This weekend the opening stage of the Heineken Champions Cup will be concluded, with the eight highest ranked clubs in Pool A and Pool B qualifying for the Round of 16. Leinster, Cell C Sharks, Saracens, Exeter Chiefs and Edinburgh have already secured qualification from Pool A, with Stade Toulousain, La Rochelle and Leicester Tigers confirmed to be joining them from Pool B.
With eight qualification spots still to play for, lets look towards tonight’s action, which kicks off with the reigning Gallagher Premiership champions hosting qualification hopefuls Ospreys.
TONIGHT
Leicester Tigers vs Ospreys I Pool B 20:00 Kick-Off
Having secured qualification the pressure will be off the Tigers shoulders, but that will in no means reduce what is expected to be a hard-hitting contest at Welford Road. Leicester have selected a strong side with ambitions of finishing top of Pool B. All eyes will be on prop Dan Cole, after his recent re-calling to the England squad. The 35-year-old has been selected by former coach Steve Borthwick, in what is his first potential England cap since the 2019 Rugby World Cup Final
Veteran scrum half Ben Youngs is amongst the Tigers’ replacements, but if he is subbed on, he will become Leicester’s most-capped player in European Cup matches, with 75 appearances. Ahead of him is his England understudy in the exciting young scrum half Jack Van Pootvliet. Expect to see electric pace and pinpoint breakdown sniping from JVP tonight. South African back-rower Hanro Leibenberg returns to captain the Tigers.
Ospreys will be fighting for a spot in the round of 16. A win would certainly achieve this, and a bonus point would hopefully get them close, as the Swansea side sit at fifth in the pool, level on points with DHL Stormers. A side of such legendary Welsh calibre would hope to press on to the next round, with Justin Tiperic captaining Ospreys tonight.
The latest Welsh call-up Rhys Davies starts at lock, alongside the veteran Alun Wyn Jones, in what will be an exciting prologue to Wales’ Six Nations second row. Centre Keiran Williams is on the bench for the Ospreys, despite his recent call-up to Gatland’s squad, as Michael Collins and Joe Hawkins are the preferred centre partnership for Head Coach Toby Booth.
Joined second highest try-scorer of the competition, Morgan Morris drops to the bench for Ospreys. George North is also amongst the replacements.
Osprey’s Head Coach Toby Booth said: “In this one we need to make sure we don’t give away anything for free. Welford Road is a tough place to go, and we’ll need to make everything count.
“Leicester are one of the form teams in Europe, as well as being English Champions, which means there’s a lot of things to overcome against a very good team.”
Lyon vs Vodacom Bulls I Pool A 21:00 Kick-Off
Coming off their 39-28 win over Exeter Chiefs, Vodacom Bulls return to the Northern Hemisphere full of confidence. Sitting in sixth and just one point off from qualification, the Bulls would hope to secure a straightforward win against Lyon. The Pretoria side bring back veteran winger Cornal Hendricks into the side, with a fullback replacement in Embrose Papier starting over Zak Burger.
By the numbers, the Bulls are favourites in attack. They have the highest ruck retention rate in the competiton with 95%. Also, centre Wandisile Simelane has made the second highest amount of metres with ball in hand, with 287m in just three games.
Vodacom Bulls backline coach, Chris Rossouw previewed what could be challenging conditions tonight in Lyon:
“It is our first time in France and that is a new experience, it is extremely cold and that presents a great challenge for us but the guys are quite excited because they know that Lyon will pick their best side because they still have a chance of making it,”
“In any game, a win is important for us but the most important thing for us is the process I think in the last two games we managed the games quite well and that momentum is important for us. For us it will be how we handle that pressure and make sure that the lessons we have learnt over the last year help us manage the momentum of the game.”
After losing 42-36 on their trip to face the Bulls in South Africa, Lyon are hopeful to put on a more clinical, yet equally as exciting performance tonight. Not yet recording a win in this year’s Champions Cup, Lyon have also been handed back to back defeats by Saracens. The French side could expect a transfer to the Challenge Cup if they fail to qualify, as they currently sit at tenth in Pool A.
Lyon boast two of the pool stages entertainers, in Ethan Doumortier and Arno Botha. The duo have each scored three tries so far in the Heineken Champions Cup, and along with the Osprey’s Morris, are amongst the joined second highest scores in the competition.
Here is how the rest of the weekend’s Heineken Champions Cup fixtures line up.
SATURDAY
Northampton Saints vs La Rochelle I Pool B 13:00 Kick-Off
Harlequins vs Cell C Sharks I Pool A 13:00 Kick-Off
Leinster vs Racing 92 I 15:15 Kick-Off
Bordeaux-Belges vs Gloucester Rugby I Pool A 16:15 Kick-Off
Exeter Chiefs vs Castres Olympique I Pool A 17:30 Kick-Off
DHL Stormers v Clermont Auvernge I Pool B 19:30 Kick-Off
Ulster vs Sale Sharks I Pool B 20:00 Kick-Off
SUNDAY
Montpellier vs London Irish I Pool B 14:00 Kick-Off
Stade Toulousain vs Munster I Pool B 16:15 Kick-Off
Edinburgh vs Saracens I Pool A 17:30 Kick-Off