The Challenge Cup round of 16 is on the schedule this weekend and there’s crunch ties galore including a couple of derby matches such as Ospreys v Scarlets on Sunday.
Former England captain Owen Farrell has promoted to Racing 92’s starting line-up and will line up at fly-half for his side’s derby with Perpignan at Stade Aime Giral on Saturday.
In Saturday’s other action, the Sharks have rested the bulk of their first choice players – including several Springboks – for their clash with Lyon, while the Bulls have named a strong matchday squad for their clash against Bayonne with Marcell Coetzee captaining the men from Pretoria.
Here’s all the Challenge Cup team news.
Friday
Edinburgh v Lions
Edinburgh: 15 Wes Goosen, 14 Darcy Graham, 13 Matt Currie, 12 James Lang, 11 Ross McCann, 10 Ross Thompson, 9 Ben Vellacott (c), 8 Magnus Bradbury, 7 Hamish Watson, 6 Jamie Ritchie, 5 Grant Gilchrist (c), 4 Sam Skinner, 3 Paul Hill, 2 Dave Cherry, 1 Pierre Schoeman
Replacements: 16 Ewan Ashman, 17 Boan Venter, 18 Javan Sebastian, 19 Glen Young, 20 Freddy Douglas, 21 Ali Price, 22 Cammy Scott, 23 Jack Brown
Lions: 15 Quan Horn, 14 Richard Kriel, 13 Manuel Rass, 12 Rynhardt Jonker, 11 Edwill van der Merwe, 10 Gianni Lombard, 9 Morne van den Berg, 8 Francke Horn (c), 7 Ruan Venter, 6 Jarod Cairns, 5 Darrien Landsberg, 4 Ruben Schoeman, 3 Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 2 Franco Marais, 1 SJ Kotze
Replacements: 16 Jaco Visagie, 17 Juan Schoeman, 18 RF Schoeman, 19 Izan Esterhuizen, 20 Siba Qoma, 21 Nico Steyn, 22 JC Pretorius, 23 Marius Louw
Venue: Hive Stadium
Kick-off: 20:00 BST
Referee: Ludovic Cayre (Fra)
TMO: Denis Grenouillet (Fra)
TV coverage: Premier Sports / beIN SPORTS / SuperSport / FloRugby
Pau v Bath
Pau: 15 Aymeric Luc, 14 Eliott Roudil (c), 13 Olivier Klemenczak, 12 Fabien Brau-Boirie, 11 Aaron Grandidier Nkanang, 10 Axel Desperes, 9 Thomas Souverbie, 8 Carwyn Tuipulotu, 7 Thibaut Hamonou, 6 Joel Kpoku, 5 Lekima Tagitagivalu, 4 Thomas Jolmes, 3 Harry Williams, 2 Youri Delhommel, 1 Ignacio Calles
Replacements: 16 Romain Ruffenach, 17 Hugo Parrou, 18 Siate Tokolahi, 19 Remi Picquette, 20 Jimi Maximin, 21 Reece Hewat, 22 Dan Robson, 23 Tumua Manu
Bath: 15 Ruaridh McConnochie, 14 Joe Cokanasiga, 13 Max Ojomoh, 12 Will Butt, 11 Will Muir, 10 Ciaran Donoghue, 9 Ben Spencer (c), 8 Miles Reid, 7 Sam Underhill, 6 Josh Bayliss, 5 Ross Molony, 4 Quinn Roux, 3 Archie Griffin, 2 Tom Dunn, 1 Beno Obano
Replacements: 16 Kepu Tuipulotu, 17 Francois van Wyk, 18 Kieran Verden, 19 Ewan Richards, 20 Ted Hill, 21 Tom Carr-Smith, 22 Orlando Bailey, 23 Jaco Coetzee
Venue: Stade du Hameau
Kick-off: 20:00 BST
Referee: Hollie Davidson (Sco)
TMO: Mike Adamson (Sco)
TV coverage: Premier Sports / beIN SPORTS / epcrugby.tv / FloRugby
Saturday
Bayonne v Bulls
Bayonne: 15 Cheikh Tiberghien, 14 Nadir Megdoud, 13 Arnaud Erbinartegaray, 12 Federico Mori, 11 Xan Mousques, 10 Tom Spring, 9 Baptiste Germain, 8 Giovanni Habel-Kuffner (c), 7 Rémi Bourdeau,6 Noa Traversier, 5 Alex Moon, 4 Veikoso Poloniati, 3 Tevita Tatafu, 2 Lucas Martin, 1 Pierre Castillon
Replacements: 16 Vincent Giudicelli, 17 Martin Villar, 18 Pieter Scholtz, 19 Denis Marchois, 20 Lucas Paulos, 21 Baptiste Chouzenoux, 22 Baptiste Tilloles, 23 Aurélien Callandret
Bulls: 15 Devon Williams, 14 Sergeal Petersen, 13 David Kriel, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 Stravino Jacobs, 10 Keagan Johannes, 9 Zak Burger, 8 Marcell Coetzee (c), 7 Jannes Kirsten, 6 Marco van Staden, 5 JF van Heerden, 4 Reinhardt Ludwig, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Akker van der Merwe, 1 Simphiwe Matanzima
Replacements: 16 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 17 Alulutho Tshakweni, 18 Mornay Smith, 19 Ruan Nortje, 20 Cameron Hanekom, 21 Embrose Papier, 22 Johan Goosen, 23 Stedman Gans
Venue: Stade Jean Dauger
Kick-off: 12:30 BST
Referee: Christophe Ridley (Eng)
TMO: Stuart Terheege (Eng)
TV coverage: France TV / beIN SPORTS / SuperSport / FloRugby / epcrugby.tv
Montpellier v Gloucester
Montpellier: 15 Anthony Bouthier, 14 Pierre Lucas, 13 Thomas Darmon, 12 Arthur Vincent, 11 George Bridge, 10 Hugo Reus, 9 Leo Coly, 8 Billy Vunipola (c), 7 Sam Simmonds, 6 Lenni Nouchi, 5 Mahonri Ngakuru, 4 Florian Verhaeghe, 3 Mohamed Haouas, 2 Christopher Tolofua, 1 Enzo Forletta
Replacements: 16 Lyam Akrab, 17 Nika Abuladze, 18 Wilfrid Hounkpatin, 19 Nicolas Martins, 20 Alex Becognee, 21 Martin Doan, 22 Auguste Cadot, 23 Thomas Vincent
Gloucester: 15 Santiago Carreras, 14 Christian Wade, 13 Chris Harris, 12 Seb Atkinson, 11 Jacob Morris, 10 Charlie Atkinson, 9 Caolan Englefield, 8 Ruan Ackermann, 7 Lewis Ludlow (c), 6 Jack Clement, 5 Freddie Thomas, 4 Cameron Jordan, 3 Kirill Gotovtsev, 2 Jack Singleton, 1 Ciaran Knight
Replacements: 16 Seb Blake, 17 Jamal Ford-Robinson, 18 Afolabi Fasogbon, 19 Freddie Clarke, 20 Harry Taylor, 21 Deian Gwynne, 22 Charlie Chapman, 23 Will Butler
Venue: GGL Stadium
Kick-off: 17:30 BST
Referee: Morne Ferreira (SA)
TMO: Mark Patton (Ire)
TV coverage: Premier Sports / beIN SPORTS / epcrugby.tv / FloRugby
Perpignan v Racing 92
Perpignan: 15 Tommaso Allan, 14 Tavite Veredamu, 13 Apisai Naqalevu, 12 Jeronimo de la Fuente (c), 11 Freddy Duguivalu, 10 Jake McIntyre, 9 James Hall, 8 Lucas Velarte, 7 Max Hicks, 6 Patrick Sobela, 5 Mathieu Tanguy, 4 Tristan Labouteley, 3 Pietro Ceccarelli, 2 Seilala Lam, 1 Bruce Devaux
Replacements: 16 Victor Montgaillard, 17 Giorgi Beria, 18 Akato Fakatika, 19 Adrien Warion, 20 Lucas Bachelier, 21 Gela Aprasidze, 22 Valentin Delpy, 23 Riko Buliruarua
Racing 92: 15 Tristan Tedder, 14 Donovan Taofifenua, 13 Henry Chavancy, 12 Vinaya Habosi, 11 Gael Fickou, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Antoine Gibert, 8 Jordan Joseph, 7 Noa Zinzen (c), 6 Maxime Baudonne, 5 Romain Taofifenua, 4 Junior Kpoku, 3 Demba Bamba, 2 Janick Tarrit, 1 Hassane Kolingar
Replacements: 16 Diego Escobar, 17 Lee-Marvin Mazibuko, 18 Thomas Laclayat, 19 Boris Palu, 20 Shingi Manyarara, 21 Wame Naituvi, 22 Nolann le Garrec, 23 Sam James
Venue: Stade Aime Giral
Kick-off: 20:00 BST
Referee: Gianluca Gnecchi (Ita)
TMO: Stefano Roscini (Ita)
TV coverage: beIN SPORTS / epcrugby.tv / FloRugby
Connacht v Cardiff
Connacht: 15 Mack Hansen, 14 Shayne Bolton, 13 Hugh Gavin, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 Finn Treacy, 10 JJ Hanrahan, 9 Matthew Devine, 8 Sean Jansen, 7 Shamus Hurley-Langton, 6 Josh Murphy, 5 Darragh Murray, 4 Oisin Dowling, 3 Finlay Bealham, 2 Dave Heffernan (c), 1 Jordan Duggan
Replacements: 16 Dylan Tierney-Martin, 17 Denis Buckley, 18 Jack Aungier, 19 Niall Murray, 20 Paul Boyle, 21 Caolin Blade, 22 Josh Ioane, 23 Piers O’Conor
Cardiff: 15 Cam Winnett, 14 Josh Adams, 13 Rey Lee-Lo, 12 Ben Thomas, 11 Harri Millard, 10 Callum Sheedy, 9 Johan Mulder, 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 James Botham, 6 Alun Lawrence, 5 Teddy Williams, 4 Josh McNally, 3 Keiron Assiratti, 2 Liam Belcher (c), 1 Danny Southworth
Replacements: 16 Evan Lloyd, 17 Corey Domachowski, 18 Rhys Litterick, 19 Rory Thornton, 20 Alex Mann, 21 Thomas Young, 22 Ellis Bevan, 23 Rory Jennings
Venue: Dexcom Stadium
Kick-off: 20:00 BST
Referee: Luc Ramos (Fra)
TMO: Eric Gauzins (Fra)
TV coverage: Premier Sports / beIN SPORTS / FloRugby
Sunday
Lyon v Sharks
Lyon:15 Alexandre Tchaptchet, 14 Vincent Rattez, 13 Josiah Maraku, 12 Theo Millet, 11 Monty Ioane, 10 Léo Berdeu, 9 Baptiste Couilloud, 8 Arno Botha (c), 7 Liam Allen, 6 Dylan Cretin, 5 Mickael Guillard, 4 Theo William, 3 Irakli Aptsiauri, 2 Yanis Charcosset, 1 Hamza Kaabeche
Replacements: 16 Camille Chat, 17 Jérôme Rey, 18 Valentin Simutoga, 19 Killian Geraci, 20 Maxime Gouzou, 21 Charlie Cassang, 22 Martin Meliande, 23 Alfred Parisien
Sharks: 15 Hakeem Kunene, 14 Yaw Penxe, 13 Francois Venter, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Litelihle Bester, 10 Siya Masuku, 9 Bradley Davids, 8 Nick Hatton (c), 7 Jannes Potgieter, 6 Tino Mavesere, 5 Gerbrandt Grobler, 4 Corne Rahl, 3 Ruan Dreyer, 2 Fez Mbatha, 1 Ntuthuko Mchunu
Replacements: 16 Ethan Bester, 17 Dian Bleuler, 18 Mwande Madande, 19 Emile van Heerden, 20 Bathobelo Hlakane, 21 Tiaan Fourie, 22 Jean Smith, 23 Jurenzo Julius
Venue: Matmut Stadium de Gerland
Kick-off: 17:30 BST
Referee: Federico Vedovelli (Ita)
TMO: Aled Griffiths (Wal)
TV coverage: beIN SPORTS / SuperSport / epcrugby.tv / FloRugby
Ospreys v Scarlets
Ospreys: 15 Jack Walsh, 14 Daniel Kasende, 13 Evardi Boshoff, 12 Keiran Williams, 11 Keelan Giles, 10 Dan Edwards, 9 Reuben Morgan-Williams, 8 Morgan Morris, 7 Justin Tipuric, 6 Jac Morgan (c), 5 Adam Beard, 4 Rhys Davies,3 Tom Botha, 2 Dewi Lake, 1 Gareth Thomas
Replacements: 16 Sam Parry, 17 Garyn Phillips, 18 Ben Warren, 19 James Fender, 20 Morgan Morse, 21 Luke Davies, 22 Owen Williams, 23 Iestyn Hopkins
Scarlets: 15 Ioan Lloyd, 14 Ellis Mee, 13 Macs Page, 12 Eddie James, 11 Blair Murray, 10 Sam Costelow, 9 Archie Hughes, 8 Vaea Fifita, 7 Josh Macleod (c), 6 Taine Plumtree, 5 Max Douglas, 4 Alex Craig, 3 Henry Thomas, 2 Marnus van der Merwe, 1 Kemsley Mathias
Replacements: 16 Shaun Evans, 17 Alec Hepburn, 18 Gabe Hawley, 19 Sam Lousi, 20 Jarrod Taylor, 21 Gareth Davies, 22 Joe Roberts, 23 Ioan Nicholas
Venue: Swansea.com Stadium
Kick-off: 17:30 BST
Referee: Matthew Carley (Eng)
TMO: David Rose (Eng)
TV coverage: S4C / beIN SPORTS / epcrugby.tv / FloRugby
Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/challenge-cup-teams-owen-farrell-starts-while-sharks-rest-springboks-but-jake-white-goes-full-tilt
