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Champions Cup: Leicester Tigers leave out George Ford for Connacht trip
The European Champions Cup returns this weekend, so check out the teams and our predictions for all 12 clashes on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Cardiff v Harlequins
Prediction: Harlequins by 3
The teams:
Cardiff: 15 Hallam Amos, 14 Owen Lane, 13 Rey Lee-Lo, 12 Uilisi Halaholo, 11 Josh Adams, 10 Jarrod Evans, 9 Tomos Williams, 8 James Ratti, 7 Ellis Jenkins, 6 Shane Lewis-Hughes, 5 Seb Davies, 4 Josh Turnbull (c), 3 Dmitri Arhip, 2 Kirby Myhill, 1 Rhys Carré
Replacements: 16 Torin Myhill, 17 Corey Domachowski, 18 Dillon Lewis, 19 Rory Thornton, 20 Will Boyde, 21 Lloyd Williams, 22 Rhys Priestland, 23 Ben Thomas
Harlequins: 15 Tyrone Green, 14 Louis Lynagh, 13 Joe Marchant, 12 Luke Northmore, 11 Cadan Murley, 10 Marcus Smith, 9 Danny Care, 8 Alex Dombrandt (c), 7 Tom Lawday, 6 James Chisholm, 5 Dino Lamb, 4 Matt Symons, 3 Will Collier, 2 Jack Walker, 1 Joe Marler
Replacements: 16 Sam Riley, 17 Santiago Garcia Botta, 18 Simon Kerrod, 19 Hugh Tizard, 20 Viliami Taulani, 21 Jack Stafford, 22 Will Edwards, 23 Huw Jones
Date: Friday, January 14
Venue: Cardiff Arms Park
Kick-off: 20:00 GMT
Referee: Tual Trainini (France)
Assistant referees: Benoit Rousselet (France), Cedric Marchat (France)
TMO: Eric Gauzins (France)
Castres v Munster
Prediction: Munster by 5
The teams:
Castres: 15 Thomas Larregain, 14 Antoine Zeghdar, 13 Thomas Combezou, 12 Pierre Aguillon, 11 Filipo Nakosi, 10 Ben Botica, 9 Santiago Arata Perrone, 8 Baptiste Delaporte, 7 Simon Meka, 6 Mateaki Kafatolu, 5 Jack Whetton, 4 Loic Jacquet (c), 3 Antoine Guillamon, 2 Brice Humbert, 1 Antoine Tichit
Replacements: 16 Pierre Colonna, 17 Julius Nostadt, 18 Matthew Tierney, 19 Ryno Pieterse, 20 Hugo Hermet, 21 Rory Kockott, 22 Louis Le Brun, 23 Bastien Guillemin
Munster: 15 Mike Haley, 14 Andrew Conway, 13 Chris Farrell, 12 Rory Scannell, 11 Keith Earls, 10 Jack Crowley, 9 Conor Murray, 8 Gavin Coombes, 7 Jack O’Donoghue, 6 Peter O’Mahony (c), 5 Tadhg Beirne, 4 Fineen Wycherley, 3 Stephen Archer, 2 Niall Scannell, 1 Dave Kilcoyne
Replacements: 16 Diarmuid Barron, 17 Jeremy Loughman, 18 John Ryan, 19 Jean Kleyn, 20 John Hodnett, 21 Craig Casey, 22 Jake Flannery, 23 Shane Daly
Date: Friday, January 14
Venue: Stade Pierre Fabre
Kick-off: 21:00 local (20:00 GMT)
Referee: Luke Pearce (England)
Assistant referees: Hamish Smales (England), Paul Dix (England)
TMO: Rowan Kitt (England)
Saturday
Wasps v Toulouse
Prediction: Toulouse by 10
The teams:
Wasps: 15 Jacob Umaga, 14 Ali Crossdale, 13 Paolo Odogwu, 12 Jimmy Gopperth, 11 Josh Bassett, 10 Charlie Atkinson, 9 Sam Wolstenholme, 8 Tom Willis, 7 Brad Shields (c), 6 Alfie Barbeary, 5 James Gaskell, 4 Tim Cardall, 3 Biyi Alo, 2 Tom Cruse, 1 Rodrigo Martinez
Replacements: 16 Dan Frost, 17 Zac Nearchou, 18 Pieter Scholtz, 19 Nizaam Carr, 20 Thomas Young, 21 Will Porter, 22 Rob Miller, 23 Ryan Mills
Toulouse: 15 Thomas Ramos, 14 Juan Cruz Mallía, 13 Sofiane Guitoune, 12 Pita Ahki, 11 Matthis Lebel, 10 Romain Ntamack (c), 9 Martin Page Relo, 8 Anthony Jelonch, 7 Alban Placines, 6 Francois Cros, 5 Richie Arnold, 4 Thibaud Flament, 3 Dorian Aldegheri, 2 Peato Mauvaka, 1 Cyril Baille
Replacements: 16 Guillaume Cramont, 17 Rodrigue Neti, 18 Paulo Tafili, 19 Emmanuel Meafou, 20 Yannick Youyoutte, 21 Alexi Bales, 22 Tim Nanai-Williams, 23 Maxime Médard
Venue: Coventry Building Society Arena
Kick-off: 13:00 GMT
Referee: Chris Busby (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Keith Allen (Scotland), Dave Sutherland (Scotland)
TMO: Brian MacNeice (Ireland)
Connacht v Leicester Tigers
Prediction: Connacht by 4
The teams:
Connacht: 15 Tiernan O’Halloran, 14 John Porch, 13 Sammy Arnold, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 Matt Healy, 10 Jack Carty (c), 9 Kieran Marmion, 8 Jarrad Butler, 7 Conor Oliver, 6 Cian Prendergast, 5 Niall Murray, 4 Oisín Dowling, 3 Finlay Bealham, 2 Shane Delahunt, 1 Matthew Burke
Replacements: 16 Dave Heffernan, 17 Tietie Tuimauga 18 Jack Aungier, 19 Ultan Dillane, 20 Paul Boyle, 21 Caolin Blade, 22 Conor Fitzgerald, 23 Tom Farrell
Leicester: 15 Bryce Hegarty, 14 Freddie Steward, 13 Matt Scott, 12 Juan Pablo Socino, 11 Kini Murimurivalu, 10 Freddie Burns, 9 Richard Wigglesworth, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Tommy Reffell, 6 Ollie Chessum, 5 Calum Green, 4 Harry Wells, 3 Joe Heyes, 2 Nic Dolly, 1 Ellis Genge (c)
Replacements: 16 Charlie Clare, 17 James Whitcombe, 18 Nephi Leatigaga, 19 Tom Manz, 20 Francois van Wyk, 21 Jack van Poortvliet, 22 Dan Kelly, 23 Hosea Saumaki
Venue: The Sportsground
Kick-off: 15:15 GMT
Referee: Mathieu Raynal (France)
Assistant referees: Thomas Charabas (France), Maxime Chalon (France)
TMO: Philippe Bonhoure (France)
Ospreys v Racing 92
Prediction: Racing by 15
The teams:
Ospreys: 15 Mat Protheroe, 14 Alex Cuthbert, 13 Owen Watkin, 12 Keiran Williams, 11 Luke Morgan, 10 Gareth Anscombe, 9 Rhys Webb (c), 8 Ethan Roots, 7 Jac Morgan, 6 Will Griffiths, 5 Adam Beard, 4 Rhys Davies, 3 Tomas Francis, 2 Dewi Lake, 1 Gareth Thomas
Replacements: 16 Elvis Taione, 17 Nicky Smith, 18 Ma’afu Fia, 19 Will Hickey, 20 Sam Cross, 21 Reuben Morgan-Williams, 22 Josh Thomas, 23 Michael Collins
Racing 92: 15 Kurtley Beale, 14 Teddy Thomas, 13 Olivier Klemenczak, 12 Gael Fickou (c), 11 Juan Imhoff, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Maxime Machenaud, 8 Anthime Hemery, 7 Baptiste Chouzenoux, 6 Ibrahim Diallo, 5 Boris Palu, 4 Luke Jones, 3 Ali Oz, 2 Teddy Baubigny, 1 Eddy Ben Arous
Replacements: 16 Jonathan Maïau, 17 Guram Gogichashvili, 18 Cedate Gomes Sa, 19 Victor Moreaux, 20 Camille Chat, 21 Antoine Gibert, 22 Virimi Vakatawa, 23 Donovan Taofifenua
Venue: Swansea.com Stadium
Kick-off: 15:15 GMT
Referee: Christophe Ridley (England)
Assistant referees: Dean Richards (England), Wayne Falla (England)
TMO: David Rose (England)
Exeter Chiefs v Glasgow Warriors
Prediction: Exeter by 5
The teams:
Exeter: 15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Jack Nowell, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Ian Whitten, 11 Tom O’Flaherty, 10 Joe Simmonds, 9 Jack Maunder, 8 Sam Simmonds, 7 Jannes Kirsten, 6 Dave Ewers, 5 Sean Lonsdale, 4 Sam Skinner, 3 Josh Iosefa-Scott, 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie (c), 1 Ben Moon
Replacements: 16 Jack Innard, 17 James Kenny, 18 Patrick Schickerling, 19 Dafydd Jenkins, 20 Don Armand, 21 Sam Maunder, 22 Harvey Skinner, 23 Tom Gilbert-Hendrickson
Glasgow: 15 Josh McKay, 14 Kyle Steyn, 13 Sione Tuipulotu, 12 Sam Johnson, 11 Cole Forbes, 10 Ross Thompson, 9 Ali Price (c), 8 Jack Dempsey, 7 Rory Darge, 6 Matt Fagerson, 5 Kiran McDonald, 4 Scott Cummings, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 George Turner, 1 Jamie Bhatti
Replacements: 16 Fraser Brown, 17 Oli Kebble, 18 Enrique Pieretto, 19 Lewis Bean, 20 Ryan Wilson, 21 George Horne, 22 Duncan Weir, 23 Sebastian Cancelliere
Venue: Sandy Park
Kick-off: 17:30 GMT
Referee: Romain Poite (France)
Assistant referees: Vincent Blasco Baqué (France), Stephane Boyer (France)
TMO: Denis Grenouillet (France)
La Rochelle v Bath
Prediction: La Rochelle by 40
The teams:
La Rochelle: 15 Brice Dulin, 14 Dillyn Leyds, 13 Jérémy Sinzelle, 12 Jonathan Danty, 11 Raymond Rhule, 10 Pierre Popelin, 9 Tawera Kerr-Barlow, 8 Grégory Alldritt (c), 7 Remi Bourdeau, 6 Paul Boudehent, 5 Rémi Picquette, 4 Romain Sazy, 3 Uini Atonio, 2 Pierre Bourgarit, 1 Dany Priso
Replacements: 16 Facundo Bosch, 17 Léo Aouf, 18 Guram Papidze, 19 Thomas Lavault, 20 Mathieu Tanguy, 21 Jules Lebail, 22 Jules Plisson, 23 Pierre Boudehent
Bath: 15 Ruaridh McConnochie, 14 Tom Prydie, 13 Jonathan Joseph, 12 Max Clark, 11 Will Muir, 10 Cameron Redpath, 9 Ben Spencer, 8 Josh Bayliss, 7 Ewan Richards, 6 Tom Ellis, 5 Charlie Ewels (c), 4 Josh McNally, 3 D’Arcy Rae, 2 Tom Doughty, 1 Juan Schoeman
Replacements: 16 Jacques du Toit, 17 Valery Morozov, 18 Johannes Jonker, 19 Will Spencer, 20 Mike Williams, 21 Joe Simpson, 22 Will Butt, 23 Gabe Hamer-Webb
Venue: Stade Marcel-Deflandre
Kick-off: 18:30 local (17:30 GMT)
Referee: Craig Evans (Wales)
Assistant referees: Elgan Williams (Wales), Rhys Jones (Wales)
TMO: Ben Whitehouse (Wales)
Bristol v Stade Francais
Prediction: Bristol by 7
The teams:
Bristol: 15 Luke Morahan, 14 Ioan Lloyd, 13 Semi Radradra, 12 Piers O’Conor, 11 Henry Purdy, 10 Callum Sheedy, 9 Harry Randall, 8 Fitz Harding, 7 Daniel Thomas, 6 Chris Vui, 5 Joe Joyce (c), 4 John Hawkins, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 2 Will Capon, 1 Max Lahiff
Replacements: 16 Jake Kerr, 17 Jake Woolmore, 18 John Afoa, 19 Ed Holmes, 20 Steven Luatua, 21 Andy Uren, 22 Antoine Frisch, 23 Jack Bates
Stade Francais: 15 Kylan Hamdaoui, 14 Telusa Veainu, 13 Ngani Laumape, 12 Léo Barre, 11 Paul Champ, 10 Nicolas Sanchez, 9 Arthur Coville, 8 Tala Gray (c), 7 Romain Briatte, 6 Charlie Francoz, 5 JJ van der Mescht, 4 Pierre-Henri Azagoh, 3 Nemo Roelofse, 2 Lucas Da Silva, 1 Quentin Bethune
Replacements: 16 Tolu Latu, 17 Moses Alo Emile, 18 Vasil Kakovin, 19 Antoine Burban, 20 Mathieu De Giovanni, 21 William Percillier, 22 Alex Arrate, 23 Marcos Kremer
Venue: Ashton Gate
Kick-off: 20:00 GMT
Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Eoghan Cross (Ireland), Oisin Quinn (Ireland)
TMO: Joy Neville (Ireland)
Sunday
Leinster v Montpellier
Prediction: Leinster by 20
The teams:
Leinster: 15 Hugo Keenan, 14 Jordan Larmour, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Ciarán Frawley, 11 Jimmy O’Brien, 10 Ross Byrne, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Jack Conan, 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Caelan Doris, 5 James Ryan (c), 4 Ross Molony, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Rónan Kelleher, 1 Andrew Porter
Replacements: 16 Dan Sheehan, 17 Cian Healy, 18 Michael Ala’alatoa, 19 Rhys Ruddock, 20 Max Deegan, 21 Luke McGrath, 22 Johnny Sexton, 23 James Lowe
Montpellier: 15 Axel Bevia, 14 Pierre Lucas, 13 Thomas Darmon, 12 Karl Martin, 11 Josua Vici, 10 Louis Foursans, 9 Gela Aprasidze, 8 Marco Tauleigne, 7 Florian Verhaeghe, 6 Masivesi Dakuwaqa, 5 Mickael Capelli, 4 Tyler Duguid, 3 Henry Thomas, 2 Guilhem Guirado (c), 1 Mikheil Nariashvili
Replacements: 16 Vincent Giudicelli, 17 Robert Rodgers, 18 Titi Lamositele, 19 Alexandre Becognee, 20 Aubin Eymeri, 21 Paul Vallée, 22 Nico Janse van Rensburg, 23 Zach Mercer
Venue: RDS Arena
Kick-off: 13:00 GMT
Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)
Assistant referees: Anthony Woodthorpe (England), Jamie Leahy (England)
TMO: Stuart Terheege (England)
Bordeaux-Begles v Scarlets
Prediction: Scarlets by 3
The teams:
Bordeaux: 15 Louis Bielle-Biarrey, 14 Geoffrey Cros, 13 Ulupano Seuteni, 12 Yoram Falatea-Moefana, 11 Santiago Cordero, 10 Francois Trinh-Duc, 9 Maxime Lucu (c), 8 Alban Roussel, 7 Bastien Vergnes, 6 Cameron Woki, 5 Jandré Marais, 4 Thomas Jolmes, 3 Vadim Cobilas, 2 Clement Maynadier, 1 Thierry Paiva
Replacements: 16 Joseph Dweba, 17 Jefferson Poirot, 18 Ben Tameifuna, 19 Kane Douglas, 20 Pierre Bochaton, 21 Yann Lesgourgues, 22 Matthieu Jalibert, 23 Federico Mori
Scarlets: 15 Liam Williams, 14 Johnny McNicholl, 13 Jonathan Davies (c), 12 Scott Williams, 11 Steff Evans, 10 Sam Costelow, 9 Gareth Davies, 8 Sione Kalamafoni, 7 Tomas Lezana, 6 Blade Thomson, 5 Aaron Shingler, 4 Sam Lousi, 3 WillGriff John, 2 Ryan Elias, 1 Wyn Jones
Replacements: 16 Marc Jones, 17 Phil Price, 18 Samson Lee, 19 Morgan Jones, 20 Carwyn Tuipulotu, 21 Dane Blacker, 22 Rhys Patchell, 23 Ioan Nicholas
Venue: Stade Chaban-Delmas
Kick-off: 16:15 local (15:15 GMT)
Referee: Karl Dickson (England)
Assistant referees: Mike Hudson (England), John Meredith (England)
TMO: Tom Foley (England)
Northampton Saints v Ulster
Prediction: Northampton by 7
The teams:
Northampton: 15 George Furbank, 14 Courtnall Skosan, 13 Tom Litchfield, 12 Rory Hutchinson, 11 Tom Collins, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Alex Mitchell, 8 Teimana Harrison, 7 Lewis Ludlam (c), 6 Courtney Lawes, 5 Brandon Nansen, 4 David Ribbans, 3 Paul Hill, 2 Sam Matavesi, 1 Alex Waller
Replacements: 16 James Fish, 17 Emmanuel Iyogun, 18 Ehren Painter, 19 Api Ratuniyarawa, 20 Alex Coles, 21 Juarno Augustus, 22 Tom James, 23 Tommy Freeman
Ulster: 15 Michael Lowry, 14 Rob Baloucoune, 13 James Hume, 12 Stewart Moore, 11 Ethan McIlroy, 10 Billy Burns, 9 Nathan Doak, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Nick Timoney, 6 Marcus Rea, 5 Kieran Treadwell, 4 Alan O’Connor (c), 3 Marty Moore, 2 Rob Herring, 1 Andy Warwick
Replacements: 16 John Andrew, 17 Eric O’Sullivan, 18 Tom O’Toole, 19 Sam Carter, 20 Greg Jones, 21 David Shanahan, 22 Ian Madigan, 23 Ben Moxham
Venue: Franklin’s Gardens
Kick-off: 15:15 GMT
Referee: Pierre Brousset (France)
Assistant referees: Luc Ramos (France), Flavien Hourquet (France)
TMO: Eric Gauzins (France)
Clermont Auvergne v Sale Sharks
Prediction: Clermont by 5
The teams:
Clermont: 15 Kotaro Matsushima, 14 Marvin O’Connor, 13 Damian Penaud, 12 George Moala, 11 Alivereti Raka, 10 Camille Lopez, 9 Sébastien Bézy, 8 Fritz Lee, 7 Judicaël Cancoriet (c), 6 Jacobus Van Tonder, 5 Tomas Lavanini, 4 Thibaud Lanen, 3 Cristian Ojovan, 2 Etienne Fourcade, 1 Daniel Bibi Biziwu
Replacements: 16 Yohan Beheregaray, 17 Etienne Falgoux, 18 Rabah Slimani, 19 Paul Jedrasiak, 20 Lucas Dessaigne, 21 Morgan Parra, 22 Jean-Pascal Barraque, 23 Tani Vili
Sale: 15 Luke James, 14 Thomas Roebuck, 13 Robert du Preez, 12 Rohan Janse van Rensburg, 11 Simon Hammersley, 10 AJ MacGinty, 9 Will Cliff, 8 Dan du Preez, 7 Tom Curry, 6 Jono Ross (c), 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Jean-Luc du Preez, 3 Nick Schonert, 2 Ewan Ashman, 1 Bevan Rodd
Replacements: 16 Tommy Taylor, 17 Simon McIntyre, 18 Coenie Oosthuizen, 19 JP du Preez, 20 Ben Curry, 21 Fergus Warr, 22 Sam James, 23 Aaron Reed
Venue: Parc des Sports Marcel Michelin
Kick-off: 18:30 local (17:30 GMT)
Referee: Frank Murphy (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Peter Martin (Ireland), Dan Carson (Ireland)
TMO: Olly Hodges (Ireland)
The article Champions Cup: Leicester Tigers leave out George Ford for Connacht trip appeared first on Planetrugby.com.
