Preview: Test stars grace Euro stage
The European Cup returns this week, as some of the world's most talented players strive to reach the promised land of the 2014 Final in Cardiff.
The 19th season of the European Cup kicks off Friday with three Round One games.
Leicester Tigers travel to Belfast to take on Ulster in what promises to be a fiercely contested fixture in Pool Five, while Connacht host high-flying Saracens in Galway, and four-time tournament champions, Toulouse, come up against Zebre of Italy at Stade Ernest Wallon.
In addition to the customary host of elite players who light up the ERC's tournaments year after year – international representatives from 26 countries are included in the 2013/14 squads – this season will see several top-class names experiencing the heat of European competition for the first time.
South African legend, Bryan Habana, who has won every honour in the world game with the exception of the European Cup, will feature for the 2013 champions, Toulon, along with another vastly-experienced wing in Drew Mitchell of Australia.
Habana may miss the first couple of rounds with a hamstring strain he picked up playing for South Africa against New Zealand last week, but is sure to feature later in the tournament.
Current Springbok fullback, Zane Kirchner, is in European specialists, Leinster's squad, while New Zealander, Craig Clarke, who captained the Chiefs to Super Rugby glory in 2012 and 2013, makes his European Cup debut for Connacht Friday.
Another New Zealander, Hosea Gear, is on the bench for Toulouse's Pool Three opener against Zebre.
French heavyweights Toulon begin the defence of their European Cup title at home to Glasgow in what is likely to be the last such tournament in the current format.
Leading clubs in England and France have served notice of their intention to quit the existing set-up when the agreement governing the running of the European Cup expires at the end of the season and set up their own separate competition, to which other teams from the continent have been invited.
Quite how the protracted debate over how next season will pan out might affect this season's competition is anyone's guess.
But it will surely add extra spice, especially from the Celtic and Italian sides, to a cut-throat tournament in which only the six pool winners and two best runners-up qualify for the lucrative knock-out phase.
Toulon's star-studded side, bolstered by the likes of Springbok Bryan Habana, All Black Ali Williams and proven match-winners Matt Giteau and Jonny Wilkinson are a match for any outfit on their day.
They host Glasgow, unbeaten in the Celtic League, on Sunday fresh from a 25-19 victory in the Top 14 over last season's beaten finalists Clermont.
Springbok flank Joe van Niekerk, in his sixth season with Toulon, dismissed allegations that the Mourad Boudjellal-financed team were a bunch of mercenaries.
"I'm proud to say that this image is false," Van Niekerk told L'Equipe newspaper.
"People have seen that the boys play for their jersey, the town of Toulon, the fans.
"An Englishman, a South African, a Scot, all give their passion and their bodies for Toulon!"
Exeter and Cardiff complete Toulon's Pool Two, with the French club big favourites to advance.
Arguably the toughest draw was for Pool One, pitching Top 14 champions Castres against in-form English giants Northampton, three-time winners Leinster and Ospreys, perennial underachievers in Europe.
Northampton travel to Castres and Saints coach Alex King, who spent six seasons at Clermont, admitted that they were under no illusions as to the challenge facing them.
"We've had three tough trips away in the Aviva Premiership and French teams at home are notoriously difficult to play," said King.
"We know what to expect. Castres are the French champions, they've got a very good pedigree and good players, and now we're looking forward to it.
"We want to win away from home. If you can win in France it sets you up very well in the pool, so that's been our focus this week."
Toulouse will likely battle Saracens to top Pool Three, and with minnows Connacht and Zebre making up the quartet, the first two both have a chance of progressing should they ramp up enough bonus points against the weaker opposition.
Last year's runners-up Clermont will have to disperse with the inconsistent run they have shown domestically if they are to have a fighting chance of safely negotiating Pool Four.
They face tricky matches against Jonny Sexton-fired French rivals Racing-Metro and rounded English outfit Harlequins. Scarlets make up the group, the Welsh region hoping to rebound from last season when it lost all six pool games.
Another humdinger is set for Pool Five, featuring three of last season's quarter-finalists in Ulster, two-time champions Leicester and in-form French club Montpellier, Treviso making up the numbers.
Ulster will be boosted by Ruan Pienaar's decision to stay put, but Leicester boast six British and Irish Lions in their ranks, while Francois Trinh-Duc has been marshalling a Montpellier side that thrives on the up-front battle: certainly not a pool for the faint-hearted.
Pool Six should be bossed by Irish province Munster, who will however be without retired metronomic flyhalf Ronan O'Gara for this campaign.
They'll face opposition from Perpignan, Gloucester and Edinburgh.
Referees officiating at this season's tournaments will adhere to the current global law trials for the extended powers of the Television Match Official and for the scrum engagement sequence, and TMOs will be in operation at all of this weekend's 12 European Cup games.
Round One fixtures and teams:
Friday, October 11:
Connacht v Saracens
(The Sportsground – Kick-off: 20.00; 19.00 GMT)
The teams:
Connacht: 15 Gavin Duffy, 14 Fionn Carr, 13 Robbie Henshaw, 12 James So'oialo, 11 Danie Poolman, 10 Dan Parks, 9 Kieran Marmion, 8 George Naoupu, 7 Jake Heenan, 6 John Muldoon, 5 Craig Clarke, 4 Michael Swift (captain), 3 Rodney Ah You, 2 Sean Henry, 1 Brett Wilkinson.
Replacements: 16 Jason Harris-Wright, 17 Peter Reilly, 18 JP Cooney, 19 Aly Muldowney, 20 Andrew Brown, 21 Paul O'Donohoe, 22 Craig Ronaldson, 23 Tiernan O'Halloran
Saracens: 15 Alex Goode, 14 Chris Ashton, 12 Joel Tomkins, 12 Chris Wyles, 11 David Strettle, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Neil de Kock, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Will Fraser, 6 Kelly Brown, 5 George Kruis, 4 Steve Borthwick (captain), 3 Matt Stevens, 2 Schalk Britz, 1 Mako Vunipola.
Replacements: 16 Jamie George, 17 Rhys Gill, 18 James Johnston, 19 Alastair Hargreaves, 20 Ernst Joubert, 21 Richard Wigglesworth, 22 Duncan Taylor, 23 Michael Tagicakibau.
Referee: Pascal Gauzère (France)
Assistant referees: Alexandre Ruiz (France), Jean-Luc Rebollal (France)
TMO: Daniel Irazoqui (France)
Ulster v Leicester Tigers
(Ravenhill – Kick-off: 20.00; 19.00 GMT)
The teams:
Ulster: 15 Jared Payne, 14 Andrew Trimble, 13 Darren Cave, 12 Luke Marshall, 11 Tommy Bowe, 10 Paddy Jackson, 9 Paul Marshall, 8 Nick Williams, 7 Chris Henry, 6 Roger Wilson, 5 Dan Tuohy, 4 Johann Muller (captain), 3 Declan Fitzpatrick, 2 Rory Best, 1 Tom Court.
Replacements: 16 Rob Herring, 17 Callum Black, 18 Ricky Lutton, 19 Iain Henderson, 20 Robbie Diack, 21 Ruan Pienaar, 22 Stuart Olding, 23 Michael Allen.
Leicester Tigers: 15 Niall Morris, 14 Miles Benjamin, 13 Vereniki Goneva, 12 Dan Bowden, 11 Adam Thompstone, 10 Toby Flood (captain), 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Jordan Crane, 7 Julian Salvi, 6 Ed Slater, 5 Geoff Parling, 4 Louis Deacon, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Tom Youngs, 1 Logovi'i Mulipola.
Replacements: 16 Neil Briggs, 17 Boris Stankovich, 18 Fraser Balmain, 19 Graham Kitchener, 20 Thomas Waldrom, 21 David Mele, 22 Owen Williams, 23 Terrence Hepetema.
Referee: Romain Poite (France)
Assistant referees: Christophe Berdos (France) ,Stéphane Boyer (France)
TMO: Bernard Dal Maso (France)
Toulouse v Zebre
(Stade Ernest Wallon – Kick-off: 21.00; 19.00 GMT)
The teams:
Stade Toulousain: 15 Clement Poitrenaud, 14 Yoann Huget, 13 Florian Fritz, 12 Yann David, 11 Maxime Medard, 10 Jean-Pascal Barraque, 9 Sebastien Bezy, 8 Gillian Galan, 7 Yannick Nyanga (captain), 6 Gregory Lamboley, 5 Joe Tekori, 4 Romain Millo-Chluski, 3 Yohan Montes, 2 Christopher Tolofua, 1 Gurthro Steenkamp.
Replacements: 16 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 17 Schalk Ferreira, 18 Census Johnston, 19 Louis Picamoles , 20 Patricio Albacete, 21 Jean-Marc Doussain, 22 Hosea Gear, 23 Thierry Dusautoir,
Zebre: 15 Ruggero Trevisan, 14 Giulio Toniolatti, 13 Kameli Ratuvou, 12 Gonzalo Garcia, 11 Dion Berryman, 10 Tommaso Iannone, 9 Brendon Leonard, 8 Samu Vunisa, 7 Dries van Schalkwyk, 6 Mauro Bergamasco, 5 Marco Bortolami (captain), 4 Mike Van Vuuren, 3 Carlo Fazzari, 2 Davide Giazzon, 1 Salvatore Perugini.
Replacements: 16 Tommaso D'Apice, 17 Matias Aguero, 18 Dario Chistolini, 19 Emiliano Caffini, 20 Filippo Cristiano, 21 Alberto Chillon, 22 Luciano Orquera, 23 Roberto Quartaroli.
Referee: Luke Pearce (England)
Assistant referees: Martin Fox (England), Stuart Terheege (England)
TMO: David Grashoff (England)
Saturday, October 12:
Edinburgh v Munster
(Murrayfield – Kick-off: 13.35; 12.35 GMT)
The teams:
Edinburgh: 15 Jack Cuthbert, 14 Douglas Fife, 13 Nick De Luca, 12 Matt Scott, 11 Tim Visser, 10 Harry Leonard, 9 Greig Laidlaw (captain), 8 David Denton, 7 Cornell Du Preez, 6 Dimitri Basilaia, 5 Sean Cox, 4 Grant Gilchrist, 3 Willem Nel, 2 Ross Ford, 1 Alasdair Dickinson.
Replacements: 16 Aleki Lutui, 17 Lodewicus Blaauw, 18 Geoff Cross, 19 Ollie Atkins, 20 Roddy Grant, 21 Sean Kennedy, 22 Joaquin Dominguez, 23 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne.
Munster: 15 Felix Jones, 14 Keith Earls, 13 Casey Laulala, 12 James Downey, 11 Simon Zebo, 10 Ian Keatley, 9 Conor Murray, 8 James Coughlan, 7 Niall Ronan, 6 Paddy Butler, 5 Paul O'Connell (captain), 4 Donnacha Ryan, 3 Stephen Archer, 2 Mike Sherry, 1 Dave Kilcoyne.
Replacements: 16 Damien Varley, 17 James Cronin, 18 BJ Botha, 19 Donncha O'Callaghan, 20 CJ Stander, 21 Duncan Williams, 22 JJ Hanrahan, 23 Denis Hurley.
Referee: JP Doyle (England)
Assistant referees: David Rose (England), Roy Maybank (England)
TMO: Trevor Fisher (England)
Benetton Treviso v Montpellier
(Stadio Comunale di Monigo – Kick-off: 14.35; 12.35 GMT)
The teams:
Treviso: 15 Brendan Williams, 14 Ludovico Nitoglia, 13 Luca Morisi, 12 Alberto Sgarbi, 11 Michele Campagnaro, 10 Luke McLean, 9 Tobias Botes, 8 Robert Barbieri, 7 Alessandro Zanni, 6 Simone Favaro, 5 Marco Fuser, 4 Antonio Pavanello (captain), 3 Lorenzo Cittadini, 2 Enrico Ceccato, 1 Michele Rizzo.
Replacements: 16 Giovanni Maistri, 17 Ignacio Fernandez Rouyet, 18 Pedro di Santo, 19 Valerio Bernabo, 20 Dean Budd, 21 Christian Loamanu, 22 Fabio Semenzato, 23 James Ambrosini.
Montpellier: 15 Anthony Floch, 14 Anthony Tuitavke, 13 Thomas Combezou, 12 Wynand Olivier, 11 Yoan Audrin, 10 Francois Trinh-Duc, 9 Benoit Paillaugue, 8 Kelian Galletier, 7 Mamuka Gorgodze, 6 Alexandre Bias (captain), 5 Robins Tchale Watchou, 4 Jim Hamilton, 3 Nicolas Mas, 2 Charles Geli, 1 Na'ama Leleimalefaga.
Replacements: 16 Mickael Ivaldi, 17 Yvan Watremez, 18 Maximiliano Bustos, 19 Thibaut Privat, 20 Fulgence Ouedraogo, 21 Jonathan Pelissie, 22 Enzo Selponi, 23 Yohann Artru.
Referee: Dudley Phillips (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Kieran Barry (Ireland), Eanna O'Dowd (Ireland)
TMO: Kevin Beggs (Ireland)
Harlequins v Scarlets
(The Twickenham Stoop – Kick-off: 15.40; 14.40 GMT)
The teams:
Harlequins: 15 Mike Brown, 14 Tom Williams, 13 Matt Hopper, 12 Ben Botica, 11 Sam Smith, 10 Nick Evans, 9 Danny Care, 8 Nick Easter, 7 Chris Robshaw (captain), 6 Maurie Fa'asavalu, 5 George Robson, 4 George Merrick, 3 Will Collier, 2 Rob Buchanan, 1 Joe Marler.
Replacements: 16 Dave Ward, 17 Darryl Marfo, 18 Kyle Sinckler, 19 Tom Guest, 20 Luke Wallace, 21 Karl Dickson, 22 Paul Sackey, 23 Charlie Walker.
Scarlets: 15 Liam Williams, 14 Kristian Phillips, 13 Jonathan Davies (captain), 12 Scott Williams, 11 Jordan Williams, 10 Rhys Priestland, 9 Rhodri Williams, 8 Josh Turnbull, 7 John Barclay, 6 Aaron Shingler, 5 George Earle, 4 Jake Ball, 3 Samson Lee, 2 Emyr Phillips, 1 Phil John.
Replacements: 16 Kirby Myhill, 17 Rob Evans, 18 Jacobie Adriaanse, 19 Joe Snyman, 20 Craig Price, 21 Gareth Davies, 22 Steven Shingler, 23 Gareth Maule.
Referee: John Lacey (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Peter Fitzgibbon (Ireland), Olly Hodges (Ireland)
TMO: Marshall Kilgore (Ireland)
Castres Olympique v Northampton Saints
(Stade Pierre Antoine – Kick-off: 16.40; 14.40 GMT)
The teams:
Castres: 15 Geoffrey Palis, 14 Romain Martial, 13 Romain Cabannes, 12 Remi Lamerat, 11 Max Evans, 10 Remi Tales (captain), 9 Rory Kockott, 9 Antonie Claassen, 7 Piula Faasalele, 6 Jannie Bornman, 5 Rodrigo Capo Ortega, 4 Richie Gray, 3 Anton Peikrishvili, 2 Brice Mach, 1 Mihaita Lazar.
Replacements: 16 Marc-Antoine Rallier, 17 Karena Wihongi, 18 Michael Coetzee, 19 Christophe Samson, 20 Pedrie Wannenburg, 21 Julien Tomas, 22 Remi Grosso, 23 Daniel Kirkpatrick.
Northampton Saints: 15 Ben Foden, 14 Ken Pisi, 13 George Pisi, 12 Luther Burrell, 11 George North, 10 Steve Myler, 9 Kahn Fotualii, 8 Sam Dickinson, 7 Calum Clark, 6 Tom Wood, 5 Christian Day, 4 Courtney Lawes, 3 Salesi Ma'afu, 2 Dylan Hartley (captain), 1 Alex Corbisiero.
Replacements: 16 Mikey Haywood, 17 Alex Waller, 18 Tom Mercey, 19 Samu Manoa, 20 Phil Dowson, 21 Lee Dickson, 22 James Wilson, 23 Jamie Elliott.
Referee: George Clancy (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Gary Conway (Ireland) ,Eddie Hogan-O'Connell (Ireland)
TMO: Simon McDowell (Ireland)
Ospreys v Leinster
(Liberty Stadium – Kick-off: 18.00; 17.00 GMT)
The teams:
Ospreys: 15 Richard Fussell, 14 Ben John, 13 Andrew Bishop, 12 Ashley Beck, 11 Eli Walker, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Tito Tebaldi, 8 Joe Bearman, 7 Justin Tipuric, 6 Ryan Jones, 5 James King, 4 Alun Wyn Jones (captain), 3 Adam Jones, 2 Richard Hibbard, 1 Duncan Jones.
Replacements: 16 Scott Baldwin, 17 Ryan Bevington, 18 Aaron Jarvis, 19 Tyler Ardron, 20 Sam Lewis, 21 Tom Habberfield, 22 Matthew Morgan, 23 Jeff Hassler.
Leinster: 15 Rob Kearney, 14 Fergus McFadden, 13 Brendan Macken, 12 Gordon D'Arcy, 11 Dave Kearney, 10 Jimmy Gopperth, 9 Isaac Boss, 8 Jamie Heaslip (captain), 7 Sean O'Brien, 6 Kevin McLaughlin, 5 Mike McCarthy, 4 Devin Toner, 3 Mike Ross, 2 Sean Cronin, 1 Cian Healy.
Replacements: 16 Aaron Dundon, 17 Jack McGrath, 18 Martin Moore, 19 Quinn Roux, 20 Rhys Ruddock, 21 Eoin Reddan, 22 Ian Madigan, 23 Luke Fitzgerald.
Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)
Assistant referees: Roger Whitfield (England), Paul Dix (England)
TMO: Geoff Warren (England)
Gloucester v Perpignan
(Kingsholm – Kick-off: 18.00; 17.00 GMT)
The teams:
Gloucester: 15 Rob Cook, 14 Jonny May, 13 Mike Tindall, 12 Billy Twelvetrees, 11 James Simpson-Daniel, 10 Freddie Burns, 9 Jimmy Cowan, 8 Sione Kalamafoni 7 Matt Kvesic, 6 Tom Savage (captain), 5 James Hudson, 4 Elliott Stooke, 3 Shaun Knight, 2 Huia Edmonds, 1 Yann Thomas.
Replacements: 16 Dan George, 17 Dan Murphy, 18 Rupert Harden, 19 Gareth Evans, 20 Akapusi Qera, 21 Dan Robson, 22 Ryan Mills, 23 Martyn Thomas.
Perpignan: 15 James Hook, 14 Wandile Mjekevu, 13 Tommaso Benvenuti, 12 Lifeimi Mafi, 11 Sofiane Guitoune, 10 Camille Lopez, 9 Nicolas Durand, 8 Luke Narraway, 7 Alasdair Strokosch, 6 Justin Purll, 5 Romain Taofifenua, 4 Dan Leo, 3 Paulica Ion, 2 Guilhem Guirado (captain), 1 Sebastien Taofifenua.
Replacements: 16 Romain Terrain, 17 Kisi Pulu, 18 George Jgenti, 19 Jean-Pierre Perez, 20 Dewaldt Duvenage, 21 David Marty, 22 Joffrey Michel, 23 Luke Charteris.
Referee: Leighton Hodges (Wales)
Assistant referees: Ian Davies (Wales), Sean Brickell (Wales)
TMO: Tim Hayes (Wales)
Sunday, October 13:
Exeter Chiefs v Cardiff Blues
(Sandy Park – Kick-off: 12.45; 11.45 GMT)
The teams:
Exeter Chiefs: 15 Phil Dollman, 14 Matt Jess, 13 Ian Whitten, 12 Jason Shoemark, 11 Fetu'u Vainikolo, 10 Gareth Steenson, 9 Dave Lewis, 8 Dave Ewers, 7 Ben White, 6 Tom Johnson, 5 Damian Welch, 4 Dean Mumm (captain), 3 Hoani Tui, 2 Chris Whitehead, 1 Brett Sturgess.
Replacements: 16 Jack Yeandle, 17 Ben Moon, 18 Carl Rimmer, 19 Don Armand, 20 Kai Horstmann, 21 Haydn Thomas, 22 Henry Slade, 23 Sireli Naqelevuki.
Cardiff Blues: 15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 Alex Cuthbert, 13 Cory Allen, 12 Dafydd Hewitt, 11 Harry Robinson, 10 Rhys Patchell, 9 Lloyd Williams, 8 Andries Pretorius, 7 Sam Warburton, 6 Josh Navidi, 5 Filo Paulo, 4 Bradley Davies, 3 Tau Filise, 2 Matthew Rees (captain), 1 Gethin Jenkins.
Replacements: 16 Marc Breeze, 17 Sam Hobbs, 18 Scott Andrews, 19 Lou Reed, 20 Robin Copeland, 21 Lewis Jones, 22 Gareth Davies, 23 Richard Smith.
Referee: Jérôme Garcès (France)
Assistant referees: Patrick Pechambert (France) Sébastien Clouté (France)
TMO: Philippe Bonhoure (France)
Toulon v Glasgow Warriors
(Stade Félix Mayol – Kick-off: 16.00; 14.00 GMT)
The teams:
Toulon: 15 Delon Armitage, 14 Josua Tuisova, 13 Maxime Mermoz, 12 Matt Giteau, 11 David Smith, 10 Jonny Wilkinson (captain), 9 Michael Claassens, 8 Chris Masoe, 7 Joe van Niekerk, 6 Juan Fernandez Lobbe, 5 Ali Williams, 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 Martin Castrogiovanni, 2 Jean-Charles Orioli, 1 Emmanuel Felsina.
Replacements: 16 Benjamin Noirot, 17 Xavier Chiocci, 18 Carl Hayman, 19 Steffon Armitage, 20 Mathieu Bastareaud, 21 Drew Mitchell, 22 Frederic Michalak, 23 Danie Rossouw.
Glasgow: 15 Sean Maitland, 14 Tommy Seymour, 13 Mark Bennett, 12 Alex Dunbar, 11 Niko Matawalu, 10 Ruaridh Jackson, 9 Henry Pyrgos, 8 Josh Strauss, 7 Chris Fusaro, 6 Tim Swinson, 5 Al Kellock (captain), 4 Jonny Gray, 3 Jon Welsh, 2 Dougie Hall, 1 Ryan Grant.
Replacements: 16 Pat MacArthur, 17 Moray Low, 18 Ed Kalman, 19 James Eddie, 20 Richie Vernon, 21 Duncan Weir, 22 Byron McGuigan, 23 DTH van der Merwe.
Referee: Greg Garner (England)
Assistant referees: Andrew Small (England), Robin Goodliffe (England)
TMO: Graham Hughes (England)
Racing Métro 92 v ASM Clermont Auvergne
(Stade Yves-du-Manoir [Colombes] – Kick-off: 21.00; 19.00 GMT)
The teams:
Racing Métro:15 Benjamin Lapeyre, 14 Marc Andreu, 13 Fabrice Estebanez, 12 Juan Martin Hernandez, 11 Juan Imhoff, 10 Jonny Sexton, 9 Maxime Machenaud, 8 Jacques Cronje, 7 Antoine Battut, 6 Wenceslas Lauret, 5 Francois van der Merwe, 4 Juandre Kruger, 3 Luc Ducalcon, 2 Dimitri Szarzewski (captain), 1 Davit Khinchagishvili.
Replacements:16 Virgile Lacombe, 17 Eddy Ben Arous, 18 Julien Brugnaut, 19 Fabrice Metz, 20 Bernard Le Roux, 21 Laurent Magnaval, 22 Henry Chavancy, 23 Benjamin Dambielle.
Clermont: 15 Lee Byrne, 14 Sitiveni Sivivatu, 13 Aurélien Rougerie (captain), 12 Wesley Fofana, 11 Napolioni Nalaga, 10 Brock James, 9 Morgan Parra, 8 Damien Chouly, 7 Julien Bardy, 6 Julien Bonnaire, 5 Nathan Hines, 4 Julien Pierre, 3 Davit Zirakashvili, 2 Benjamin Kayser, 1 Thomas Domingo.
Replacements: 16 Ti'i Paulo, 17 Vincent Debaty, 18 Daniel Kotze, 19 Loic Jacquet, 20 Gerhard Vosloo, 21 Thierry Lacrampe, 22 Benson Stanley, 23 Jean-Marcel Buttin.
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant referees: Gwyn Morris (Wales), Wayne Davies (Wales)
TMO: Derek Bevan (Wales)
