Preview: European Cup, Round Two
Toulouse captain Thierry Dusautoir is hoping his eight-year spell at the club climaxes with another European Cup trophy as his contract terminates at the end of the season.
The Ivory Coast-born flank can see that dream take another positive step with victory away at English side Bath, which will make it two consecutive wins for the French side in the European Champions Cup.
Dusautoir is also looking for another victory as further evidence Toulouse have indeed turned the corner on a woeful run of form that saw them lose five successive games, their worst losing sequence for 50 years.
However, driven on by the fiery long-time head coach Guy Noves and Dusautoir, they have won three in a row, including last weekend's European opener against high-flying Top 14 rivals Montpellier.
They couldn't be travelling to Bath at a better time as their opponents are still coming to terms with the surprise 37-10 thrashing by Scottish outfit Glasgow last weekend.
Dusautoir, whose sole European Cup victory came with Toulouse in 2010 having lost twice in the final with Biarritz, is wary of opponents who will be encouraged by Toulouse's woeful away record, both domestically and in Europe the past couple of seasons.
"Of course we are happy to finally rediscover what it is like to beat big teams in Stade Francais, Toulon and Montpellier. Winning an away match in the European Cup would really be another huge lift.
"However, we know it will be a very tough match for Bath having lost their first match will be extra-motivated to bounce back," he said.
Dusautoir, who could well end up in England next season as he has had contact with clubs there, said while improving their position in the Top 14 was important, the European Cup was special to Toulouse, who have won it four times.
"I hope that this year, with my contract coming to an end and I don't know what my future is with Toulouse, will be a huge year for us," he added.
Elsewhere, last seasons' two finalists face trips to Ireland.
Two-time defending champions Toulon travel to Belfast to take on the 1999 champions Ulster on Saturday while Saracens play two-time winners and last-term's beaten semi-finalists Munster in Limerick on Friday.
Ulster, who lost to Leicester in their opener, will be seeking to beat a Toulon side that are yet to get into top gear, after their domestic and European trophy successes last season, and who were pushed hard by Welsh side Scarlets in France last Sunday.
The hosts, though, have been weakened by the loss of Ireland wing Andrew Trimble, who has a toe injury that will also prevent him playing in the November Tests, but his fellow speedster Craig Gilroy is up for the challenge.
"Playing them is a massive challenge for us. It's going to be a great occasion. It's Europe and the team that are coming are the European champions.
"We respect Toulon, but at the same time we are going to take it to them, enjoy the day and show what we can do," he said.
Munster and Saracens both emerged victorious last weekend, the English side more impressive in their home win over Clermont than the Irish province's last gasp triumph over Sale.
Saracens England centre Brad Barritt believes it will be a close and tight battle.
"It's definitely going to be a game that goes down to the wire and we're going to have to be as clinical as ever. We have to be prepared in every element of our game.
"They're a team with a wealth of European experience, and a team that are able to consistently work for 80 minutes to achieve the result that they need," the South African-born back said.
All the teams and match details for Round Two:
Friday, October 24
Munster Rugby v Saracens
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 BJ Botha, 2 Dave Casey, 1 James Cronin.
Replacements: 16 Eusebio Guinazu, 17 Dave Kilcoyne, 18 Stephen Archer, 19 Billy Holland, 20 Robin Copeland, 21 Duncan Williams, 22 JJ Hanrahan, 23 Gerhard van den Heever.
Saracens: 15 Alex Goode, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Marcelo Bosch, 12 Brad Barritt (captain), 11 David Strettle, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Neil de Kock, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Will Fraser, 6 Kelly Brown, 5 Jim Hamilton, 4 George Kruis, 3 Petrus du Plessis, 2 Jamie George, 1 Richard Barrington.
Replacements: 16 Scott Spurling, 17 Rhys Gill, 18 James Johnston, 19 Mouritz Botha, 20 Jackson Wray, 21 Richard Wigglesworth, 22 Charlie Hodgson, 23 Duncan Taylor.
Venue: Thomond Park
Kick-off: 20.45 (19.45 GMT)
Referee: Jérôme Garcès (France)
Assistant Referees: Salem Attalah (France), Maxime Chalon (France)
TMO: Eric Gauzins (France)
Saturday, October 25
Ulster v Toulon
Ulster: 15 Louis Ludik, 14 Tommy Bowe, 13 Jared Payne, 12 Stuart Olding, 11 Craig Gilroy, 10 Paddy Jackson, 9 Paul Marshall, 8 Roger Wilson, 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 Nick Williams, 21 Michael Heaney, 22 Ian Humphreys, 23 Darren Cave.
Toulon: 15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 Delon Armitage, 13 Mathieu Bastareaud, 12 Maxime Mermoz, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Matt Giteau, 9 Michael Claassens, 8 Chris Masoe, 7 Steffon Armitage, 6 Juan Fernandez Lobbe, 5 Romain Taofifenua, 4 Jocelino Suta, 3 Carl Hayman (captain), 2 Guilhem Guirado, 1 Alexandre Menini.
Replacements: 16 Craig Burden, 17 Fabien Barcella, 18 Levan Chilachava, 19 Bakkies Botha, 20 James O'Connor, 21 Ali Williams, 22 Sebastien Tillous-Borde, 23 Juan Smith.
Venue: Kingspan Stadium
Kick-off: 14.00 (13.00 GMT)
Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)
Assistant referees: Tim Wigglesworth (England), Nigel Carrick (England)
TMO: Rowan Kitt (England)
Bath v Toulouse
Bath: 15 Anthony Watson, 14 Semesa Rokoduguni, 13 Jonathan Joseph, 12 Ollie Devoto, 11 Horacio Agulla, 10 George Ford, 9 Chris Cook, 8 Charlie Ewels, 7 David Sisi, 6 Dominic Day, 5 Dave Attwood, 4 Stuart Hooper (captain), 3 David Wilson, 2 Rob Webber, 1 Paul James.
Replacements: 16 Ross Batty, 17 Nathan Catt, 18 Henry Thomas, 19 Tom Ellis, 20 Guy Mercer, 21 Peter Stringer, 22 Gavin Henson, 23 Olly Woodburn.
Toulouse: 15 Maxime Médard, 14 Vincent Clerc, 13 Florian Fritz, 12 Luke McAlister, 11 Yoann Huget, 10 Toby Flood, 9 Sébastien Bézy, 8 Louis Picamoles, 7 Imanol Harinordoquy, 6 Thierry Dusautoir (captain), 5 Patricio Albacete, 4 Yoann Maestri, 3 Census Johnston, 2 Corey Flynn, 1 Gürthro Steenkamp.
Replacements: 16 Julien Marchand, 17 Kisi Pulu, 18 Cyril Baille, 19 Joe Tekori, 20 Edwin Maka, 21 Jano Vermaak, 22 Timoci Matanavou, 23 Yannick Nyanga.
Venue: Recreation Ground
Kick-off: 16.15 (15.15 GMT)
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant referees: Gwyn Morris (Wales), Wayne Davies (Wales)
TMO: Gareth Simmonds (Wales)
Montpellier v Glasgow Warriors
Montpellier: 15 Benjamin Fall, 14 Timoci Nagusa, 13 Rene Ranger, 12 Robert Ebersohn, 11 Samisoni Viriviri, 10 Enzo Selponi, 9 Benoit Paillaugue, 8 Alex Tulou (captain) 7 Akapusi Qera, 6 Kelian Galletier, 5 Sitaleki Timani, 4 Tom Donnelly, 3 Chris King, 2 Mickael Ivaldi, 1 Yvan Watremez.
Replacements: 16 Thomas Bianchin, 17 Mikheil Nariashvili, 18 Nicolas Mas, 19 Thibaut Privat, 20 Alexandre Bias, 21 Teddy Iribaren, 22 Wynand Olivier, 23 Pierre Berard.
Glasgow: 15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Sean Maitland, 13 Mark Bennett, 12 Alex Dunbar, 11 Tommy Seymour, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Henry Pyrgos, 8 Josh Strauss (captain), 7 Chris Fusaro, 6 Robert Harley, 5 Jonny Gray, 4 Tim Swinson, 3 Euan Murray, 2 Pat MacArthur, 1 Gordon Reid.
Replacements: 16 Fraser Brown, 17 Alex Allan, 18 Rossouw de Klerk, 19 Leone Nakarawa, 20 Adam Ashe, 21 Niko Matawalu, 22 Duncan Weir, 23 DTH van der Merwe .
Venue: Altrad Stadium
Kick-off: 18.15 (16.15 GMT)
Referee: JP Doyle (England)
Assistant referees: Tom Foley (England), Paul Burton (England)
TMO: David Grashoff (England)
Northampton Saints v Ospreys
Northampton: 15 Ben Foden, 14 Ken Pisi, 13 James Wilson, 12 Luther Burrell, 11 George North, 10 Steve Myler, 9 Lee Dickson, 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 Kahn Fotuali'i, 22 Will Hooley, 23 Jamie Elliott.
Ospreys: 15 Daniel Evans, 14 Jeff Hassler, 13 Andrew Bishop, 12 Josh Matavesi, 11 Hanno Dirksen, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Rhys Webb, 8 Joe Bearman 7 Justin Tipuric, 6 James King, 5 Alun-Wyn Jones (captain), 4 Lloyd Peers, 3 Dmitri Arhip, 2 Scott Baldwin, 1 Nicky Smith.
Replacements: 16 Sam Parry, 17 Duncan Jones, 18 Aaron Jarvis, 19 Rynier Bernardo, 20 Morgan Allen, 21 Sam Lewis, 22 Martin Roberts, 23 Sam Davies.
Venue: Franklin's Gardens
Kick-off: 18.15 (17.15 GMT)
Referee: Romain Poite (France)
Assistant referees: Cyril Lafon (France), Tual Trainini (France)
TMO: Jean-Pierre Pellaprat (France))
Scarlets v Leicester Tigers
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 Lewis Rawlins, 20 James Davies, 21 Rhodri Williams, 22 Steven Shingler, 23 Jordan Williams.
Leicester: 15 Matthew Tait, 14 Blaine Scully, 13 Vereniki Goneva, 12 Anthony Allen, 11 Miles Benjamin, 10 Owen Williams, 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 Mele, 22 Freddie Burns, 23 Matt Smith.
Venue: Parc Y Scarlets
Kick-off: 20.45 (19.45 GMT)
Referee: Johnny Lacey (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Gary Conway (Ireland), Eddie Hogan-O'Connell (Ireland)
TMO: Simon McDowell (Ireland)
Sunday, October 26
Castres v Leinster
Castres: 15 Geoffrey Palis, 14 Max Evans, 13 Christopher Tuatara-Morrison, 12 Romain Cabannes, 11 Remi Grosso, 10 Remi Tales (captain), 9 Cedric Garcia, 8 Jannie Bornman, 7 Yannick Caballero, 6 Piula Faasalele, 5 Rodrigo Capo Ortega, 4 Richie Gray, 3 Ramiro Herrera, 2 Brice Mach, 1 Saimone Taumoepeau.
Replacements: 16 Mathieu Bonello, 17 Mihaita Lazar, 18 Yohan Montes, 19 Christophe Samson, 20 Mathieu Babillot, 21 Romain Martial, 22 Julien Dumora, 23 Antoine Dupont.
Leinster: 15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Darragh Fanning, 13 Gordon D'Arcy, 12 Ian Madigan, 11 Luke Fitzgerald, 10 Jimmy Gopperth, 9 Isaac Boss, 8 Jamie Heaslip (captain), 7 Dominic Ryan, 6 Rhys Ruddock, 5 Kane Douglas, 4 Devin Toner, 3 Michael Bent, 2 Sean Cronin, 1 Jack McGrath.
Replacements: 16 Richardt Strauss, 17 Ed Byrne, 18 Tadhg Furlong, 19 Mike McCarthy, 20 Jack Conan, 21 Eoin Reddan, 22 Noel Reid, 23 Mick McGrath.
Venue: Stade Pierre Antoine
Kick-off: 14.00 (12.00 GMT)
Referee: Greg Garner (England)
Assistant referees: Andrew Small (England), Paul Dix (England)
TMO: Trevor Fisher (England)
Clermont v Sale Sharks
Clermont: 15 Nick Abendanon, 14 Noa Nakaitaci, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Wesley Fofana, 11 Naipolioni Nalaga, 10 Camille Lopez, 9 Ludovic Radoslavjevic, 8 Fritz Lee, 7 Alexandre Lapandry, 6 Julien Bonnaire (captain), 5 Loic Jacquet, 4 Jamie Cudmore, 3 Clément Ric, 2 Benjamin Kayser, 1 Thomas Domingo.
Replacements: 16 Ti'i Paulo, 17 Vincent Debaty, 18 Daniel Kotze, 19 Sébastien Vahaamahina, 20 Vito Kolelishvili, 21 Thierry Lacrampe, 22 Brock James, 23 Aurélien Rougerie.
Sale: 15 Michael Haley, 14 Tom Brady, 13 Johnny Leota, 12 Sam Tuitupou, 11 Tom Arscott, 10 Danny Cipriani, 9 Will Cliff, 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 Alberto de Marchi, 18 Ross Harrison, 19 Andrei Ostrikov, 20 Dan Braid, 21 Nathan Fowles, 22 Joe Ford, 23 Andy Forsyth.
Venue: Stade Michellin
Kick-off: 16.15 local (14.15 GMT)
Referee: George Clancy (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Leo Colgan (Ireland), Stuart Gaffikin (Ireland)
TMO: Jude Quinn (Ireland)
Treviso v Racing Metro
Treviso: 15 Jayden Hayward, 14 Simone Rgusi, 13 Michele Campagnaro, 12 Luca Morisi, 11 Ludovico Nitoglia, 10 Samuel John Christie, 9 Edoardo Gori, 8 Alessandro Zanni, 7 Meyer Swanepoel, 6 Simone Favaro, 5 Marco Fuser, 4 Antonio Pavanello (captain), 3 Rupert Harden, 2 Davide Giazzon, 1 Matteo Zanusso.
Replacements: 16 Amar Kudin, 17 Albert Alfred Anae, 18 Romulo Acosta, 19 Tomas Vallejos, 20 Mathew Henry Luamanu, 21 Marco Barbini, 22 Enrico Bacchin, 23 James Ambrosini.
Racing Metro: 15 Brice Dulin, 14 Juan Imhoff, 13 Henry Chavancy, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 Teddy Thomas; 10 Jonny Sexton, 9 Maxime Machenaud (captain), 8 Antonie Claassen, 7 Bernard Le Roux, 6 Wenceslas Lauret, 5 Luke Charteris, 4 Juandre Kruger, 3 Brian Mujati, 2 Virgile Lacombe, 1 Eddy Ben Arous.
Replacements: 16 Jeremie Maurouard, 17 Julien Brugnaut, 18 Luc Ducalcon, 19 Thibault Dubarry, 20 Camille Gerondeau, 21 Mike Phillips, 22 Johannes Goosen, 23 Yoan Audrin.
Venue: Stadio Comunale di Monigo
Kick-off: 17.15 local (15.15 GMT)
Referee: Luke Pearce (England)
Assistant referees: Dean Richards (England), Ross Campbell (England)
TMO: Geoff Warren (England)
Wasps v Harlequins
Wasps: 15 Andrea Masi, 14 Christian Wade, 13 Elliott Daly, 12 Alapati Leiua, 11 Tom Varndell, 10 Andy Goode, 9 Joe Simpson, 8 Nathan Hughes, 7 Sam Jones, 6 Ashley Johnson, 5 Bradley Davies, 4 Joe Launchbury, 3 Lorenzo Cittadini, 2 Carlo Festuccia, 1 Matt Mullan (captain).
Replacements: 16 Tom Lindsay, 17 Simon McIntyre, 18 Phil Swainston, 19 James Gaskell, 20 Tom Young, 21 Charlie Davies, 22 Rob Miller, 23 Chris Bell.
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 Kyle Sinckler, 2 Dave Ward, 1 Joe Marler (captain).
Replacements: 16 Rob Buchanan, 17 Mark Lambert, 18 Will Collier, 19 Sam Twomey, 20 Joe Trayfoot, 21 Karl Dickson, 22 Jordan Turner-Hall, 23 Ollie Lindsay-Hague.
Venue: Adams Park
Kick-off: 18.15 local (17.15 GMT)
Referee: Marius Mitrea (Italy)
Assistant referees: Matteo Liperini (Italy), Stefano Pennè (Italy)
TMO: Carlo Damasco (Italy)
