Preview: European Champions Cup, Round Six
Every team still involved has plenty to play for and this is always one of the best weekends in the global rugby calendar, with a fair share of crazy results always being delivered.
We first look at each pool.
Pool One: If keeping it simple in such a superbly congested Round Six is difficult, the straightforward message for Ulster (17 points) who travel to Wasps (12 points), and for La Rochelle (16 points) who host Harlequins, is that both need to win. What is certain, is that a victory for Ulster at the Ricoh would guarantee them a place in the last eight come what may. Remember too that Wasps are not out of it … which all suggests that Sunday afternoon might be a bit of a roller coaster.
Pool Two: This pool always had the whiff of death about it and now we have the TOP 14 champions and the tournament holders fighting for survival. Clermont (18 points), who have been hit by a host of injuries, need to beat a resurgent Ospreys (15 points) at Marcel-Michelin, while a home win for Saracens (13 points) might not be enough. And even if Northampton Saints are gone from the qualification race, expect them to come out firing at Allianz Park.
Pool Three: Impressive Leinster have already booked a home quarter-final, and a losing bonus point in Montpellier will see them ranked No 1 going into the knockout stage which statistically boosts their chances of a semi-final in Ireland. Montpellier (13 points) are still in the hunt for a best runner-up spot as are the Exeter Chiefs (14 points) who need a big win in Glasgow.
Pool Four: Another pool going right down to the wire. If Munster (16 points) get the better of Castres (12 points) at Thomond Park, then they will win the pool irrespective of what happens between Leicester and Racing 92 (15 points) at Welford Road as the Irish province have a superior points difference from the head-to-heads with Racing. A win for the TOP 14 side in Leicester, and they could well grab a quarter-final place.
Pool Five: A packed house at Parc y Scarlets is guaranteed on Saturday for the shoot-out between Scarlets (17 points) and RC Toulon (18 points). The winner takes all, and the loser will be left sweating on the possibility of a best runner-up place. Even if Bath (13 points) hit top form against Benetton in Treviso, a bonus point victory may still not be enough.
Qualification for the quarterfinals
The five pool winners and the three best-placed runners-up qualify for the quarterfinals, and will be decided as follows:
(a) The pool winner will be the club with the highest number of match points in each pool. The best-placed runners-up will be the three clubs with the highest number of match points out of the five clubs that finish second in their respective pools. For the quarterfinals, the pool winners will be ranked 1 to 5 and the best-placed runners-up ranked sixth, seventh and eighth by the number of match points earned.
(b) If two clubs in the same pool are equal on match points at the conclusion of the pool stage, then their ranking will be determined by the results of the two matches played between the relevant clubs as follows:
(i) the club with the greater number of match points from the two matches; or
(ii) if equal, the club with the best aggregate points difference from the two matches; or
(iii) if equal, the club that scored the most tries in the two matches.
(c) If ranking remains unresolved and/or if clubs have not played each other previously in the pool stage, qualification/ranking will be determined as follows:
(i) the best aggregate points difference from the pool stage; or
(ii) if equal, the number of tries scored in the pool stage; or
(iii) if equal, the club with the fewest number of players suspended under Disciplinary Rules in the pool stage; or
(iv) if unresolved, by drawing lots.
The clubs ranked one to four will have home advantage in the quarterfinals as follows:
Quarterfinal One: Club One v Club Eight
Quarterfinal Two: Club Four v Club Five
Quarterfinal Three: Club Three v Club Six
Quarterfinal Four: Club Two v Club Seven
Semifinals
The format for the semifinal matches in the Champions Cup recognises performances by clubs during the pool stage as well as the achievement of winning a quarterfinal match away from home.
Semifinal One: Winner Quarterfinal One v winner Quarterfinal Two
Semifinal Two: Winner Quarterfinal Three v winner Quarterfinal Four
The semifinals will be played at venues designated by EPCR, and the following clubs will have home country advantage in their respective matches:
(a) For Semifinal One
If the clubs ranked One and Four win their quarterfinals, the club ranked 1 will have home country advantage
If the clubs ranked 1 and 5 win their quarterfinals, the club ranked 5 will have home country advantage
If the clubs ranked 8 and 4 win their quarterfinals, the club ranked 8 will have home country advantage
If the clubs ranked 8 and 5 win their quarterfinals, the club ranked 5 will have home country advantage
(b) For Semifinal Two
If the clubs ranked three and two win their quarterfinals, the club ranked two will have home country advantage
If the clubs ranked third and seventh win their quarterfinals, the club ranked seven will have home country advantage
If the clubs ranked six and two win their quarterfinals, the club ranked six will have home country advantage
If the clubs ranked sixth and seventh win their quarterfinals, the club ranked six will have home country advantage
Knockout stage appearances since 1996
The knockout stage appearances of the clubs in the 2017/18 competition (excluding the 1997/98 quarterfinal play-offs) are as follows:
16 – Munster
14 – Leinster (including this season)
13 – Leicester Tigers
8 – ASM Clermont Auvergne
7 – Northampton Saints, Scarlets, Wasps
6 – Bath, RC Toulon, Saracens
5 – Ulster
4 – Harlequins
3 – Ospreys
2 – Racing 92
1 – Castres Olympique, Exeter Chiefs, Glasgow Warriors, Montpellier
We look at all the Round Six matches!
Saturday, January 20
Pool Three:
Glasgow Warriors v Exeter Chiefs
(Scotstoun Stadium – Kick-off: 13.00; 13.00 GMT)
Glasgow has won two of the three meetings between the clubs, however, Exeter came out best at Sandy Park in Round One this season.
All three previous games have been decided by fewer than 10 points, with each side scoring exactly 50 points across the fixtures.
Glasgow has lost their last three home games, and they've not lost more in succession since a run of six defeats between January 2003 and December 2005.
The Chiefs have missed an average of 26 tackles per match this season, more than any other side.
Two Exeter players have played the full 400 minutes so far this season (Henry Slade and Don Armand), and only Munster (three) have more players to have played every minute
Teams:
Glasgow Warriors: 15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Tommy Seymour, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Alex Dunbar, 11 Leonardo Sarto, 10 Finn Russell, 9 George Horne, 8 Adam Ashe, 7 Matt Smith, 6 Matt Fagerson, 5 Jonny Gray (captain), 4 Rob Harley, 3 Siua Halanukonuka, 2 George Turner, 1 Jamie Bhatti.
Replacements: 16 Grant Stewart, 17 Alex Allan, 18 D’Arcy Rae, 19 Greg Peterson, 20 Chris Fusaro, 21 Ali Price, 22 Peter Horne, 23 Lee Jones.
Exeter Chiefs: 15 Phil Dollman, 14 Lachie Turner, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Ian Whitten, 11 Olly Woodburn, 10 Gareth Steenson (captain), 9 Nic White, 8 Sam Simmonds, 7 Don Armand, 6 Dave Ewers, 5 Jonny Hill, 4 Mitch Lees, 3 Harry Williams, 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 1 Ben Moon.
Replacements: 16 Elvis Taione, 17 Moray Low, 18 Tomas Francis, 19 Toby Salmon, 20 Matt Kvesic, 21 Will Chudley, 22 Joe Simmonds, 23 Tom Hendrickson.
Referee: Romain Poite (France)
Assistant referees: Cyril Lafon (France), Vincent Blasco (France)
TMO: Simon McDowell (Ireland)
Pool Three:
Montpellier v Leinster
(Altrad Stadium – Kick-off: 14.00; 13.00 GMT)
Montpellier have won just one of their five encounters with three-time winners Leinster, although they are unbeaten at home against the Irish province.
Pool Three winners, Leinster, are unbeaten in their last four away games, although they've won on just two of their last eight trips to France.
Montpellier have won just three of their 15 games against Irish opposition in Europe (including Challenge Cup), losing 11 and drawing one.
Montpellier are the only side to have a 100 percent scrum success rate after five rounds, winning all 36 on their own put-in.
Leinster are the top points (153) and try (19) scorers this season.
Teams:
Montpellier: 15 Benjamin Fall, 14 Timoci Nagusa, 13 Frans Steyn, 12 Jan Serfontein, 11 Nemani Nadolo, 10 Aaron Cruden, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Louis Picamoles, 7 Yacouba Camara, 6 Kelian Galletier, 5 Konstantine Mikautadze, 4 Nicholaas Van Rensburg, 3 Antoine Guillamon, 2 Bismarck Du Plessis, 1 Mikheil Nariashvili.
Replacements: 16 Romain Ruffenach, 17 Yvan Watremez, 18 Mohamed Haouas, 19 Julien Delannoy, 20 Fulgence Ouedraogo, 21 Gela Aprasidze, 22 Joe Tomane, 23 Jesse Mogg.
Leinster: 15 Rob Kearney, 14 Jordan Larmour, 13 Robbie Henshaw, 12 Isa Nacewa (captain), 11 James Lowe, 10 Ross Byrne, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Jack Conan, 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Dan Leavy, 5 James Ryan, 4 Devin Toner, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Seán Cronin, 1 Cian Healy.
Replacements: 16 Bryan Byrne, 17 Jack McGrath, 18 Andrew Porter, 19 Ross Molony, 20 Jordi Murphy, 21 Luke McGrath, 22 Joey Carbery, 23 Fergus McFadden.
Referee: Luke Pearce (England)
Assistant referees: Ian Tempest (England), Peter Allan (England)
TMO: Graham Hughes (England)
Pool Two
Saracens v Northampton Saints
(Allianz Park – Kick-off: 15.15; 15.15 GMT)
This will be the third meeting between the clubs in the Champions Cup, with Saracens winning both previous encounters.
The reigning champions' win in Round One represented Northampton's heaviest defeat on home soil in Europe (57-13).
Saracens have won all seven of their Champions Cup games against Premiership opposition, with those victories coming by an average margin of 20 points.
Saracens have won 93 percent of their own line-outs so far, the best rate of any side.
Northampton have conceded 24 tries in their five matches so far, no side has conceded more (Glasgow also 24).
Teams:
Saracens: 15 Alex Goode, 14 Liam Williams, 13 Marcelo Bosch, 12 Brad Barritt (captain), 11 Chris Wyles, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Richard Wigglesworth, 8 Schalk Burger, 7 Calum Clark, 6 Maro Itoje, 5 George Kruis, 4 Nick Isiekwe, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Jamie George, 1 Mako Vunipola.
Replacements: 16 Christopher Tolofua, 17 Hayden Thompson-Stringer, 18 Juan Figallo, 19 Will Skelton, 20 Sione Vailanu, 21 Ben Spencer, 22 Alex Lozowski, 23 Sean Maitland.
Northampton Saints: 15 Ben Foden, 14 Ken Pisi, 13 Rob Horne, 12 Tom Stephenson, 11 Nafi Tuitavake, 10 Harry Mallinder, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Mitch Eadie, 7 Jamie Gibson, 6 Courtney Lawes, 5 Christian Day, 4 Michael Paterson, 3 Kieran Brookes, 2 Dylan Hartley (captain), 1 Campese Ma’afu.
Replacements: 16 Reece Marshall, 17 Francois van Wyk, 18 Paul Hill, 19 David Ribbans, 20 Lewis Ludlam, 21 Alex Mitchell, 22 Stephen Myler, 23 George North.
Referee: Mathieu Raynal (France)
Assistant referees: Alexandre Ruiz (France), Thomas Charabas (France)
TMO: Phillippe Bonhoure (France)
Pool Two
ASM Clermont Auvergne v Ospreys
(Stade Marcel-Michelin – Kick-off: 16,15; 15.15 GMT)
This will be the fourth time ASM Clermont Auvergne have hosted the Ospreys, winning on all three previous occasions and outscoring the Welsh region 95-50 in those games.
Clermont has won all nine of their home games against Welsh opposition in Europe's top flight, and only the Ospreys, in November 2015, have managed to finish within 20 points of Clermont during that run (34-29).
The Ospreys won their last away game but haven't won consecutive matches on the road since the 2007/08 pool stage when they beat Ulster before winning away in France in Round Six (v Bourgoin).
The Welsh side has the best tackle success rate in the Champions Cup this season, completing 92 percent, and missing an average of just 13 per game.
Morgan Parra is the top points scorer (62) heading into the final round of the pool stage.
Teams:
Clermont: 15 Isaia Toeava, 14 Nick Abendanon, 13 Peter Betham, 12 Rémi Lamerat, 11 Remi Grosso, 10 Luke McAlister, 9 Morgan Parra, 8 Fritz Lee, 7 Alexandre Lapandry, 6 Peceli Yato, 5 Sébastien Vahaamahina, 4 Arthur Iturria, 3 Davit Zirakashvili, 2 Benjamin Kayser, 1 Raphael Chaume.
Replacements: 16 Yohan Beheregaray, 17 Etienne Falgoux, 18 Rabah Slimani, 19 Paul Jedrasiak, 20 Damien Chouly, 21 Greig Laidlaw, 22 Noa Nakaitaci, 23 Scott Spedding.
Ospreys: 15 Dan Evans, 14 Hanno Dirksen, 13 Ashley Beck, 12 Owen Watkin, 11 Jeff Hassler, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Rhys Webb, 8 Rob McCusker, 7 Justin Tipuric, 6 Olly Cracknell, 5 Alun Wyn Jones, 4 Bradley Davies, 3 Dmitri Arhip, 2 Scott Baldwin, 1 Nicky Smith.
Replacements: 16 Scott Otten, 17 Gareth Thomas, 18 Ma’afu Fia, 19 Adam Beard, 20 Will Jones, 21 Thomas Habberfield, 22 Sam Davies, 23 Kieron Fonotia.
Referee: JP Doyle (England)
Assistant referees: Anthony Woodthorpe (England), Simon McConnell (England)
TMO: Stuart Terheege (England)
Pool Five
Scarlets v RC Toulon
(Parc y Scarlets – Kick-off: 17.30; 17.30 GMT)
This will be the sixth meeting between Scarlets and Toulon in the Champions Cup, with the sides meeting in the pool stage of three of the last four seasons.
Toulon has won four of the five previous meetings.
The clubs have shared one win apiece in their most recent two clashes, both games being won by the home side on the day, each by a single point.
Scarlets, who are looking to qualify for the knock-out stage for the first time since 2007, have lost just one of their last five home games.
Leigh Halfpenny has succeeded with all 10 of his conversion attempts so far, more than anyone else who is yet to miss one.
Toulon has averaged more carries (153) and metres (485) than any other side this season to date.
Teams:
Scarlets: 15 Rhys Patchell, 14 Tom Prydie, 13 Hadleigh Parkes, 12 Scott Williams, 11 Paul Asquith, 10 Dan Jones, 9 Gareth Davies, 8 John Barclay, 7 James Davies, 6 Aaron Shingler, 5 David Bulbring, 4 Tadhg Beirne, 3 Samson Lee, 2 Ken Owens, 1 Rob Evans.
Replacements: 16 Ryan Elias, 17 Wyn Jones, 18 Werner Kruger, 19 Lewis Rawlins, 20 Will Boyde, 21 Aled Davies, 22 Steff Hughes, 23 Leigh Halfpenny.
Toulon: 15 Hugo Bonneval, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Semi Radradra, 12 Ma’a Nonu, 11 Chris Ashton, 10 Anthony Belleau, 9 Alby Mathewson, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Raphael Lakafia, 6 Facundo Isa, 5 Romain Taofifenua, 4 Juandre Kruger, 3 Marcel van der Merwe, 2 Guilhem Guirado, 1 Florian Fresia.
Replacements: 16 Anthony Etrillard, 17 Xavier Chiocci, 18 Emerick Setiano, 19 Juan Fernandez Lobbe, 20 Francois Trinh-Duc, 21 Jean Monribot, 22 Eric Escande, 23 Samu Manoa.
Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)
Assistant referees: Tom Foley (England), Paul Dix (England)
TMO: David Grashoff (England)
Pool Five
Benetton v Bath
(Stadio Comunale di Monigo – Kick-off: 18.30; 17.30)
Bath have won three of the previous four meetings between the clubs.
Benetton will be hosting Bath for the first time since 2004/05.
They scored over 25 points in each of their previous two home games, compared to just seven in total in their two away games against the Premiership side.
Bath have won 17 of 18 European games against Italian opposition (including Challenge Cup), winning by an average margin of 39 points in those 17 matches.
Tom Dunn has made more tackles (99) than any other player this season, missing only six.
Rhys Priestland has successfully caught 13/13 kicks in open play.
Teams:
Benetton: 15 Ian McKinley, 14 Tommaso Benvenuti, 13 Luca Morisi, 12 Alberto Sgarbi, 11 Monty Ioane, 10 Tommy Allan, 9 Edoardo Gori, 8 Robert Barbieri, 7 Seb Negri Da Oleggio, 6 Whetu Douglas, 5 Dean Budd, 4 Ira Herbst, 3 Marco Riccioni, 2 Tomas Baravalle, 1 Nicola Quaglio.
Replacements: 16 Hame Faiva, 17 Alberto de Marchi, 18 Simone Ferrari, 19 Federico Ruzza, 20 Alessandro Zanni, 21 Braam Steyn, 22 Giorgio Bronzini, 23 Luca Sperandio.
Bath: 15 Anthony Watson 14 Matt Banahan 13 Jonathan Joseph 12 Ben Tapuai 11 Aled Brew 10 Freddie Burns 9 Kahn Fotuali’i 8 Zach Mercer, 7 Sam Underhill, 6 Matt Garvey (captain), 5 Elliott Stooke, 4 James Phillips, 3 Henry Thomas, 2 Tom Dunn, 1 Lucas Noguera.
Replacements: 16 Michael van Vuuren, 17 Nick Auterac, 18 Max Lahiff, 19 Luke Charteris, 20 Paul Grant, 21 Darren Allinson, 22 Josh Lewis, 23 James Wilson.
Referee: Pascal Gauzère (France)
Assistant referees: Laurent Cardona (France), Jean-Luc Rebollal (France)
TMO: Eric Gauzins (France)
Sunday, 21 January
Pool Four
Leicester Tigers v Racing 92
(Welford Road – Kick-off: 13.00; 13.00 GMT)
Racing 92 have won three of the four previous meetings between the clubs, however, their solitary defeat was at Welford Road in Round 2 last season.
Racing has lost their last six pool stage away games, this after going undefeated for five games on the road before that run.
Leicester lost their last game at Welford Road, against Munster in Round Four, however, they've never lost consecutive home games in a single season.
Leone Nakarawa has made more carries (79) and offloads (16) than any other player in the Champions Cup after five rounds.
Both George Ford and Maxime Machenaud have kicked nine from nine penalties to date.
No player has landed more penalties without missing at least one.
Teams:
Leicester: 15 Mathew Tait, 14 Nick Malouf, 13 Manu Tuilagi, 12 Matt Toomua, 11 Jonny May, 10 George Ford (captain), 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Sione Kalamafoni, 7 Brendon O’Connor, 6 Mike Williams, 5 Graham Kitchener, 4 Harry Wells, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 1 Greg Bateman.
Replacements: 16 Tom Youngs, 17 Michele Rizzo, 18 Logovi’i Mulipola, 19 Mike Fitzgerald, 20 Valentino Mapapalangi, 21 Sam Harrison, 22 Joe Ford, 23 Adam Thompstone.
Racing 92: 15 Brice Dulin, 14 Teddy Thomas, 13 Virimi Vakatawa, 12 Henry Chavancy, 11 Joe Rokocoko, 10 Rémi Tales, 9 Maxime Machenaud (captain), 8 Leone Nakarawa, 7 Yannick Nyanga, 6 Wenceslas Lauret, 5 Manuel Carizza, 4 Donnacha Ryan, 3 Ben Tameifuna, 2 Camille Chat, 1 Eddy Ben Arous.
Replacements: 16 Dimitri Szarzewski, 17 Vasil Kakovin, 18 Cedate Gomes Sa, 19 Baptiste Chouzenoux, 20 Boris Palu, 21 Teddy Iribaren, 22 Dan Carter, 23 Louis Dupichot.
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant referees: Ian Davies (Wales), Gwyn Morris (Wales)
TMO: Neil Hennessy (Wales)
Pool Four
Munster v Castres Olympique
(Thomond Park – Kick-off: 13.00; 13.00 GMT)
The clubs have met 13 times previously in the European Cup, the most in the competition's history and Munster are unbeaten in each of their last six encounters.
Should Munster win it would be their 10th victory against Castres.
No side has won more against a single opponent with Leicester Tigers (v Benetton) and Toulouse (v Edinburgh) also on 10.
Munster have won 27 of their 28 home games against TOP 14 opposition in the European Cup, their only defeat coming against ASM Clermont Auvergne in 2014/15.
Munster have conceded just eight tries so far, the fewest of any side in the competition.
Teams:
Munster: 15 Simon Zebo, 14 Andrew Conway, 13 Chris Farrell, 12 Rory Scannell, 11 Keith Earls, 10 Ian Keatley, 9 Conor Murray, 8 Christiaan Stander, 7 Chris Cloete, 6 Peter O’Mahony (captain), 5 Billy Holland, 4 Jean Kleyn, 3 Stephen Archer, 2 Rhys Marshall, 1 Dave Kilcoyne.
Replacements: 16 Niall Scannell, 17 James Cronin, 18 John Ryan, 19 Darren O’Shea, 20 Jack O’Donoghue, 21 Duncan Williams, 22 JJ Hanrahan, 23 Alex Wootton.
Castres: 15 Geoffrey Palis, 14 Kylian Jaminet, 13 Thomas Combezou, 12 Robert Ebersohn, 11 David Smith, 10 Julien Dumora, 9 Rory Kockott, 8 Alex Tulou, 7 Steve Mafi, 6 Yannick Caballero, 5 Thibault Lassalle, 4 Alexandre Bias, 3 Damien Tussac, 2 Jody Jenneker, 1 Antoine Tichit.
Replacements: 16 Kevin Firmin, 17 Tudor Stroe, 18 Daniel Kotze, 19 Victor Moreaux, 20 Baptiste Delaporte, 21 Yohan Domenech, 22 Yohan Le Bourhis, 23 Afusipa Taumoepeau.
Referee: Ben Whitehouse (Wales)
Assistant referees: Wayne Davies (Wales), Dewi Phillips (Wales)
TMO: Jon Mason (Wales)
Pool One
Wasps v Ulster
(Ricoh Arena – Kick-off: 15.15; 15.15 GMT)
Wasps have won all three of their home games against Ulster, scoring 141 points in the process.
This will be the first time they've hosted the Irish province since 2001/02 though.
In fact, Wasps have never lost at home to Irish opposition in the European Cup, winning eight and drawing one.
Ulster has won four of their last five games against Premiership opposition, including this season against Wasps in Round One and against Harlequins twice.
Former Wasps player, Charles Piutau, is the leading metre-maker in the tournament this season (502).
Stuart McCloskey, Iain Henderson and Joe Launchbury are three of 19 players to play the full 400 minutes so far this season.
Teams:
Wasps: 15 Willie Le Roux, 14 Christian Wade, 13 Juan De Jongh, 12 Kyle Eastmond, 11 Marcus Watson, 10 Danny Cipriani, 9 Dan Robson, 8 Nizaam Carr, 7 Guy Thompson, 6 Jack Willis, 5 James Gaskell, 4 Joe Launchbury (captain), 3 Jake Cooper-Woolley, 2 Tom Cruse, 1 Simon McIntyre.
Replacements: 16 Ashley Johnson, 17 Ben Harris, 18 Marty Moore, 19 Kearnan Myall, 20 Thomas Young, 21 Joe Simpson, 22 Rob Miller, 23 Brendan Macken.
Ulster: 15 Charles Piutau, 14 Louis Ludik, 13 Darren Cave, 12 Stuart McCloskey, 11 Jacob Stockdale, 10 Christian Lealiifano, 9 John Cooney, 8 Nathan Timoney, 7 Sean Reidy, 6 Iain Henderson, 5 Kieran Treadwell, 4 Alan O'Connor, 3 Rodney Ah You, 2 Rory Best (captain), 1 Kyle McCall.
Replacements: 16 Rob Herring, 17 Andrew Warwick, 18 Wiehahn Herbst, 19 Matt Rea, 20 Chris Henry, 21 David Shanahan, 22 Jonny McPhillips, 23 Rob Lyttle.
Referee: Jerome Garcès (France)
Assistant referees: Ludovic Cayre (France), Jonathan Dufort (France)
TMO: Eric Briquet Campin (France)
Pool One
La Rochelle v Harlequins
(Stade Marcel Deflandre – Kick-off: 16.15; 15.15 GMT)
This will be just the second meeting between the clubs, with La Rochelle winning 34-27 in Round One.
La Rochelle has won both of their home games this season, by 20+ points and scoring 90 points in total.
Kevin Gourdon made a round high 26 tackles last weekend, and overall only two players (Tom Dunn 99 and Joe Launchbury 79) have made more tackles than the La Rochelle back row (77).
Harlequins have the lowest tackle success rate (84 percent) of any side in the competition this season.
Teams:
La Rochelle: 15 Kini Murimurivalu, 14 Rene Ranger, 13 Paul Jordaan, 12 Pierre Aguillon, 11 Vincent Rattez, 10 Jérémy Sinzelle, 9 Alexi Bales, 8 Victor Vito, 7 Kevin Gourdon, 6 Levani Botia, 5 Mathieu Tanguy, 4 Jason Eaton (captain), 3 Uini Atonio, 2 Pierre Bourgarit, 1 Dany Priso.
Replacements: 16 Jean-Charles Orioli, 17 Lekso Kaulashvili, 18 Mohamed Boughanmi, 19 William Demotte, 20 Romain Sazy, 21 Tawera Kerr-Barlow, 22 Benjamin Noble, 23 Eliott Roudil.
Harlequins: 15 Ian Prior, 14 Ross Chisholm, 13 Alofa Alofa, 12 James Lang, 11 Tim Visser, 10 Marcus Smith, 9 Danny Care, 8 Mat Luamanu, 7 Archie White, 6 James Chisholm, 5 Ben Glynn, 4 George Merrick, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 2 Dave Ward (captain), 1 Lewis Boyce.
Replacements: 16 Elia Elia, 17 Mark Lambert, 18 Phil Swainston, 19 Charlie Matthews, 20 Dino Lamb, 21 Dave Lewis, 22 Joe Marchant, 23 Aaron Morris.
Referee: George Clancy (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Frank Murphy (Ireland), Leo Colgan (Ireland)
TMO: Brian MacNiece (Ireland)
Source: @ChampionsCup
