlie Hodgson, 23 Mike Ellery.
Referee: Marius Mitrea (Italy)
Assistant referees: Matteo Liperini (Italy), Stefano Pennè (Italy)
TMO: Carlo Damasco (Italy)
Toulon v Leinster
(Stade Félix Mayol – Kick-off: 16.15; 15.15 UK time)
Teams:
Toulon: 15 Delon Armitage, 14 Bryan Habana, 13 Mathieu Bastareaud, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Drew Mitchell, 10 Matt Giteau, 9 Eric Escande, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Steffon Armitage, 6 Mamuka Gorgodze, 5 Romain Taofifenua, 4 Samu Manoa, 3 Matt Stevens, 2 Guilhem Guirado, 1 Florian Fresia.
Replacements: 16 Anthony Etrillard, 17 Xavier Chiocci, 18 Levan Chilachava, 19 Juan Smith, 20 Tom Taylor, 21 Maxime Mermoz, 22 Anthony Meric, 23 Jocelino Suta.
Leinster: 15 Rob Kearney, 14 Fergus McFadden, 13 Ben Te'o, 12 Luke Fitzgerald, 11 Isa Nacewa (captain), 10 Johnny Sexton, 9 Isaac Boss, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Rhys Ruddock, 5 Mike McCarthy, 4 Devin Toner, 3 Mike Ross, 2 Richardt Strauss, 1 Cian Healy.
Replacements: 16 Sean Cronin, 17 Jack McGrath, 18 Marty Moore, 19 Tom Denton, 20 Jordi Murphy, 21 Eoin Reddan, 22 Ian Madigan, 23 Dave Kearney.
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant referees: Gwyn Morris (Wales), Wayne Davies (Wales)
TMO: Derek Bevan (Wales)
Wasps v Bath
(Ricoh Arena – Kick-off: 17.15)
Teams:
Wasps: 15 Rob Miller, 14 Sailosi Tagicakibau, 13 Elliot Daly, 12 Ben Jacobs, 11 Charles Piutau, 10 Ruaridh Jackson, 9 Joe Simpson, 8 Nathan Hughes, 7 George Smith, 6 James Haskell (captain), 5 Bradley Davies, 4 Joe Launchbury, 3 Jake Cooper-Woolley, 2 Ashley Johnson, 1 Matt Mullan.
Replacements: 16 Edd Shervington, 17 Simon McIntyre, 18 Lorenzo Cittadini, 19 James Gaskell, 20 Sam Jones, 21 Dan Robson, 22 Jimmy Gopperth, 23 Alapati Leiua.
Bath: 15 Anthony Watson, 14 Semesa Rokoduguni, 13 Jonathan Joseph, 12 Kyle Eastmond, 11 Matt Banahan, 10 George Ford, 9 Niko Matawalu, 8 David Denton, 7 Francois Louw (captain), 6 Matt Garvey, 5 Dave Attwood, 4 Tom Ellis, 3 David Wilson, 2 Ross Batty, 1 Max Lahiff.
Replacements: 16 Rob Webber, 17 Nathan Catt, 18 Henry Thomas, 19 Charlie Ewels, 20 Leroy Houston, 21 Chris Cook, 22 Rhys Priestland, 23 Tom Homer.
Referee: Jérôme Garcès (France)
Assistant referees: Maxime Chalon (France), Jean-Luc Rebollal (France)
TMO: Eric Gauzins (France)
AFP & @rugby365com
