Champions Cup: Munster start RG Snyman and opt for Jack Crowley at 10 while Toulouse fully loaded against Bulls
The Champions Cup has reached the knockout stages where 16 teams will vie for a place in the last-eight of this season’s competition.
Here are the teams and our predictions from the eight games that take place this weekend.
Leicester Tigers v Edinburgh
Prediction: Leicester by 3
The teams
Leicester Tigers: 15 Freddie Steward, 14 Anthony Watson, 13 Guy Porter, 12 Jimmy Gopperth, 11 Harry Potter, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Jack van Poortvliet, 8 Olly Cracknell, 7 Tommy Reffell, 6 Hanro Liebenberg, 5 Cameron Henderson, 4 George Martin, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Julián Montoya (c), 1 James Cronin
Replacements: 16 Charlie Clare, 17 Tom West, 18 Joe Heyes, 19 Eli Snyman, 20 Jasper Wiese, 21 Sam Wolstenholme, 22 Charlie Atkinson, 23 Dan Kelly
Edinburgh: 15 Emiliano Boffelli, 14 Darcy Graham, 13 Mark Bennett, 12 James Lang, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Blair Kinghorn, 9 Henry Pyrgos, 8 Viliame Mata, 7 Hamish Watson, 6 Jamie Ritchie (cc), 5 Grant Gilchrist (cc), 4 Sam Skinner, 3 WP Nel, 2 Stuart McInally, 1 Pierre Schoeman
Replacements: 16 Dave Cherry, 17 Boan Venter, 18 Luan de Bruin, 19 Marshall Sykes, 20 Luke Crosbie, 21 Ben Vellacott, 22 Cammy Hutchison, 23 Damien Hoyland
Venue: Mattioli Woods Welford Road
Kick-off: 20:00 BST (19:00 GMT)
Referee: Mathieu Raynal (France)
Assistants Referees: Ludovic Cayre (France), Jonathan Gasnier (France)
TMO: Thomas Charabas (France)
Saturday
Sharks v Munster
Prediction: Sharks by 5
The teams:
Sharks: 15 Boeta Chamberlain, 14 Werner Kok, 13 Lukhanyo Am, 12 Rohan Janse van Rensburg, 11 Makazola Mapimpi, 10 Curwin Bosch, 9 Jaden Hendrikse, 8 Sikumbuzo Notshe, 7 Vincent Tshituka, 6 Siya Kolisi (c), 5 Gerbrandt Grobler, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ox Nché
Replacements: 16 Kerron van Vuuren, 17 Ntuthuko Mchunu, 18 Carlu Sadie, 19 Emile van Heerden, 20 Phendulani Buthelezi, 21 Grant Williams, 22 Ben Tapuai, 23 Thaakir Abrahams
Munster: 15 Mike Haley, 14 Calvin Nash, 13 Antoine Frisch, 12 Malakai Fekitoa, 11 Shane Daly, 10 Jack Crowley, 9 Craig Casey, 8 Gavin Coombes, 7 John Hodnett, 6 Peter O’Mahony (c), 5 RG Snyman, 4 Jean Kleyn, 3 Roman Salanoa, 2 Niall Scannell, 1 Dave Kilcoyne
Replacements: 16 Diarmuid Barron, 17 Josh Wycherley, 18 Stephen Archer, 19 Fineen Wycherley, 20 Jack O’Donoghue, 21 Conor Murray, 22 Joey Carbery, 23 Alex Kendellen
Venue: Hollywoodbets Kings Park
Kick-off: 13:30 local (12:30 BST, 11:30 GMT)
Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)
Assistant Referees: Tom Foley (England), Adam Leal (England)
TMO: Stuart Terheege (England)
Stormers v Harlequins
Prediction: Stormers by 13
The teams:
Stormers: 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Suleiman Hartzenberg, 13 Ruhan Nel, 12 Daniel du Plessis, 11 Seabelo Senatla, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Herschel Jantjies, 8 Hacjivah Dayimani, 7 BJ Dixon, 6 Deon Fourie, 5 Marvin Orie, 4 Ernst van Rhyn, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Joseph Dweba, 1 Steven Kitshoff (c)
Replacements: 16 JJ Kotze, 17 Brok Harris, 18 Neethling Fouche, 19 Gary Porter, 20 Willie Engelbrecht, 21 Marcel Theunissen, 22 Paul de Wet, 23 Clayton Blommetjies
Harlequins: 15 Nick David, 14 Joe Marchant, 13 Luke Northmore, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Cadan Murley, 10 Marcus Smith, 9 Danny Care (c), 8 Alex Dombrandt, 7 Will Evans, 6 Jack Kenningham, 5 Irne Herbst, 4 Dino Lamb, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Jack Walker, 1 Joe Marler
Replacements: 16 Sam Riley, 17 Fin Baxter, 18 Will Collier, 19 George Hammond, 20 Tom Lawday, 21 Lewis Gjaltema, 22 Tommy Allan, 23 Oscar Beard
Venue: DHL Stadium
Kick-off: 16:00 local (15:00 BST, 14:00 GMT)
Referee: Pierre Brousset (France)
Assistant Referees: Vincent Blasco Baqué (France), Flavien Hourquet (France)
TMO: Eric Gauzins (France)
Leinster v Ulster
Prediction: Leinster by 20
The teams:
Leinster: 15 Hugo Keenan, 14 Jordan Larmour, 13 Jimmy O’Brien, 12 Robbie Henshaw, 11 James Lowe, 10 Ross Byrne, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Jack Conan, 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Ryan Baird, 5 James Ryan (c), 4 Ross Molony, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Dan Sheehan, 1 Andrew Porter
Replacements: 16 John McKee, 17 Cian Healy, 18 Michael Ala’alatoa, 19 Jason Jenkins, 20 Scott Penny, 21 Luke McGrath, 22 Harry Byrne, 23 Ciarán Frawley
Ulster: 15 Michael Lowry, 14 Rob Baloucoune, 13 James Hume, 12 Stuart McCloskey, 11 Jacob Stockdale, 10 Billy Burns, 9 Nathan Doak, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Nick Timoney, 6 Dave McCann, 5 Kieran Treadwell, 4 Alan O’Connor (c), 3 Tom O’Toole, 2 Rob Herring, 1 Rory Sutherland
Replacements: 16 Tom Stewart, 17 Eric O’Sullivan, 18 Jeffery Toomaga-Allen, 19 Harry Sheridan, 20 Marcus Rea, 21 John Cooney, 22 Stewart Moore, 23 Ben Moxham
Venue: Aviva Stadium
Kick-off: 17:30 BST (16:30 GMT)
Referee: Luke Pearce (England)
Assistant Referees: Dan Jones (England), Jamie Leahy (England)
TMO: Andrew Jackson (England)
La Rochelle v Gloucester
Prediction: La Rochelle by 25
The teams:
La Rochelle: 15 Brice Dulin, 14 Teddy Thomas, 13 Raymond Rhule, 12 Jonathan Danty, 11 Jules Favre, 10 Antoine Hastoy, 9 Tawera Kerr-Barlow, 8 Grégory Alldritt (c), 7 Levani Botia, 6 Ultan Dillane, 5 Will Skelton, 4 Thomas Lavault, 3 Uini Atonio, 2 Pierre Bourgarit, 1 Joel Sclavi
Replacements: 16 Quentin Lespiaucq Brettes, 17 Reda Wardi, 18 Georges Henri Colombe, 19 Romain Sazy, 20 Yoan Tanga, 21 Paul Boudehent, 22 Thomas Berjon, 23 Hugo Reus
Gloucester: 15 Santi Carreras, 14 Louis Rees-Zammit, 13 Chris Harris, 12 Seb Atkinson, 11 Ollie Thorley, 10 Billy Twelvetrees, 9 Stephen Varney, 8 Jack Clement, 7 Lewis Ludlow (c), 6 Ruan Ackermann, 5 Matias Alemanno, 4 Freddie Clarke, 3 Kirill Gotovtsev, 2 Seb Blake, 1 Mayco Vivas
Replacements: 16 Henry Walker, 17 Harry Elrington, 18 Jamal Ford-Robinson, 19 Cam Jordan, 20 Freddie Thomas, 21 Ben Morgan, 22 Charlie Chapman, 23 Jonny May
Venue: Stade Marcel-Deflandre
Kick-off: 18:30 local (17:30 BST, 16:30 GMT)
Referee: Mike Adamson (Scotland)
Assistant Referees: Sam Grove-White (Scotland), Ian Kenny (Scotland)
TMO: Ben Blain (Scotland)
Sunday
Exeter Chiefs v Montpellier
Prediction: Montpellier by 3
The teams:
Exeter: 15 Tom Wyatt, 14 Jack Nowell (c), 13 Henry Slade, 12 Sean O’Brien, 11 Olly Woodburn, 10 Joe Simmonds, 9 Will Becconsall, 8 Sam Simmonds, 7 Christ Tshiunza, 6 Jannes Kirsten, 5 Dafydd Jenkins, 4 Jonny Gray, 3 Marcus Street, 2 Dan Frost, 1 Scott Sio
Replacements: 16 Jack Yeandle, 17 Alec Hepburn, 18 Josh Iosefa-Scott, 19 Aidon Davis, 20 Dave Ewers, 21 Tom Cairns, 22 Harvey Skinner, 23 Josh Hodge
Montpellier: 15 Anthony Bouthier (c), 14 Ben Lam, 13 Thomas Darmon, 12 Jan Serfontein, 11 Vincent Rattez, 10 Paolo Garbisi, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Zach Mercer, 7 Masivesi Dakuwaqa, 6 Nico Janse van Rensburg, 5 Tyler Duguid, 4 Elliott Stooke, 3 Henry Thomas, 2 Brandon Paenga-Amosa, 1 Enzo Forletta
Replacements: 16 Curtis Langdon, 17 Simon-Pierre Chauvac, 18 Mohamed Haouas, 19 Lenni Nouchi, 20 Leo Coly, 21 Louis Carbonel, 22 George Bridge, 23 Marco Tauleigne
Venue: Sandy Park
Kick-off: 12:30 BST (11:30 GMT)
Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)
Assistant Referees: Eoghan Cross (Ireland), Oisin Quinn (Ireland)
TMO: Joy Neville (Ireland)
Saracens v Ospreys
Prediction: Saracens by 14
The teams:
Saracens: 15 Alex Goode, 14 Max Malins, 13 Alex Lozowski, 12 Nick Tompkins, 11 Sean Maitland, 10 Owen Farrell (c), 9 Ivan van Zyl, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Ben Earl, 6 Andy Christie, 5 Hugh Tizard, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Marco Riccioni, 2 Jamie George, 1 Mako Vunipola
Replacements: 16 Tom Woolstencroft, 17 Eroni Mawi, 18 Alec Clarey, 19 Nick Isiekwe, 20 Jackson Wray, 21 Aled Davies, 22 Duncan Taylor, 23 Alex Lewington
Ospreys: 15 Michael Collins, 14 George North, 13 Owen Watkin, 12 Keiran Williams, 11 Luke Morgan, 10 Owen Williams, 9 Rhys Webb, 8 Morgan Morris, 7 Justin Tipuric (c), 6 Ethan Roots, 5 Alun Wyn Jones, 4 Adam Beard, 3 Tomas Francis, 2 Sam Parry, 1 Nicky Smith
Replacements: 16 Dewi Lake, 17 Gareth Thomas, 18 Tom Botha, 19 Rhys Davies, 20 Dan Lydiate, 21 Reuben Morgan-Wiliams, 22 Gareth Anscombe, 23 Iestyn Hopkins
Venue: StoneX Stadium
Kick-off: 15:00 BST (14:00 GMT)
Referee: Nika Amashukeli (Georgia)
Assistant Referees: Vivien Praderie (France), Pierre-Baptiste Nuchy (France)
TMO: Brian MacNeice (Ireland)
Toulouse v Bulls
Prediction: Toulouse by 25
The teams:
Toulouse: 15 Thomas Ramos, 14 Juan Cruz Mallía, 13 Santiago Chocobares, 12 Pita Ahki, 11 Matthis Lebel, 10 Romain Ntamack, 9 Antoine Dupont (c), 8 Alexandre Roumat, 7 Francois Cros, 6 Jack Willis, 5 Emmanuel Meafou, 4 Richie Arnold, 3 Dorian Aldegheri, 2 Julien Marchand, 1 Cyril Baille
Replacements: 16 Peato Mauvaka, 17 Rodrigue Neti, 18 David Ainu’u, 19 Thibaud Flament, 20 Alban Placines, 21 Joshua Brennan, 22 Paul Graou, 23 Dimitri Delibes
Bulls: 15 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 14 Canan Moodie, 13 Cornal Hendricks, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 David Jacobus Kriel, 10 Chris Smith, 9 Zak Burger, 8 Elrigh Louw, 7 Cyle Brink, 6 Marco van Staden, 5 Ruan Nortjé (c), 4 Ruan Vermaak, 3 Mornay Smith, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Gerhard Steenekamp
Replacements: 16 Bismarck du Plessis, 17 Dylan Smith, 18 Francois Klopper, 19 Janko Swanepoel, 20 WJ Steenkamp, 21 Embrose Papier, 22 Morné Steyn, 23 Stedman Gans
Venue: Stadium de Toulouse
Kick-off: 16:00 local (15:00 BST, 14:00 GMT)
Referee: Matthew Carley (England)
Assistant Referees: Hamish Smales (England), Peter Allan (England)
TMO: David Rose (England)
READ MORE: Champions Cup: Five talking points ahead of the round-of-16 showdowns
The article Champions Cup: Munster start RG Snyman and opt for Jack Crowley at 10 while Toulouse fully loaded against Bulls appeared first on Planetrugby.com.
