Springboks return for Champions Cup action while Premiership ...
It’s another busy weekend in the Champions Cup with Round Two of the 2023/24 campaign getting underway with two matches on Friday, seven on Saturday and three on Sunday.
Check on the team news ahead of the action, below.
Friday
Northampton Saints v ToulonNorthampton Saints: 15 George Furbank (c), 14 Tom Seabrook, 13 Tommy Freeman, 12 Tom Litchfield, 11 George Hendy, 10 Fin Smith, 9 Alex Mitchell, 8 Sam Graham, 7 Tom Pearson, 6 Courtney Lawes, 5 Alex Moon, 4 Temo Mayanavanua, 3 Trevor Davison, 2 Curtis Langdon, 1 Ethan Waller
Replacements: 16 Sam Matavesi, 17 Tarek Haffar, 18 Paul Hill, 19 Tom Lockett, 20 Juarno Augustus, 21 Tom James, 22 Charlie Savala, 23 Ollie Sleightholme
Toulon: 15 Melvyn Jaminet, 14 Leicester Fainga’anuku, 13 Setariki Tuicuvu, 12 Jérémy Sinzelle, 11 Gabin Villiere, 10 Enzo Herve, 9 Ben White, 8 Selevasio Tolofua, 7 Charles Ollivon (c), 6 Esteban Abadie, 5 David Ribbans, 4 Matthias Halagahu, 3 Kieran Brookes, 2 Jack Singleton, 1 Dany Priso
Replacements: 16 Christopher Tolofua, 17 Jean-Baptiste Gros, 18 Emerick Setiano, 19 Adrien Warion, 20 Matteo le Corvec, 21 Jules Danglot, 22 Mathieu Smaili, 23 Jiuta Wainiqolo
Venue: cinch Stadium @Franklin’s Gardens
Kick-off: 20:00 GMT
Referee: Craig Evans (Wales)
Assistant Referees: Ben Breakspear (Wales), Gwyn Morris (Wales)
TMO: Ben Whitehouse (Wales)
Bayonne: 15 Tom Spring, 14 Aurélien Callandret, 13 Cheikh Tiberghien, 12 Guillaume Martocq, 11 Nadir Megdoud, 10 Camille Lopez, 9 Gela Aprasidze, 8 Rodrigo Bruni, 7 Baptiste Heguy, 6 Rémi Bourdeau, 5 Manuel Leindekar, 4 Denis Marchois, 3 Junior Tagi, 2 Facundo Bosch, 1 Swan Cormenier
Replacements: 16 Vincent Giudicelli, 17 Matis Perchaud, 18 Tevita Tatafu, 19 Thomas Ceyte, 20 Arthur Iturria, 21 Maxime Machenaud, 22 Thomas Dolhagaray, 23 Reece Hodge
Glasgow Warriors: 15 Josh McKay, 14 Kyle Rowe, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Sione Tuipulotu (c), 11 Ollie Smith, 10 Ross Thompson, 9 George Horne, 8 Ally Miller, 7 Thomas Gordon, 6 Gregor Brown, 5 Alex Samuel, 4 Greg Peterson, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 George Turner, 1 Jamie Bhatti
Replacements: 16 Angus Fraser, 17 Nathan McBeth, 18 Oli Kebble, 19 Richie Gray, 20 Max Williamson, 21 Henco Venter, 22 Ben Afshar, 23 Tom Jordan
Venue: Stade Jean Dauger
Kick-off: 21:00 local (20:00 GMT)
Referee: Adam Leal (England)
Assistant Referees: Karl Dickson (England), Dan Jones (England)
TMO: Stuart Terheege (England)
Saturday
Stormers v La RochelleStormers: 15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Ben Loader, 13 Ruhan Nel, 12 Damian Willemse, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Herschel Jantjies, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Hacjivah Dayimani, 6 Deon Fourie (c), 5 Ruben van Heerden, 4 Adre Smith, 3 Neethling Fouche, 2 Joseph Dweba, 1 Ali Vermaak
Replacements: 16 Andre-Hugo Venter, 17 Sti Sithole, 18 Brok Harris, 19 Connor Evans, 20 Ben-Jason Dixon, 21 Marcel Theunissen, 22 Paul de Wet, 23 Courtnall Skosan
La Rochelle: 15 Brice Dulin, 14 Dillyn Leyds, 13 UJ Seuteni, 12 Jonathan Danty, 11 Jules Favre, 10 Antoine Hastoy, 9 Tawera Kerr-Barlow, 8 Yoan Tanga, 7 Levani Botia, 6 Paul Boudehent, 5 Will Skelton, 4 Thomas Lavault, 3 Uini Atonio, 2 Pierre Bourgarit, 1 Reda Wardi
Replacements: 16 Sacha Idoumi, 17 Joel Sclavi, 18 Georges-Henri Colombe, 19 Ultan Dillane, 20 Remi Picquette, 21 Judicael Cancoriet, 22 Teddy Iribaren, 23 Hugo Reus
Venue: DHL Stadium, Cape Town
Kick-off: 15:00 local (13:00 GMT)
Referee: Christophe Ridley (France)
Assistant Referees: Gianluca Gnecchi (Italy), Simon Harding (England)
TMO: Andrea Piardi (Italy)
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4️⃣ changes from ????????.
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???? Debut for @logoviimulipola.
Click below for full team news ????#YourSaracens????@CityIndex
— Saracens Rugby Club (@Saracens) December 15, 2023
Saracens v ConnachtSaracens: 15 Alex Goode, 14 Lucio Cinti, 13 Nick Tompkins, 12 Olly Hartley, 11 Sean Maitland, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Aled Davies, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Andy Christie, 6 Juan-Martin Gonzalez, 5 Theo McFarland, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Alec Clarey, 2 Jamie George, 1 Mako Vunipola
Replacements: 16 Theo Dan, 17 Tom West, 18 Logovi’i Mulipola, 19 Hugh Tizard, 20 Toby Knight, 21 Ivan van Zyl, 22 Tom Parton, 23 Alex Lewington
Connacht: 15 John Porch, 14 Byron Ralston, 13 Tom Farrell, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 Shayne Bolton, 10 Jack Carty (c), 9 Caolin Blade, 8 Paul Boyle, 7 Conor Oliver, 6 Cian Prendergast, 5 Gavin Thornbury, 4 Darragh Murray, 3 Jak Aungier, 2 Dave Heffernan, 1 Jordan Duggan
Replacements: 16 Dylan Tierney-Martin, 17 Denis Buckley, 18 Finlay Bealham, 19 Joe Joyce, 20 Jarrad Butler, 21 Michael McDonald, 22 JJ Hanrahan, 23 Diarmuid Kilgallen
Venue: StoneX Stadium, London
Kick-off: 13:00 GMT
Referee: Luc Ramos (France)
Assistant Referees: Jeremy Rozier (France), Thomas Chereque (France)
TMO: Patrick Dellac (France)
Bordeaux: 15 Romain Buros, 14 Damian Penaud, 13 Yoram Moefana, 12 Ben Tapuai, 11 Louis Bielle-Biarrey, 10 Matthieu Jalibert, 9 Maxime Lucu, 8 Pete Samu, 7 Mahamadou Diaby, 6 Bastien Vergnes, 5 Thomas Jolmes, 4 Guido Petti, 3 Carlü Sadie, 2 Maxime Lamothe, 1 Jefferson Poirot
Replacements: 16 Clément Maynadier, 17 Ugo Boniface, 18 Sipili Falatea, 19 Kane Douglas, 20 Marko Gazzotti, 21 Antoine Miquel, 22 Théo Nanette, 23 Pablo Uberti
Bristol: 15 Rich Lane, 14 Noah Heward, 13 Piers O’Conor, 12 James Williams, 11 Kalaveti Ravouvou, 10 Sam Worsley, 9 Sam Wolstenholme, 8 Magnus Bradbury, 7 Jake Heenan (c), 6 Joe Owen, 5 Josh Caulfield, 4 Ed Holmes, 3 George Kloska, 2 Gabriel Oghre, 1 Max Lahiff
Replacements: 16 Will Capon, 17 Sam Grahamslaw, 18 Steven Longwell, 19 James Dun, 20 Paddy Pearce, 21 Oscar Lennon, 22 Joe Jenkins, 22 Jack Bates
Venue: Stade Chaban-Delmas, Bordeaux
Kick-off: 16:15 local (15:15 GMT)
Referee: Frank Murphy (Ireland)
Assistant Referees: Peter Martin (Ireland), Padraic Reidy (Ireland)
TMO: Olly Hodges (Ireland)
Lyon: 15 Thaakir Abrahams, 14 Ethan Dumortier, 13 Alfred Parisien, 12 Kyle Godwin, 11 Monty Ioane, 10 Fletcher Smith, 9 Martin Page-Relo, 8 Jordan Taufua, 7 Pierre-Samuel Pacheco, 6 Marvin Okuya, 5 Romain Taofifenua, 4 Killian Geraci, 3 Feao Fotuaika, 2 Liam Coltman, 1 Sébastien Taofifenua
Replacements: 16 Yanis Charcosset, 17 Jérôme Rey, 18 Valentin Simutoga, 19 Félix Lambey, 20 Arno Botha, 21 Baptiste Couilloud, 22 Paddy Jackson, 23 Thibaut Regard
Bulls: 15 Devon Williams, 14 Henry Immelman, 13 Lionel Mapoe, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 Sergeal Petersen, 10 Chris Smith, 9 Zak Burger, 8 Marcell Coetzee (c), 7 Mpilo Gumede, 6 Marco van Staden, 5 Janko Swanepoel, 4 Deon Slabbert, 3 Mornay Smith, 2 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 1 Simphiwe Matanzima
Replacements: 16 Tiaan Lange, 17 Dylan Smith, 18 Khutha Mchunu, 19 JF van Heerden, 20 Merwe Olivier, 21 Bernard van der Linde, 22 Jaco van der Walt, 23 Sebastian de Klerk
Venue: Matmut Stadium de Gerland, Lyon
Kick-off: 18:30 local (17:30 GMT)
Referee: Mike Adamson (Scotland)
Assistant Referees: Jonny Perriam (Scotland), Finlay Brown (Scotland)
TMO: Andrew McMenemy (Scotland)
Leinster: 15 Hugo Keenan, 14 Jordan Larmour, 13 Garry Ringrose (cc), 12 Robbie Henshaw, 11 Jimmy O’Brien, 10 Ciarán Frawley, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Caelan Doris, 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Ryan Baird, 5 James Ryan (cc), 4 Jason Jenkins, 3 Thomas Clarkson, 2 Dan Sheehan, 1 Andrew Porter
Replacements: 16 Rónan Kelleher, 17 Cian Healy, 18 Michael Ala’alatoa, 19 Joe McCarthy, 20 Jack Conan, 21 Ben Murphy, 22 Sam Prendergast, 23 Charlie Ngatai
Sale Sharks: 15 Telusa Veainu, 14 Tom Roebuck, 13 Connor Doherty, 12 Sam Bedlow, 11 Arron Reed, 10 Robert du Preez, 9 Raffi Quirke, 8 Rouban Birch, 7 Sam Dugdale, 6 Ernst van Rhyn, 5 Josh Beaumont, 4 Ben Bamber, 3 James Harper, 2 Tommy Taylor, 1 Ross Harrison
Replacements: 16 Ethan Caine, 17 Tumy Onasanya, 18 Asher Opoku-Fordjour, 19 Jonny Hill, 20 Jean-Luc du Preez, 21 Nye Thomas, 22 Tom Curtis, 23 Joe Carpenter
Venue: RDS Arena, Dublin
Kick-off: 17:30 GMT
Referee: Pierre Brousset (France)
Assistant Referees: Pierre Baptiste Nuchy (France), Kevin Bralley (France)
TMO: Denis Grenouillet (France)
Cardiff: 15 Cam Winnett, 14 Josh Adams, 13 Rey Lee-Lo, 12 Ben Thomas, 11 Mason Grady, 10 Tinus de Beer, 9 Tomos Williams, 8 Mackenzie Martin, 7 Lucas de la Rua, 6 Alex Mann, 5 Teddy Williams, 4 Rory Thornton, 3 Keiron Assiratti, 2 Liam Belcher (c), 1 Corey Domachowski
Replacements: 16 Evan Lloyd, 17 Rhys Carre, 18 Rhys Litterick, 19 Josh Turnbull, 20 Alun Lawrence, 21 Ellis Bevan, 22 Willis Halaholo, 23 Gabriel Hamer-Webb
Bath: 15 Tom de Glanville, 14 Joe Cokanasiga, 13 Ollie Lawrence, 12 Cameron Redpath, 11 Will Muir, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Ben Spencer, 8 Alfie Barbeary, 7 Chris Cloete, 6 Miles Reid, 5 Charlie Ewels, 4 Josh McNally, 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Tom Dunn, 1 Beno Obano
Replacements: 16 Hame Faiva, 17 Juan Schoeman, 18 Will Stuart, 19 Quinn Roux, 20 Elliott Stooke, 21 Louis Schreuder, 22 Orlando Bailey, 23 Jaco Coetzee
Venue: Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff
Kick-off: 20:00 GMT
Referee: Sam Grove-White (Scotland
Assistant Referees: Ru Campbell (Scotland), Rob McDowell (Scotland)
TMO: Hollie Davidson (Scotland)
???? @ChampionsCup Team News
Your Ulster side to take on @racing92 at Kingspan Stadium tomorrow ????
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— Ulster Rugby (@UlsterRugby) December 15, 2023
Ulster v Racing 92Ulster: 15 Mike Lowry, 14 Rob Baloucoune, 13 James Hume, 12 Stuart McCloskey, 11 Jacob Stockdale, 10 Billy Burns, 9 John Cooney, 8 Matty Rea, 7 Nick Timoney, 6 Dave Ewers, 5 Iain Henderson (c), 4 Alan O’Connor, 3 Tom O’Toole, 2 Rob Herring, 1 Steven Kitshoff
Replacements: 16 Tom Stewart, 17 Eric O’Sullivan, 18 Marty Moore, 19 Kieran Treadwell, 20 Harry Sheridan, 21 Nathan Doak, 22 Jake Flannery, 23 Stewart Moore
Racing 92: 15 Max Spring, 14 Henry Arundell, 13 Gael Fickou, 12 Henry Chavancy, 11 Juan Imhoff, 10 Antoine Gibert, 9 Nolann le Garrec, 8 Wenceslas Lauret, 7 Siya Kolisi, 6 Cameron Woki, 5 Will Rowlands, 4 Baptiste Chouzenoux, 3 Trevor Nyakane, 2 Janick Tarrit, 1 Hassane Kolingar,
Replacements: 16 Eddy Ben Arous, 17 Guram Gogichashvili, 18 Gia Kharaishvili, 19 Fabien Sanconnie, 20 Ibrahim Diallo, 21 Maxime Baudonne, 22 Tristan Tedder, 23 Inia Tabuavou
Venue: Kingspan Stadium, Belfast
Kick-off: 20:00 GMT
Referee: Luke Pearce (England)
Assistant Referees: Joe James (England), Jonathan Healy (England)
TMO: Tom Foley (England)
Sunday
Exeter Chiefs v MunsterExeter Chiefs: 15 Tommy Wyatt, 14 Olly Woodburn, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Joe Hawkins, 11 Ben Hammersley, 10 Harvey Skinner, 9 Tom Cairns, 8 Greg Fisilau, 7 Jacques Vermeulen, 6 Lewis Pearson, 5 Dafydd Jenkins (c), 4 Rusi Tuima, 3 Ehren Painter, 2 Dan Frost, 1 Scott Sio
Replacements: 16 Max Norey, 17 Nika Abuladze, 18 Marcus Street, 19 Jack Dunne, 20 Ross Vintcent, 21 Stu Townsend, 22 Ollie Devoto, 23 Rory O’Loughlin
Munster: 15 Shane Daly, 14 Calvin Nash, 13 Antoine Frisch, 12 Alex Nankivell, 11 Seán O’Brien, 10 Jack Crowley, 9 Craig Casey, 8 Jack O’Donoghue, 7 John Hodnett, 6 Tom Ahern, 5 Tadhg Beirne, 4 Gavin Coombes, 3 Stephen Archer, 2 Diarmuid Barron, 1 Jeremy Loughman
Replacements: 16 Eoghan Clarke, 17 Josh Wycherley, 18 Oli Jager, 19 Brian Gleeson, 20 Alex Kendellen, 21 Conor Murray, 22 Rory Scannell, 23 Ben O’Connor
Venue: Sandy Park, Exeter
Kick-off: 13:00 GMT
Referee: Mathieu Raynal (France)
Assistant Referees: Adrien Marbot (France), Evan Urruzmendi (France)
TMO: Cedric Marchat (France)
Harlequins: 15 Tyrone Green, 14 Nick David, 13 Will Joseph, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Cadan Murley, 10 Marcus Smith, 9 Will Porter, 8 Alex Dombrandt (c), 7 Will Evans, 6 James Chisholm, 5 Dino Lamb, 4 Joe Launchbury, 3 Will Collier, 2 Jack Walker, 1 Joe Marler
Replacements: 16 Nathan Jibulu, 17 Fin Baxter, 18 Dillon Lewis, 19 Irne Herbst, 20 Chandler Cunningham-South, 21 Danny Care, 22 Jarrod Evans, 23 Oscar Beard
Toulouse: 15 Blair Kinghorn, 14 Dimitri Delibes, 13 Pierre-Louis Barassi, 12 Pita Ahki, 11 Matthis Lebel, 10 Thomas Ramos, 9 Antoine Dupont (c), 8 Alexandre Roumat, 7 Anthony Jelonch, 6 Francois Cros, 5 Emmanuel Meafou, 4 Richie Arnold, 3 Nepo Laulala, 2 Peato Mauvaka, 1 Cyril Baille
Replacements: 16 Guillaume Cramont, 17 Rodrigue Neti, 18 David Ainuʻu, 19 Piula Fa’asalele, 20 Alban Placines, 21 Baptiste Germain, 22 Paul Costes, 23 Santiago Chocobares
Venue: Twickenham Stoop, London
Kick-off: 15:15 GMT
Referee: Chris Busby (Ireland)
Assistant Referees: Andrew Cole (Ireland), Joy Neville (Ireland)
TMO: Brian MacNeice (Ireland)
Stade Francais: 15 Leo Barre, 14 Kylan Hamdaoui, 13 Joe Marchant, 12 Jeremy Ward, 11 Charles Laloi, 10 Joris Segonds, 9 Hugo Zabalza, 8 Mathieu Hirigoyen, 7 Romain Briatte, 6 Sekou Macalou, 5 Baptiste Pesenti, 4 Paul Gabrillagues, 3 Paul Alo-Emile, 2 Mickael Ivaldi, 1 Clement Castets
Replacements: 16 Lucas Peyresblanques, 17 Moses Alo-Emile, 18 Francisco Gomez-Kodela, 19 Pierre-Henri Azagoh, 20 Stephane Ahmed, 21 Jules Gimbert, 22 Ryan Chapuis, 23 JJ van der Mescht
Leicester: 15 Mike Brown, 14 Anthony Watson, 13 Dan Kelly, 12 Solomone Kata, 11 Ollie Hassell-Collins, 10 Jamie Shillcock, 9 Tom Whiteley, 8 Kyle Hatherell, 7 Matt Rogerson, 6 Hanro Liebenberg (c), 5 Sam Carter, 4 George Martin, 3 Joe Heyes, 2 Archie Vanes, 1 James Cronin
Replacements: 16 Finn Theobold-Thomas, 17 James Whitcombe, 18 Will Hurd, 19 Harry Wells, 20 Emeka Ilione, 21 Joe Powell, 22 Charlie Atkinson, 23 Harry Simmons
Venue: Stade Jean Bouin, Paris
Kick-off: 18:30 local (17:30 GMT)
Referee: Nike Amashukeli (Georgia)
Assistant Referees: Saba Abulashvili (Georgia), Shota Tevzadze (Georgia)
TMO: Matteo Liperini (Italy)
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