Three games wrap up Round 2 of the Champions Cup as Montpellier, La Rochelle and Wasps host Exeter, Ulster and Quins respectively.
Montpellier vs Exeter Chiefs
Montpellier head coach Vern Cotter has made just two changes to his starting line-up after last weekend's opening round defeat away at Leinster.
In the back-line, Benoit Paillaugue is promoted from the replacements bench and will start at fly-half where he replaces Thomas Darmon, who drops out of the matchday squad.
In the forwards, the only alteration comes in the front row where Romain Ruffenach takes over from former Springbok hooker Bismarck du Plessis.
Meanwhile, Exeter Chiefs director of rugby Rob Baxter has also made two changes in personnel, both of which come in the pack.
Welsh international Tomas Francis gets the nod over Harry Williams in the tighthead shirt, while Thomas Waldrom – who made his first appearance of the season coming off the bench against Glasgow Warriors last weekend, following a broken foot – starts at number eight with Sam Simmonds dropping to the bench.
The only other changes to the Chiefs' matchday squad come on the bench where prop Alec Hepburn and scrum-half Will Chudley come in for Carl Rimmer and Stuart Townsend respectively.
Last weekend’s victory – only Exeter’s second-ever first round success in the competition – has given the Chiefs the perfect foundation from which to build – and their head coach, Ali Hepher, insists a victory on the road this weekend would put his side in a great position heading into December’s double-header against rivals Leinster.
“If you pick up an away win, it does start to throw good opportunities your way,” said Hepher.
“Last week was a good start for us, but the important things now is not to wait until round six to try and win the pool. Instead, let’s try and get a real foothold on things now.”
The teams:
Montpellier: 15 Jesse Mogg, 14 Benjamin Fall, 13 Joseph Tomane, 12 Frans Steyn, 11 Nemani Nadolo, 10 Benoit Paillaugue, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Louis Picamoles, 7 Yacouba Camara, 6 Kelian Galletier, 5 Nicholaas van Rensburg, 4 Jacques du Plessis, 3 Antoine Guillamon, 2 Romain Ruffenach, 1 Mikheil Nariashvili
Replacements: 16 Charles Geli, 17 Grégory Fichten, 18 Davit Kubriashvili, 19 Julien Delannoy, 20 Wiaan Liebenberg, 21 Enzo Sanga, 22 Timoci Nagusa, 23 Joffrey Michel
Exeter: 15 Phil Dollman, 14 Lachie Turner, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Ian Whitten, 11 Olly Woodburn, 10 Gareth Steenson, 9 Nic White, 8 Thomas Waldrom, 7 Julian Salvi, 6 Don Armand, 5 Jonny Hill, 4 Mitch Lees, 3 Tomas Francis, 2 Jack Yeandle (c), 1 Ben Moon
Replacements: 16 Elvis Taione, 17 Alec Hepburn, 18 Harry Williams, 19 Ollie Atkins, 20 Sam Simmonds, 21 Will Chudley, 22 Tom Hendrickson, 23 James Short
Venue: Altrad Stadium
Kick-off: 14:00 local (12:00 GMT)
Referee: John Lacey (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Andrew Brace (Ireland), Joy Neville (Ireland)
TMO: Simon McDowell (Ireland)
La Rochelle vs Ulster
La Rochelle have made three alterations – including two positional switches – to their run-on side for their first ever home fixture in this tournament.
In the back-line, Vincent Rattez moves to full-back from the right wing with Kini Murimurivalu missing out on selection. In the midfeld, Pierre Aguillon will wear the number 13 jersey while Paul Jordaan misses out but he has been included as a replacement.
Meanwhle, in the forwards, Botia Veivuke starts on the blindside flank which means Kevin Gourdon shifts to the opposite side of the scrum and Zeno Kieft drops out of the matchday squad.
Meanwhile, Andrew Trimble will become Ulster's most capped player when he lines out on the right wing for the visitors.
The Coleraine native will earn his 222nd cap, surpassing the record of 221 that he currently shares with Roger Wilson. Trimble has scored 74 tries for the Province since he made his competitive debut versus Cardiff Blues in September 2005.
Meanwhile, Robbie Diack could become just the third player to reach 200 Ulster appearances after he was named among the replacements by Ulster director of rugby, Les Kiss. The South African born forward moved to Belfast in the summer of 2008 and made his debut against Scarlets in September of that year.
Rory Best has also been included on the bench and is set to make his first appearance of the season after recovering from a hamstring injury sustained in training last month.
Iain Henderson, who captained Ulster for the first time during the 19-9 home win against Wasps last weekend, will again lead the side. He will line out in the back row alongside Chris Henry, who has returned from a larynx injury, as well as number eight Sean Reidy.
Callum Black will join Rob Herring and Wiehahn Herbst in the front row, with Kieran Treadwell and Al O'Connor occupying the second row berths.
Paul Marshall will partner Christian Lealiifano at half-back, with Ireland internationals Stuart McCloskey and Darren Cave combining in midfield. Trimble will link up with Tommy Bowe and Charles Piutau in the back three.
Matty Rea could make his European debut if called upon from the bench, while Kyle McCall and Rodney Ah You will provide further forward cover along with Diack and Best.
John Cooney, Luke Marshall and Jacob Stockdale are also named in the squad and will offer plenty of attacking threats, should they be called upon.
The teams:
La Rochelle: 15 Vincent Rattez, 14 Gabriel Lacroix, 13 Geoffrey Doumayrou, 12 Pierre Aguillon, 11 Jérémy Sinzelle, 10 Ryan Lamb, 9 Alexi Bales, 8 Victor Vito, 7 Kevin Gourdon, 6 Botia Veivuke, 5 Jone Qovu Nailiko, 4 Jason Eaton, 3 Uini Atonio, 2 Hikairo Forbes, 1 Dany Priso
Replacements: 16 Pierre Bourgarit, 17 Mike Corbel, 18 Vincent Pelo, 19 William Demotte, 20 Romain Sazy, 21 Jean-Victor Goillot, 22 Paul Jordaan, 23 Elliot Roudil
Ulster: 15 Charles Piutau, 14 Andrew Trimble, 13 Darren Cave, 12 Stuart McCloskey, 11 Tommy Bowe, 10 Christian Lealiifano, 9 Paul Marshall, 8 Sean Reidy, 7 Chris Henry, 6 Iain Henderson (c), 5 Alan O'Connor, 4 Kieran Treadwell, 3 Wiehahn Herbst, 2 Rob Herring, 1 Callum Black
Replacements: 16 Rory Best, 17 Kyle McCall, 18 Rodney Ah You, 19 Robbie Diack, 20 Matty Rea, 21 John Cooney, 22 Luke Marshall, 23 Jacob Stockdale
Venue: Stade Marcel Deflandre
Kick-off: 16:15 local (14:15 GMT)
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant referees: Simon Rees (Wales), Jon Hardy (Wales)
TMO: Sean Brickell (Wales)
Wasps vs Harlequins
Wasps director of rugby Dai Young has named a strong matchday squad to face Harlequins at the Ricoh Arena.
The only change in the back-line from last Friday’s match against Ulster sees Juan de Jongh return to fitness to make his European debut, starting alongside Elliot Daly in midfield.
Up front, Ashley Johnson starts at hooker and Antonio TJ Harris is in line to make both his Wasps and Champions Cup debut from the bench. Tom Cruse is ruled out by a broken thumb sustained against Ulster. There is a welcome return from injury for Guy Thompson, who joins the replacements primed to make an impact from the bench.
Ahead of the European clash against Premiership rivals, Harlequins, boss Young said: “We’re all really looking forward to returning to the Ricoh Arena to play in front of our Wasps fans after a couple of games on the road against Ulster and Saracens.
“This is a massive game for both clubs. It’s two teams going into the weekend knowing how important this match is in the context of Europe. If we don’t get the result we want, realistically we will need to do something pretty special in the last four games to qualify. It would be possible, but it would be incredibly difficult and would rely on other results going our way.
“We want to get back to winning ways at the Ricoh Arena, in front of our home fans, as quickly as possible and in reality we have to start this Sunday if we really want to make a dent in this European competition.”
For Harlequins, there is one personnel change to the team that played La Rochelle last week as Joe Gray returns from injury to start at hooker, while Dave Ward moves to openside flanker.
Speaking ahead of the match, Harlequins director of rugby John Kingston said: “The defeat to La Rochelle in the opening round has magnified the importance of the game at Wasps this weekend.
“We secured victory at the Ricoh Arena last month, however Sunday’s match will be a totally different challenge as both teams will be desperate to get their European campaigns up and running.
“Our preparation has been excellent and we are looking forward to what I’m sure will be an exciting European encounter.”
The teams:
Wasps: 15 Willie Le Roux, 14 Christian Wade, 13 Elliot Daly, 12 Juan de Jongh, 11 Josh Bassett, 10 Jimmy Gopperth, 9 Dan Robson, 8 Nathan Hughes, 7 Thomas Young, 6 James Haskell, 5 Will Rowlands, 4 Joe Launchbury (c), 3 Jake Cooper-Woolley, 2 Ashley Johnson, 1 Matt Mullan
Replacements: 16 Antonio TJ Harris, 17 Simon McIntyre, 18 Marty Moore, 19 James Gaskell, 20 Jack Willis, 21 Guy Thompson, 22 Joe Simpson, 23 Rob Miller
Harlequins: 15 Mike Brown, 14 Marland Yarde, 13 Joe Marchant, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 Tim Visser, 10 Marcus Smith, 9 Danny Care, 8 Mat Luamanu, 7 Dave Ward, 6 Chris Robshaw, 5 James Horwill (c), 4 Charlie Matthews, 3 Will Collier, 2 Joe Gray, 1 Joe Marler
Replacements: 16 Elia Elia, 17 Mark Lambert, 18 Phil Swainston, 19 George Merrick, 20 Ben Glynn, 21 Dave Lewis, 22 Tim Swiel, 23 Francis Saili
Venue: Ricoh Arena
Kick-off: 17:30 BST (16:30 GMT)
Referee: Mathieu Raynal (France)
Assistant referees: Maxime Chalon (France), Tual Trainini (France)
TMO: Éric Briquet Campin (France)
The post Preview: Champions Cup, Sunday appeared first on Planet Rugby.