Preview: European Cup, Round Five
Defending European Cup champions Toulon will have their work cut when they host former champions Ulster at Stade Felix Mayol at the weekend.
Toulon have been hit by a flu "epidemic" ahead of this weekend's European Champions Cup clash with the Irish province.
The French giants are five points clear at the top of Pool Three and will be sure of finishing at the summit if they achieve a winning bonus point and Scarlets fail to do the same against Leicester Tigers.
However, Australian back Drew Mitchell revealed a host of stars, including himself, Sebastien Tillous-Borde, Maxime Mermoz, Mathieu Bastareaud, Bryan Habana and Leigh Halfpenny had been unable to train this week.
"There's a flu epidemic at the moment in the club," said Mitchell.
"Myself, I've been sick since the beginning of the week and I still haven't trained.
"I've come to do this press conference but then I'm going home.
"It's not ideal to prepare for this match, but it's important that all the guys rest to be in form on Saturday."
Pool Two is tightest of the groups - with just one point separating Harlequins (13), Leinster (13) and London Wasps (12). With Leinster at home to lowly Castres and favoured to claim a valuable with, the encounter between Harlequins and London Wasps Twickenham Stoop will go a long way to decide the eventual rankings in the pool.
Victories for Glasgow and Bath would see both retain hopes of topping Pool Four heading into the final round of fixtures.
Northampton Saints are also on the brink of qualification from Pool Five, but need Racing Metro to suffer an unlikely defeat at home to Benetton Treviso if they are to seal their progression at Ospreys. Even with a defeat for the Top 14 side, only a bonus-point win would be enough to see Saints through with a match to spare.
Pool One will go down to a decider for top spot if Clermont Auvergne and Saracens pick up victories against Sale Sharks and Munster respectively.
Leicester Tigers will be out of the running to win Pool Three if they lose at home to Scarlets.
Five pool winners and the three best runners-up will progress to the opening knockout phase.
"Eighteen points might just be good enough to allow us to creep in as one of the three best runners-up, but 16 or 17 probably won't be," Leicester's Director of Rugby Richard Cockerill said.
"I've told the players that we need to get our attacking mindset right and go for two bonus-point victories.
"We need to win, we need maximum points out of our final two games to have any chance of qualifying, and it is a big ask."
Leicester welcome back New Zealand World Cup-winning lock Brad Thorn, who has been sidelined by a calf muscle injury, while prop Logovi'i Mulipola also features, with Freddie Burns and Seremaia Bai handed opportunities behind the scrum.
For their part, the Scarlets have been badly affected by injuries, with internationals Liam Williams (shoulder), Samson Lee (neck) and Ken Owens (neck) among those sidelined, although both Williams and Lee are expected to be fit ahead of Wales' forthcoming Six Nations campaign.
All the Round Five fixtures and teams!
Friday, January 16:
(Welford Road - Kick-off: 19.45; 19.45 GMT)
Teams:
Leicester Tigers: 15 Mathew Tait, 14 Adam Thompstone, 13 Vereniki Goneva, 12 Seremaia Bai, 11 Miles Benjamin, 10 Freddie Burns, 9 Ben Youngs (captain), 8 Jordan Crane, 7 Julian Salvi, 6 Tom Croft, 5 Geoff Parling, 4 Brad Thorn, 3 Logovi'i Mulipola, 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 1 Michele Rizzo.
Replacements: 16 Tom Youngs, 17 Marcos Ayerza, 18 Fraser Balmain, 19 Graham Kitchener, 20 Robert Barbieri, 21 Sam Harrison, 22 Owen Williams, 23 Matt Smith.
Scarlets: 15 Jordan Williams, 14 Harry Robinson, 13 Regan King, 12 Scott Williams (captain), 11 Hadleigh Parkes, 10 Rhys Priestland, 9 Aled Davies, 8 Rob McCusker, 7 John Barclay, 6 Aaron Shingler, 5 George Earle, 4 Jake Ball, 3 Jacobie Adriaanse, 2 Ryan Elias, 1 Rob Evans.
Replacements: 16 Darran Harris, 17 Wyn Jones, 18 Peter Edwards, 19 Lewis Rawlins, 20 James Davies, 21 Rhodri Williams, 22 Steven Shingler, 23 Rory Pitman.
Referee: Pascal Gauzère (France)
Assistant referees: Salem Attalah (France), Jean-Luc Rebollal (France)
TMO: Philippe Bonhoure (France)
Saturday, January 17:
(Allianz Park - Kick-off: 13.00; 13.00 GMT)
Teams:
Saracens: 15 Alex Goode, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Marcelo Bosch, 12 Brad Barritt, 11 David Strettle, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Richard Wigglesworth, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Jacques Burger, 6 Kelly Brown, 5 Alistair Hargreaves (captain), 4 Jim Hamilton, 3 Petrus Du Plessis, 2 Jamie George, 1 Mako Vunipola.
Replacements: 16 Brett Sharman, 17 Richard Barrington, 18 James Johnston, 19 Maro Itoje, 20 Ernst Joubert, 21 Neil de Kock, 22 Charlie Hodgson, 23 Chris Wyles.
Munster: 15 Felix Jones, 14 Andrew Conway, 13 Pat Howard, 12 Denis Hurley, 11 Simon Zebo, 10 Ian Keatley, 9 Duncan Williams, 8 CJ Stander, 7 Tommy O'Donnell, 6 Peter O'Mahony (captain), 5 Paul O'Connell, 4 Dave Foley, 3 BJ Botha, 2 Duncan Casey, 1 James Cronin.
Replacements: 16 Eusebio Guinazu, 17 John Ryan, 18 Stephen Archer, 19 Billy Holland, 20 Dave O'Callaghan, 21 Ronan O'Mahony, 22 JJ Hanrahan, 23 Keith Earls.
Referee: Romain Poite (France)
Assistant referees: Christophe Berdos (France), Tual Trainini (France)
TMO: Eric Gauzins (France)
(Stade Félix Mayol - Kick-off: 16.15; 15.15 GMT)
Teams:
RC Toulon: 15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 Drew Mitchell, 13 Mathieu Bastareaud, 12 Maxime Mermoz, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Nicolas Sanchez, 9 Sebastien Tillous-Borde, 8 Chris Masoe (captain), 7 Steffon Armitage, 6 Juan Smith, 5 Ali Williams, 4 Jocelino Suta, 3 Martin Castrogiovanni, 2 Guilhem Guirado,
1 Xavier Chiocci.
Replacements: 16 Jean-Charles Orioli, 17 Florian Fresia, 18 Carl Hayman, 19 Mamuka Gorgodze, 20 Rudi Wulf, 21 David Smith, 22 Eric Escande, 23 Romain Taofifenua.
Ulster: 15 Jared Payne, 14 Louis Ludik, 13 Darren Cave, 12 Stuart Olding, 11 Michael Allen, 10 Paddy Jackson, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Roger Wilson (captain), 7 Mike McComish, 6 Clive Ross, 5 Franco van der Merwe, 4 Alan O'Connor, 3 Bronson Ross, 2 Rob Herring, 1 Andy Warwick.
Replacements: 16 John Andrew, 17 Callum Black, 18 Declan Fitzpatrick, 19 Lewis Stevenson, 20 Robbie Diack, 21 Paul Marshall, 22 Ian Humphreys, 23 Michael Heaney.
Referee: Leighton Hodges (Wales)
Assistant referees: Wayne Davies (Wales), Greg Morgan (Wales)
TMO: Gareth Simmonds (Wales)
(AJ Bell Stadium - Kick-off: 17.30; 17.30 GMT)
Teams:
Sale Sharks: 15 Mike Haley, 14 Will Addison, 13 Jonny Leota, 12 Sammy Tuitupou, 11 Mark Cueto, 10 Danny Cipriani, 9 Chris Cusiter, 8 Josh Beaumont, 7 David Seymour, 6 Dan Braid (captain), 5 Nathan Hines, 4 Jonathan Mills, 3 Vadim Cobilas, 2 Marc Jones, 1 Ross Harrison.
Replacements: 16 Tommy Taylor, 17 Eifion Lewis-Roberts, 18 Ciarian Parker, 19 Mark Easter, 20 Magnus Lund, 21 Will Cliff, 22 Nick Macleod, 23 Tom Arscott.
Clermont: 15 Nick Abendanon, 14 Noa Nakaitaci, 13 Aurélien Rougerie, 12 Wesley Fofana, 11 Naipolioni Nalaga, 10 Camille Lopez, 9 Morgan Parra, 8 Fritz Lee, 7 Julien Bonnaire, 6 Damien Chouly (captain), 5 Sébastien Vahaamahina, 4 Jamie Cudmore, 3 Davit Zirakashvili, 2 Benjamin Kayser, 1 Raphael Chaume.
Replacements: 16 John Ulugia, 17 Vincent Debaty, 18 Clément Ric, 19 Loic Jacquet, 20 Julien Bardy, 21 Ludovic Radoslavjevic, 22 Mike Delany, 23 Benson Stanley.
Referee: Ian Davies (Wales)
Assistant referees: Gwyn Morris (Wales), Martyn Lewis (Wales)
TMO: Tim Hayes (Wales)
(RDS Arena - Kick-off: 17.30; 17.30 GMT)
Teams:
Leinster: 15 Rob Kearney, 14 Fergus McFadden, 13 Luke Fitzgerald, 12 Ian Madigan, 11 Dave Kearney, 10 Jimmy Gopperth, 9 Eoin Reddan, 8 Jamie Heaslip (captain), 7 Jordi Murphy, 6 Jack Conan, 5 Mike McCarthy, 4 Devin Toner, 3 Martin Moore, 2 Sean Cronin, 1 Michael Bent.
Replacements: 16 Richardt Strauss, 17 Jamie Hagan, 18 Tadhg Furlong, 19 Kane Douglas, 20 Dominic Ryan, 21 Luke McGrath, 22 Gordon D'Arcy, 23 Darragh Fanning.
Castres Olympique: 15 Julien Dumora, 14 Romain Martial, 13 Thomas Combezou, 12 Romain Cabannes (captain), 11 Marcel Garvey, 10 Daniel Kirkpatrick, 9 Rory Kockott, 8 Johnnie Beattie, 7 Jannie Bornman, 6 Ibrahim Diarra, 5 Christophe Samson, 4 Richie Gray, 3 Ramiro Herrera, 2 Marc-Antoine Rallier, 1 Saimone Taumoepeau.
Replacements: 16 Mathieu Bonello, 17 Paea Faanunu, 18 Benjamin Desroche, 19 Yohan Montes, 20 Piula Faasalele, 21 Remi Tales, 22 Remi Grosso, 23 Antoine Dupont.
Referee: Marius Mitrea (Italy)
Assistant referees: Matteo Liperini (Italy), Stefano Pennè (Italy)
TMO: Mauro Dordolo (Italy)
(The Twickenham Stoop - Kick-off: 19.45; 19.45 GMT)
Teams:
Harlequins: 15 Mike Brown, 14 Marland Yarde, 13 Matt Hopper, 12 George Lowe, 11 Tom Williams, 10 Ben Botica, 9 Danny Care, 8 Nick Easter, 7 Chris Robshaw, 6 Jack Clifford, 5 George Robson, 4 Charlie Matthews, 3 Will Collier, 2 Joe Gray, 1 Joe Marler (captain).
Replacements: 16 Rob Buchanan, 17 Mark Lambert, 18 Kyle Sinckler, 19 Sam Twomey, 20 James Chisholm, 21 Karl Dickson, 22 Nick
Evans, 23 Charlie Walker.
Wasps: 15 Rob Miller, 14 Christian Wade, 13 Elliot Daly, 12 Alapati Leiua, 11 Tom Varndell, 10 Andy Goode, 9 Joe Simpson, 8 Nathan Hughes , 7 James Haskell (captain), 6 Ashley Johnson, 5 Kearnan Myall, 4 Bradley Davies, 3 Lorenzo Cittadini, 2 Edd Shervington, 1 Matt Mullan.
Replacements: 16 Carlo Festuccia, 17 Simon McIntyre , 18 Jake Cooper-Woolley, 19 James Gaskell, 20 Guy Thompson, 21 Ben Jacobs, 22 Alex Lozowski, 23 Andrea Masi.
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant referees: Sean Brickell (Wales), Jon Mason (Wales)
TMO: Derek Bevan (Wales)
Sunday, January 18:
(Scotstoun Stadium - Kick-off: 13.00; 13.00 GMT)
Teams:
Glasgow Warriors: 15 Peter Murchie, 14 Tommy Seymour, 13 Alex Dunbar, 12 Peter Horne, 11 DTH van der Merwe, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Niko Matawalu, 8 Josh Strauss (captain), 7 Ryan Wilson, 6 Leone Nakarawa, 5 Jonny Gray, 4 Tim Swinson, 3 Jon Welsh, 2 Pat MacArthur, 1 Ryan Grant.
Replacements: 16 Fraser Brown, 17 Jerry Yanuyanutawa, 18 Mike Cusack, 19 James Eddie, 20 Richie Vernon, 21 Henry Pyrgos, 22 Mark Bennett, 23 Sean Maitland.
Montpellier: 15 Benoit Sicart, 14 Yohann Artru, 13 Robert Ebersohn, 12 Wynand Olivier, 11 Lucas Dupont, 10 Benjamin Lucas, 9 Teddy Iribaren, 8 Ben Mowen, 7 Akapusi Qera, 6 Antoine Battut, 5 Thibaut Privat (captain), 4 Robins Tchale Watchou, 3 Pat Cilliers, 2 Mickael Ivaldi, 1 Yvan Watremez.
Replacements: 16 Thomas Bianchin, 17 Na'ama Leleimalefaga, 18 David Attoub, 19 Alexandre Bias, 20 Kelian Galletier, 21 Benoit Paillaugue, 22 Enzo Selponi, 23 Viriviri Nasagavesi.
Referee: Luke Pearce (England)
Assistant referees: Matthew Carley (England), Robin Goodliffe (England)
TMO: Sean Davey (England)
(Stade Ernest Wallon - Kick-off: 16.15; 15.15 GMT)
Teams:
Toulouse: 15 Maxime Médard, 14 Vincent Clerc, 13 Yann David, 12 Luke McAlister, 11 Yoann Huget, 10 Toby Flood, 9 Jean-Marc Doussain, 8 Louis Picamoles, 7 Thierry Dusautoir (captain), 6 Yannick Nyanga, 5 Yoann Maestri, 4 Joe Tekori, 3 Census Johnston, 2 Corey Flynn, 1 Gurthrö Steenkamp.
Replacements: 16 Julien Marchand, 17 Vasil Kakovin, 18 Kisi Pulu, 19 Patricio Albacete, 20 Gillian Galan, 21 Jano Vermaak, 22 Clément Poitrenaud, 23 Gregory Lamboley.
Bath: 15 Anthony Watson, 14 Horacio Agulla, 13 Jonathan Joseph, 12 Kyle Eastmond, 11 Matt Banahan, 10 George Ford, 9 Chris Cook, 8 Leroy Houston, 7 Francois Louw, 6 Matt Garvey, 5 David Attwood, 4 Dominic Day, 3 David Wilson, 2 Rob Webber, 1 Paul James (captain).
Replacements: 16 Ross Batty, 17 Nick Auterac, 18 Henry Thomas, 19 Stuart Hooper, 20 Carl Fearns, 21 Peter Stringer, 22 Ollie Devoto, 23 Olly Woodburn.
Referee: George Clancy (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Mark Patton (Ireland), Sean Gallagher (Ireland)
TMO: Simon McDowell (Ireland)
(Liberty Stadium - Kick-off: 17.30; 17.30 GMT)
Teams:
Ospreys: 15 Daniel Evans, 14 Aisea Natoga, 13 Ashley Beck, 12 Josh Matavesi, 11 Eli Walker, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Rhys Webb, 8 Tyler Ardron, 7 Justin Tipuric, 6 James King, 5 Alun-Wyn Jones (captain), 4 Rynier Bernardo, 3 Aaron Jarvis, 2 Scott Baldwin, 1 Marc Thomas.
Replacements: 16 Sam Parry, 17 Gareth Thomas, 18 Dmitri Arhip, 19 Morgan Allen, 20 Sam Lewis, 21 Martin Roberts, 22 Sam Davies, 23 Hanno Dirksen.
Northampton Saints: 15 Ben Foden, 14 Ken Pisi, 13 George Pisi, 12 Luther Burrell, 11 George North, 10 Steve Myler, 9 Lee Dickson, 8 Samu Manoa, 7 Calum Clark, 6 Tom Wood, 5 Christian Day, 4 Sam Dickinson, 3 Gareth Denman, 2 Dylan Hartley (captain), 1 Alex Waller.
Replacements: 16 Mikey Haywood, 17 Ethan Waller, 18 Alex Corbisiero, 19 Phil Dowson, 20 Teimana Harrison, 21 Joel Hodgson, 22 James Wilson, 23 Jamie Elliott.
Referee: Jérôme Garcès (France)
Assistant referees: Patrick Pechambert (France), Jonathan Gasnier (France)
TMO: Jean-Marie Piraveau (France)
(Stade Yves-du-Manoir - Kick-off: 18.30; 17.30 GMT)
Teams:
Racing Metro 92: 15 Benjamin Lapeyre, 14 Juan Imhoff, 13 Casey Laulala, 12 Henry Chavancy, 11 Marc Andreu, 10 Benjamin Dambielle, 9 Maxime Machenaud, 8 Antonie Claassen, 7 Bernard Le Roux, 6 Wenceslas Lauret, 5 Francois van der Merwe, 4 Luke Charteris, 3 Brian Mujati, 2 Dimitri Szarzewski (captain), 1 Eddy Ben Arous.
Replacements: 16 Virgile Lacombe, 17 Julien Brugnaut, 18 Walter Desmaison, 19 Tomas Lavinini, 20 Juandre Kruger, 21 Camille Gerondeau, 22 Mike Phillips, 23 Yoan Audrin.
Benetton Treviso: 15 Angelo Esposito, 14 Simone Ragusi, 13 Michele Campagnaro, 12 Enrico Bacchin, 11 Andrea Pratichetti, 10 Joe Carlisle, 9 Edoardo Gori, 8 Francesco Minto, 7 Alessandro Zanni, 6 Meyer Swanepoel, 5 Marco Fuser, 4 Antonio Pavanello (captain), 3 Rupert Harden, 2 Albert Alfred Anae, 1 Matteo Zanusso.
Replacements: 16 Amar Kudin, 17 Josè Francisco Novak, 18 Cosma Garfagnoli, 19 Tomas Vallejos, 20 Mathew Henry Luamanu, 21 Marco Barbini, 22 James Ambrosini, 23 Alberto Lucchese.
Referee: JP Doyle (England)
Assistant referees: Andrew Small (England), Andrew Pearce (England)
TMO: Graham Hughes (England)