Round 3 of the Champions Cup continues on Saturday with five games scheduled, including Munster facing Leicester at Thomond Park.
Scarlets vs Benetton Rugby
Scarlets can call upon 10 of their returning internationals for Saturday's Champions Cup clash against Benetton Rugby at Parc y Scarlets.
Ken Owens returns to captain his side as the Scarlets take on the Italians in the third round of the competition.
Leigh Halfpenny, Hadleigh Parkes, Steff Evans, Rhys Patchell, Gareth Davies, Wyn Jones, John Barclay, Rob Evans, Aled Davies and Owens all make a return following their respective Autumn Internationals.
Australian second-row Steven Cummins will make his home debut having played his first regional game in last weekend's PRO14 game.
Looking ahead to the game head coach Wayne Pivac said; "If we're good enough to win both games technically three teams could be first-equal after these two weekends. What we can control is the game this weekend.
"The biggest challenge for us will be integrating everyone back in and starting well giving ourselves the best chance of scoring four tries. If we can do that we'll be very pleased.
"We also understand that Benetton are a better side than they have been in recent years. We played them a few weeks ago and having played them only a few weeks ago in the league, we know that they're a tough nut to crack, and they crossed the line on two occasions that night.
"We know it's not going to be a walk in the park. We will be targeting five points, we know that will be a challenge, but we will be trying to maximise as much as we can over the next two weeks."
Meanwhile, Benetton name a strong XV as they look to pick up a first win in this season's competition in what would be a shock result.
Included in the side is full-back Jayden Hayward while Alberto Sgarbi and Tommaso Benvenuti form a strong midfield outside fly-half Tommy Allan.
The teams:
Scarlets: 15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 Johnny McNicholl, 13 Paul Asquith, 12 Hadleigh Parkes, 11 Steff Evans, 10 Rhys Patchell, 9 Gareth Davies, 8 John Barclay, 7 James Davies, 6 Tadhg Beirne, 5 David Bulbring, 4 Steven Cummins, 3 Werner Kruger, 2 Ken Owens (c), 1 Wyn Jones
Replacements: 16 Taylor Davies, 17 Rob Evans, 18 Simon Gardiner, 19 Lewis Rawlins, 20 Josh Macleod, 21 Aled Davies, 22 Steff Hughes, 23 Tom Prydie
Benetton Rugby: 15 Jayden Hayward, 14 Angelo Esposito, 13 Tommaso Benvenuti, 12 Alberto Sgarbi, 11 Monty Ioane, 10 Tommy Allan, 9 Giorgio Bronzini, 8 Robert Barbieri, 7 Seb Negri Da Oleggio, 6 Francesco Minto, 5 Federico Ruzza, 4 Marco Lazzaroni, 3 Tiziano Pasquali, 2 Hame Faiva, 1 Nicola Quaglio
Replacements: 16 Luca Bigi, 17 Federico Zani, 18 Alberto de Marchi, 19 Marco Fuser, 20 Whetu Douglas, 21 Tito Tebaldi, 22 Ian McKinley, 23 Luca Morisi
Venue: Parc y Scarlets
Kick-off: 13:00 GMT
Referee: Mathieu Raynal (France)
Assistant referees: Tual Trainini (France), Mathieu Noirot (France)
TMO: Graham Hughes (England)
Toulon vs Bath
Toulon have named a strong line-up with the in-form Chris Ashton at full-back alongside deadly wings Josua Tuisova and Semi Radradra.
Francois Trinh-Duc is given the nod at fly-half alongside Alby Mathewson with a midfield of Ma'a Nonu and Mathieu Bastareaud named.
Up front Guilhem Guirado packs down in between Florian Fresia and Levan Chilachava while Duane Vermeulen is at number eight.
Meanwhile, Bath's Chris Cook will make his 100th appearance for the club in this game.
Cook will mark a century of games in the Blue, Black and White at scrum-half, with Rhys Priestland returning to the starting line-up to complete the half-back pairing.
Anthony Watson continues at full-back, with Aled Brew and Matt Banahan occupying the wing positions. Jonathan Joseph and Ben Tapuai form the midfield partnership, as Bath look to continue their unbeaten start to the competition.
There’s one change in the front row, as Max Lahiff comes in at tighthead prop and will feature alongside Tom Dunn and Beno Obano.
Elliott Stooke and Luke Charteris start in the second row, with Matt Garvey captaining the side from blindside flanker. Taulupe Faletau returns from international duty to take his place at number eight, with Paul Grant switching to openside flanker.
Henry Thomas completes his return from injury and is named amongst the replacements for the trip to face the three-time European champions.
The teams:
Toulon: 15 Chris Ashton, 14 Josua Tuisova, 13 Mathieu Bastareaud, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Semi Radradra, 10 Francois Trinh-Duc, 9 Alby Mathewson, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Raphael Lakafia, 6 Juan Fernandez Lobbe, 5 Romain Taofifenua, 4 Samu Manoa, 3 Levan Chilachava, 2 Guilhem Guirado, 1 Florian Fresia
Replacements: 16 Anthony Etrillard, 17 Xavier Chiocci, 18 Marcel Van Der Merwe, 19 Facundo Isa, 20 Anthony Belleau, 21 JP Pietersen, 22 Anthony Meric, 23 Juandre Kruger
Bath: 15 Anthony Watson, 14 Aled Brew, 13 Jonathan Joseph, 12 Ben Tapuai, 11 Matt Banahan, 10 Rhys Priestland, 9 Chris Cook, 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 Paul Grant, 6 Matt Garvey (c), 5 Luke Charteris, 4 Elliott Stooke, 3 Max Lahiff, 2 Tom Dunn, 1 Beno Obano
Replacements: 16 Michael van Vuuren, 17 Nick Auterac, 18 Henry Thomas, 19 Charlie Ewels, 20 Zach Mercer, 21 Kahn Fotuali’i, 22 Freddie Burns, 23 Jack Wilson
Venue: Stade Felix Mayol
Kick-off: 16:15 local (15:15 GMT)
Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)
Assistant referees: George Clancy (Ireland), John Carvill (Ireland)
TMO: Peter Fitzgibbon (Ireland)
Northampton vs Ospreys
Jim Mallinder has made eight changes to Northampton Saints' starting line-up for this weekend’s home clash against Ospreys.
Saints welcome the Welsh region to Franklin’s Gardens having won the last six meetings between the sides, the most recent being a 36-6 triumph back in 2014.
Ahsee Tuala – who signed a new two-year Saints contract this week – is the only change to the back three, with the Samoan international joining full-back Harry Mallinder and Ben Foden.
Luther Burrell returns to the midfield to partner Rob Horne, with Piers Francis and Nic Groom forming a new-look half-back partnership.
Meanwhile there are also two changes in the engine room as both David Ribbans and Christian Day return from injury, with Courtney Lawes shifting to blindside flanker.
Alex Waller misses out through injury in the front row, so Francois van Wyk comes in with Dylan Hartley continuing to skipper the side from hooker.
And in the back row Lewis Ludlam is the final change to last week’s side, with the 22-year-old now fully recovered from glandular fever and making his first ever start in the Champions Cup at openside flanker.
Meanwhile, Dan Evans will make his 100th appearance for the Ospreys this weekend while Olly Cracknell will hit 50.
There is no Rhys Webb or Dan Biggar so Tom Habberfield and Sam Davies line up in the half-backs, with Owen Watkin and Kieron Fonotia in midfield.
Alun Wyn Jones leads from lock alongside Bradley Davies with Dan Lydiate named on the flank.
The teams:
Northampton: 15 Harry Mallinder, 14 Ahsee Tuala, 13 Rob Horne, 12 Luther Burrell, 11 Ben Foden, 10 Piers Francis, 9 Nic Groom, 8 Teimana Harrison, 7 Lewis Ludlam, 6 Courtney Lawes, 5 Christian Day, 4 David Ribbans, 3 Jamal Ford-Robinson, 2 Dylan Hartley (c), 1 Francois van Wyk
Replacements: 16 Mikey Haywood, 17 Campese Ma’afu, 18 Paul Hill, 19 Michael Paterson, 20 Jamie Gibson, 21 Cobus Reinach, 22 Stephen Myler, 23 JP Estelles
Ospreys: 15 Dan Evans, 14 Hanno Dirksen, 13 Kieron Fonotia, 12 Owen Watkin, 11 Jeff Hassler, 10 Sam Davies, 9 Tom Habberfield, 8 James King, 7 Olly Cracknell, 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 Alun Wyn Jones (c), 4 Bradley Davies, 3 Dmitri Arhip, 2 Scott Baldwin, 1 Nicky Smith
Replacements: 16 Scott Otten, 17 Rowan Jenkins, 18 Ma’afu Fia, 19 Adam Beard, 20 Rob McCusker, 21 Reuben Morgan-Williams, 22 James Hook, 23 Ben John
Venue: Franklin's Gardens
Kick-off: 17:30 GMT
Referee: Alexandre Ruiz (France)
Assistant referees: Thomas Charabas (France), Laurent Cardona (France)
TMO: Éric Briquet Campin (France)
Castres vs Racing 92
Fourth will host third in Pool 4 of the Champions Cup on Saturday as Castres go in search of their first victory of the European campaign.
Castres are in excellent form in the Top 14 though and will be looking to transfer that to the Champions Cup this weekend when they face a Racing 92 side that goes into this round just one point behind Leicester and Munster.
Castres name David Smith on the wing while Benjamin Urdapilleta is at fly-half, outside scrum-half Ludovic Radosavljevic, with Rory Kockott on the bench.
The pack looks strong and will look to take on a Racing eight that also impresses, with Eddy Ben Arous, Ben Tameifuna and Camille Chat their front-row.
Behind them the half-back pairing will be Maxime Machenaud and Rémi Tales while Henry Chavancy and Joe Rokocoko form the midfield, with Brice Dulin at 15.
The teams:
Castres: 15 Armand Batlle, 14 Afusipa Taumoepeau, 13 Robert Ebersohn, 12 Florian Vialelle, 11 David Smith, 10 Benjamin Urdapilleta, 9 Ludovic Radosavljevic, 8 Maama Vaipulu, 7 Mathieu Babillot, 6 Yannick Caballero, 5 Rodrigo Capo Ortega, 4 Thibault Lassalle, 3 Daniel Kotze, 2 Jody Jenneker, 1 Antoine Tichit
Replacements: 16 Marc-Antoine Rallier, 17 Tudor Stroe, 18 Yohan Montes, 19 Steve Mafi, 20 Loic Jacquet, 21 Rory Kockott, 22 Yohan Le Bourhis, 23 Kylian Jaminet
Racing 92: 15 Brice Dulin, 14 Teddy Thomas, 13 Joe Rokocoko, 12 Henry Chavancy, 11 Juan Imhoff, 10 Rémi Tales, 9 Maxime Machenaud, 8 Leone Nakarawa, 7 Boris Palu, 6 Yannick Nyanga, 5 Edwin Maka, 4 Manuel Carizza, 3 Ben Tameifuna, 2 Camille Chat, 1 Eddy Ben Arous
Replacements: 16 Dimitri Szarzewski, 17 Vasil Kakovin, 18 Cedate Gomes Sa, 19 Donnacha Ryan, 20 Bernard Le Roux, 21 Teddy Iribaren, 22 Antoine Gibert, 23 Albert Vulivuli
Venue: Stade Pierre Fabre
Kick-off: 18:30 local (17:30 GMT)
Referee: Luke Pearce (England)
Assistant referees: Ian Tempest (England), Paul Dix (England)
TMO: Dave Grashoff (England)
Munster vs Leicester
Munster head coach Johann van Graan has named his first Champions Cup matchday squad with returning internationals Peter O’Mahony, CJ Stander, Dave Kilcoyne, Conor Murray and Andrew Conway all included for Saturday’s clash with Leicester.
The returning international contingent are four of five changes to the side that defeated Ospreys in Irish Independent Park last weekend.
Stephen Archer is promoted from the bench this week and joins Rhys Marshall and Dave Kilcoyne in the front row, and it’s as you were with the second row partnership of Jean Kleyn and Billy Holland.
A new-look back row sees Chris Cloete start in his first Champions Cup game as the South African flanker links up with the experienced duo of captain Peter O’Mahony and CJ Stander.
Murray joins Ian Keatley in the half backs with Rory Scannell and Sam Arnold again forming the midfield pairing. Arnold makes his Champions Cup debut in red after last representing Ulster in Europe in January 2016.
Winger Alex Wootton is another who will make his European bow this weekend as he retains his place to start in a back three that includes Andrew Conway and Simon Zebo.
Meanwhile, Jonny May and Luke Hamilton return from injury to take their place in the Leicester Tigers team.
England international wing May, who has 10 tries in nine appearances for the club this season, starts for the first time since the autumn internationals and Hamilton returns after recovering from an injury suffered during his Scotland debut.
Matt Smith comes into midfield with Gareth Owen sidelined by a back injury and prop Kyle Traynor is included in the front row in the absence of Ellis Genge.
Dom Barrow, Sam Harrison and Nick Malouf are all among the replacements after missing the league match against Wasps last week.
The teams:
Munster: 15 Simon Zebo, 14 Andrew Conway, 13 Sam Arnold, 12 Rory Scannell, 11 Alex Wootton, 10 Ian Keatley, 9 Conor Murray, 8 CJ Stander, 7 Chris Cloete, 6 Peter O’Mahony (c), 5 Billy Holland, 4 Jean Kleyn, 3 Stephen Archer, 2 Rhys Marshall, 1 Dave Kilcoyne
Replacements: 16 Kevin O’Byrne, 17 Brian Scott, 18 John Ryan, 19 Darren O’Shea, 20 Jack O’Donoghue, 21 Duncan Williams, 22 JJ Hanrahan, 23 Darren Sweetnam
Leicester: 15 Telusa Veainu, 14 Adam Thompstone, 13 Matt Smith, 12 Mathew Tait, 11 Jonny May, 10 George Ford, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Sione Kalamafoni, 7 Luke Hamilton, 6 Valentino Mapapalangi, 5 Graham Kitchener, 4 Mike Fitzgerald, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Tom Youngs (c), 1 Kyle Traynor
Replacements: 16 Harry Thacker, 17 Logovi’i Mulipola, 18 Chris Baumann, 19 Dom Barrow, 20 Mike Williams, 21 Sam Harrison, 22 Joe Ford, 23 Nick Malouf
Venue: Thomond Park
Kick-off: 19:45 GMT
Referee: Jérôme Garcès (France)
Assistant referees: Ludovic Cayre (France), Jonathan Dufort (France)
TMO: Philippe Bonhoure (France)
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