Munster’s trip to Stade Francais this weekend has been called off but Irish rivals Ulster will kick things off at home to Saracens on Friday.

Stade revealed on Tuesday that their Pool 4 match had been postponed in a bid to avoid tying up important police resources so soon after the deadly Paris attacks.

It took the number of postponed matches in this season’s competition – which had already been delayed due to the Rugby World Cup – to 5.

Ulster, like many of the sides involved in this season’s competition, will thus be making their 1st appearance against the English Premiership leaders in Pool 1.

Saracens have had a stunning start to the season, winning all 5 matches they’ve played so far, including last weekend’s brilliant 32 / 7 dismantling of record 4-time European champions Toulouse in London.

The English outfit will also take a psychological advantage into the game having beaten Ulster in 5 of their 6 previous meetings, including the quarterfinals in 2013 and 2014.

Ulster’s New Zealander No 8 Nick Williams says those results have no bearing on this match, though.

“There is no element of revenge. It’s a new competition, a new team with new personnel,” said the 31-year-old, the brother of Tim Nanai-Williams and cousin of Sonny Bill Williams, who lifted the Rugby World Cup with New Zealand last month.

“We’ll leave the past where it is and let the future take care of itself.”

Saracens came out of the blocks last week in blistering fashion, blitzing Toulouse over a dominant first 40 minutes which ended with them leading 27 / 0.

“The foundation of our win over Toulouse was a great 1st half performance in which we put them under a lot of pressure and forced them to make mistakes,” said coach Kevin Sorrell.

“We will be looking to do the same again this weekend.”

Saturday will see the 3rd Irish province, Leinster, fighting for their competition lives away at Bath, whose trip to Toulon was postponed last weekend.

Leinster hosted Wasps in what is quite possibly the toughest pool ever seen in this competition, but the Irish limped to a shock 6 / 33 defeat in Pool 5.

Another loss at Bath in a group containing the reigning 3-in-a-row champions Toulon, would likely end any realistic hopes of Leinster’s reaching the knock-out stages.

“We simply were not good enough and just have to be better against Bath,” said captain and No 8 Jamie Heaslip.

“Against Wasps we got into the 22 quite a lot but then we would turn it over with a knock-on or we just were not accurate at the breakdown.”

Bath will be eager to get going after courting unwanted controversy earlier this week when chairman Bruce Craig claimed their postponed trip to Toulon would never be played.

Competition organisers European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR) – of whom Craig is a member – insisted on Wednesday, however, that they are working with officials from the 3 major European leagues to ensure new dates for the postponed matches can be found.

“EPCR, the 3 leagues and the clubs are in agreement that all postponed fixtures – including the Toulon vs Bath Round 1 match – will be played, and an announcement regarding the new dates will be made as soon as possible.”

For Bath, there is no question the fixture must be fulfilled.

“We are desperate to play it and we are looking forward to pitching ourselves against the best in Europe,” said coach Toby Booth.

But 1st they must start improving on a poor record against Leinster, whom they have beaten only once in 7 attempts and who ousted them from last season’s quarterfinals 15 / 18.

Also on Saturday, Leicester will be looking to maintain their winning start to Pool 4 away to minnows Treviso, who were whipped 7 / 32 away to Munster last time out and have lost every game they’ve played this season.

The Tigers began their campaign with a promising 33 / 20 victory against Stade Francais.

Champions Toulon will make their bow in the competition away to Wasps on Sunday while 24-hours earlier French Top 14 leaders Clermont take on Ospreys in Pool 2.

 

Round 2 Fixtures:

Friday 20 November:

Ulster vs Saracens:

Kingspan Stadium – Kick-Off: 21:45 SA Time (19:45 UK Time & GMT)

Saracens have won 5 of their 6 Champions Cup matches against Ulster, including each of their last 3 clashes.

Only once since their 1st clash in this tournament has either team managed to score more than 21 points in a single match against each other. Ulster have won 12 of their last 15 home matches against English opposition in the Champions Cup.

Saracens have won 6 of their last 7 matches against Irish opponents in the Champions Cup. They have also never held opponents to single digits in consecutive matches in the Champions Cup but will have the opportunity to do so this weekend against Ulster.

Saracens have started a Champions Cup campaign with consecutive pool wins only once since 2005 (2012 / 2013).

Teams:

Ulster: 15 Louis Ludik, 14 Andrew Trimble, 13 Darren Cave, 12 Stuart McCloskey, 11 Craig Gilroy, 10 Paddy Jackson, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Nick Williams, 7 Chris Henry, 6 Iain Henderson, 5 Franco van der Merwe, 4 Dan Tuohy, 3 Wiehahn Herbst, 2 Rory Best (Captain), 1 Callum Black
Replacements: 16 Kyle McCall, 17 Rob Herring, 18 Ricky Lutton, 19 Robbie Diack, 20 Roger Wilson, 21 Paul Marshall, 22 Ian Humphreys, 23 Peter Nelson.

Saracens: 15 Alex Goode, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Duncan Taylor, 12 Brad Barritt (Captain), 11 Chris Wyles, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Richard Wigglesworth, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Jacques Burger, 6 Michael Rhodes, 5 Maro Itoje, 4 George Kruis, 3 Petrus du Plessis, 2 Schalk Brits, 1 Mako Vunipola
Replacements: 16 Jamie George, 17 Rhys Gill, 18 Juan Figallo, 19 Alistair Hargreaves, 20 Jackson Wray, 21 Neil De Kock, 22 Charlie Hodgson, 23 Marcelo Bosch.

Referee: Romain Poite (France)
Assistant Referees: Cyril Lafon (France), Pierre Brousset (France)
TMO: Eric Gauzins (France)

 

Saturday 21 November:

Treviso vs Leicester Tigers:

Stadio Comunale di Monigo – Kick-Off: 15:00 SA Time (14:00 Italy Time, 13:00 UK Time & GMT)

Leicester Tigers have won all 8 matches against Treviso in the Champions Cup. They have also averaged 40 points scored per game against Treviso, twice recording 60 or more in their 8 encounters.

Treviso haven’t beaten an English side since December 2004, losing all 21 games against opponents from England since then.

Leicester Tigers have won all 20 matches against Italian opponents in the Champions Cup.

Teams:

Treviso: 15 Luke McLean, 14 Ludovico Nitoglia, 13 Enrico Bacchin, 12 Sam Christie, 11 Tommaso Iannone, 10 James Ambrosini, 9 Edoardo Gori (Captain), 8 Abraham Steyn, 7 Francesco Minto, 6 Marco Barbini, 5 Jeff Montauriol, 4 Teofilo Paulo, 3 Rupert Harden, 2 Ornel Gega, 1 Matteo Zanusso
Replacements: 16 Davide Giazzon, 17 Matteo Muccignat, 18 Filippo Filippetto, 19 Dean Budd, 20 Marco Lazzaroni, 21 Andrea de Marchi, 22 Chris Smylie, 23 Andrea Pratichetti.

Leicester Tigers: 15 Telusa Veainu, 14 Peter Betham, 13 Mathew Tait (Captain), 12 Matt Smith, 11 Vereniki Goneva, 10 Tommy Bell, 9 Sam Harrison, 8 Jordan Crane, 7 Brendon O’Connor, 6 Tom Croft, 5 Mike Fitzgerald, 4 Dom Barrow, 3 Fraser Balmain, 2 Tom Youngs, 1 Marcos Ayerza
Replacements: 16 Greg Bateman, 17 Matias Aguero, 18 Dan Cole, 19 Ed Slater, 20 Lachlan McCaffrey, 21 Ben Youngs, 22 Seremaia Bai, 23 George Catchpole.

Referee: Mathieu Raynal (France)
Assistant Referees: Sébastien Minery (France), Vivien Praderie (France)
TMO: Hervé Dubes (France)

 

Bath vs Leinster:

Recreation Ground – Kick-Off: 17:15 SA Time (15:15 UK Time & GMT)

Leinster have won 6 of their 7 matches against Bath, including an 18 / 15 victory in the 2014 / 2015 quarterfinals.

Bath have never won a match on home soil against Leinster in the Champions Cup, their only win against the province coming on the road. They have only won 2 of their 13 matches against Irish clubs in the competition with the last of those victories occurring in 2005.

Leinster have lost only 3 of their last 17 matches against English opponents in the Champions Cup (won 12, drawn 2), however 1 of those defeats came just last weekend against Wasps.

Teams:

Bath: 15 Anthony Watson, 14 Semesa Rokoduguni, 13 Ollie Devoto, 12 Kyle Eastmond, 11 Matt Banahan, 10 George Ford, 9, Chris Cook, 8 Leroy Houston, 7 Francois Louw (Captain), 6 Matt Garvey, 5 David Attwood, 4 Dom Day, 3 Henry Thomas, 2 Rob Webber, 1 Nick Auterac
Replacements: 16 Ross Batty, 17 Nathan Catt, 18 Max Lahiff, 19 Stuart Hooper, 20 Alafoti Fa’osiliva, 21 Niko Matawalu, 22 Rhys Priestland, 23 Tom Homer.

Leinster: 15 Isa Nacewa (Captain), 14 Fergus McFadden, 13 Ben Te’o, 12 Luke Fitzgerald, 11 Dave Kearney, 10 Johnny Sexton, 9 Isaac Boss, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 Jordi Murphy, 6 Rhys Ruddock, 5 Hayden Triggs, 4 Devin Toner, 3 Mike Ross, 2 Sean Cronin, 1 Cian Healy
Replacements: 16 James Tracy, 17 Jack McGrath, 18 Martin Moore, 19 Dominic Ryan, 20 Josh van der Flier, 21 Luke McGrath, 22 Ian Madigan, 23 Zane Kirchner.

Referee: Jérôme Garcès (France)
Assistant Referees: Salem Attalah (France), Laurent Millotte (France)
TMO: Bruno Bessot (France)

 

Toulouse vs Oyannax:

Stade Ernest Wallon – Kick-Off: 17:15 SA Time (16:15 French Time, 15:15 GMT)

After last weekend’s postponement, Oyonnax will be making their Champions Cup debut.

Toulouse have won 9 and drawn 1 of their 11 matches against Top 14 clubs.

Toulouse will be looking to avoid consecutive defeats on home soil for the 1st time in the European Cup, thus far they have played 65 matches at home without consecutive losses.

Toulouse have lost their last 3 in the competition, but have never suffered four consecutive defeats in Europe.

Teams:

Toulouse: 15 Clément Poitrenaud, 14 Maxime Médard, 13 Gael Fickou, 12 Florian Fritz, 11 Timoci Matanavou, 10 Luke McAlister, 9 Jean-Marc Doussain, 8 Louis Picamoles, 7 Imanol Harinordoquy, 6 Talalelei Gray, 5 Romain Millo-Chluski, 4 Yoann Maestri (Captain), 3 Dorian Aldegheri, 2 Christopher Tolofua, 1 Vasil Kakovin
Replacements: 16 Julien Marchand, 17 Nemiah Tialata, 18 Census Johnston, 19 Joe Tekori, 20 Gregory Lamboley, 21 David Mele, 22 Yann David, 23 Arthur Bonneval.

Oyannax: 15 Florian Denos, 14 Silvère Tian, 13 Vincent Martin, 12 Eamonn Sheridan, 11 Fetu’u Vainikolo, 10 Regis Lespinas, 9 Fabien Cibray (Captain), 8 Viliami Ma’afu, 7 Olivier Missoup, 6 Pierrick Gunther, 5 Leon Power, 4 George Robson, 3 Antoine Guillamon, 2 Jody Jenneker, 1 Laurent Delboulbès
Replacements: 16 Jeremie Maurouard, 17 Soane Tonga’uiha, 18 Marc Clerc, 19 Valentin Ursache, 20 Pedrie Wannenburg, 21 Piri Weepu, 22 Nicky Robinson, 23 Geoffrey Fabbri.

Referee: Matthew Carley (England)
Assistant Referees: Andrew Jackson (England), Robin Goodliffe (England)
TMO: Stuart Terheege (England)

 

Glasgow Warriors vs Northampton Saints:

Scotstoun Stadium – Kick-Off: 19:15 SA Time (17:15 UK Time & GMT)

Northampton Saints have won 4 of the 6 previous clashes between the clubs in Europe, though Glasgow Warriors won the last meeting.

The Warriors have won 2 of their 3 matches at home against the Saints in Europe’s top flight; all 3 games were settled by 7 points or fewer.

The Warriors have won their last 6 clashes at home against English opposition, this after winning just 3 of the previous 9.

The Saints have won 9 of their last 10 matches against Scottish clubs with those 9 victories coming by an average margin of 17 points.

Teams:

Glasgow Warriors: 15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Tommy Seymour, 13 Mark Bennett, 12 Peter Horne, 11 Sean Lamont, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Mike Blair, 8 Josh Strauss, 7 Simone Favaro, 6 Rob Harley, 5 Jonny Gray, 4 Leone Nakarawa, 3 Sila Puafisi, 2 Pat MacArthur, 1 Ryan Grant
Replacements: 16 Shalva Mamukashvili, 17 Gordon Reid, 18 Zander Fagerson, 19 Tim Swinson, 20 Ryan Wilson, 21 Grayson Hart, 22 Richie Vernon, 23 Taqele Naiyaravoro.

Northampton Saints: 15 Ben Foden, 14 Ahsee Tuala, 13 George Pisi, 12 Luther Burrell, 11 George North, 10 Stephen Myler, 9 Lee Dickson (Captain), 8 Sam Dickinson, 7 Tom Wood, 6 Jamie Gibson, 5 Christian Day, 4 Michael Paterson, 3 Paul Hill, 2 Mikey Haywood, 1 Alex Waller
Replacements: 16 Matti Williams, 17 Ethan Waller, 18 Paul Hill, 19 Jon Fisher, 20 Teimana Harrison, 21 Kahn Fotuali’I, 22 Jj Hanrahan, 23 Jamie Elliott.

Referee: Pascal Gauzère (France)
Assistant Referees: Maxime Chalon (France), Jean-Luc Rebollal (France)
TMO: Gilles Cogne (France)

 

Scarlets vs Racing Metro:

Parc y Scarlets – Kick-Off: 19:30 SA Time (17:30 UK Time & GMT, 18:30 French Time)

The Scarlets are undefeated in their 2 clashes with Racing Metro, winning away and drawing at home in the 2013 / 2014 tournament.

The Scarlets have won 2 of their last 3 Champions Cup matches on home soil, although that 1 loss came against French opposition (vs Toulon).

Racing have won 1 and drawn 2 of their last 4 matches against Welsh opposition in the Champions Cup. In 6 games between Racing Metro and teams from Wales the final points margin has never been more than 6 points.

Teams:

Scarlets: 15 Aled Thomas, 14 Michael Tagicakibau, 13 Gareth Owen, 12 Hadleigh Parkes, 11 DTH van der Merwe, 10 Daniel Jones, 9 Gareth Davies, 8 John Barclay, 7 James Davies, 6 Aaron Shingler, 5 Maselino Paulino, 4 Jake Ball, 3 Peter Edwards, 2 Ken Owens (Captain), 1 Phil John
Replacements: 16 Emyr Phillips, 17 Dylan Evans, 18 Samson Lee, 19 Tom Price, 20 Lewis Rawlins, 21 Aled Davies, 22 Michael Collins, 23 Steff Evans.

Racing Metro: 15 Johan Goosen, 14 Joe Rokocoko, 13 Casey Laulala, 12 Henry Chayancy, 11 Marc Andreu, 10 Remi Tales, 9 Maxime Machenaud, 8 Chris Masoe, 7 Wenceslas Laurant, 6 Bernard le Roux, 5 Francois van der Merwe, 4 Luke Charteris, 3 Cedate Gomes Sa, 2 Dimitri Szarzewski (Captain), 1 Julien Brugnaut
Replacements: 16 Camille Chat, 17 Eddy Ben Arous, 18 Ben Tameifuna, 19 Thibault Dubarry, 20 Yannick Nyanga, 21 Mike Phillips, 22 Juan Imhoff, 23 Brice Dulin.

Referee: Greg Garner (England)
Assistant Referees: Dean Richards (England), Peter Allan (Scotland)
TMO: Keith Lewis (England)

 

Exeter Chiefs vs Bordeaux-Begles:

Sandy Park – Kick-Off: 21:45 SA Time (19:45 UK Time & GMT, 20:45 French Time)

This will be the 1st meeting between the sides in European competition.

The Exeter Chiefs are still yet to record a win against a French team in the Champions Cup (lost 4). They have won 2 of their 6 home matches in the Champions Cup, however they have scored just 19 points in their last 2 matches on home soil.

This will be Bordeaux-Begles 1st match in the Champions Cup against English opposition, their previous opponents have all been from either Wales, Ireland or France.

Teams:

Exeter Chiefs: 15 Phil Dollman, 14 Jack Nowell, 13 Ian Whitten, 12 Sam Hill, 11 Olly Woodburn, 10 Henry Slade, 9 Will Chudley, 8 Tom Johnson, 7 Julian Salvi, 6 Ben White, 5 Damian Welch, 4 Geoff Parling, 3 Moray Low, 2 Jack Yeandle (Captain), 1 Ben Moon
Replacements: 16 Elvis Taione, 17 Carl Rimmer, 18 Alex Brown, 19 Ollie Atkins, 20 Don Armand, 21 Dave Lewis, 22 Gareth Steenson, 23 Michele Campagnaro.

Bordeaux-Begles: 15 Nans Ducuing, 14 Metuisela Talebulamaijaina, 13 Sofiane Guitoune, 12 Julien Rey, 11 Blair Connor, 10 Lionel Beauxis, 9 Yann Lesgourgues, 8 Loann Goujon, 7 Hugh Chalmers, 6 Louis Madaule, 5 Jan Andre Marais (Captain), 4 Julien Le Devedec, 3 Patrick Toetu, 2 Ole Avei, 1 Steven Kitshoff
Replacements: 16 Clement Maynadier, 17 Sébastien Taofifenua, 18 Francisco Gomez Kodela, 19 Adam Jaulhac, 20 Marco Tauleigne, 21 Baptiste Serin, 22 Romain Lonca, 23 Charles Brousse.

Referee: Leighton Hodges (Wales)
Assistant Referees: Gwyn Morris (Wales), Greg Morgan (Wales)
TMO: Gareth Simmonds (Wales)

 

Sunday 22 November:

Clermont Auvergne vs Ospreys:

Stade Marcel-Michelin – Kick-Off: 15:00 SA Time (14:00 French Time, 13:00 UK Time & GMT)

In the 4 matches between these clubs in the Champions Cup, all have been won by the home team (2 wins each).

Clermont Auvergne won the last meeting between the sides and are aiming to win consecutive matches against the Ospreys for the 1st time in the Champions Cup.

The Ospreys’ 2 victories over Clermont are the only defeats the French side have suffered in their last 12 matches against Welsh opposition (won 10).

Clermont have won their last 23 games at home in the Champions Cup.

Teams:

Clermont Auvergne: 15 Nick Abendanon, 14 David Strettle, 13 Aurélien Rougerie, 12 Wesley Fofana, 11 Noa Nakaitaci, 10 Camille Lopez, 9 Morgan Parra, 8 Fritz Lee, 7 Alexandre Lapandry, 6 Damien Chouly (Captain), 5 Sébastien Vahaamahina, 4 Jamie Cudmore, 3 Davit Zirakashvili, 2 Benjamin Kayser, 1 Thomas Domingo
Replacements: 16 Marthinius van der Westhuizen, 17 Raphael Chaume, 18 Daniel Kotze, 19 Flip van der Merwe, 20 Vito Kolelishvili, 21 Ludovic Radoslavjevic, 22 Brock James, 23 Albert Vulivuli.

Ospreys: 15 Dan Evans, 14 Tom Grabham, 13 Jonathan Spratt, 12 Josh Matavesi, 11 Eli Walker, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Brendon Leonard, 8 James King, 7 Justin Tipuric, 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 Alun Wyn Jones (Captain), 4 Lloyd Ashley, 3 Dmitri Arhip, 2 Scott Baldwin, 1 Paul James
Replacements: 16 Sam Parry, 17 Ryan Bevington, 18 Aaron Jarvis, 19 Rory Thornton, 20 Dan Baker, 21 Thomas Habberfield, 22 Sam Davies, 23 Hanno Dirksen.

Referee: George Clancy (Ireland)
Assistant Referees: David Wilkinson (Ireland), Olly Hodges (Ireland)
TMO: Marshall Kilgore (Ireland)

 

Wasps vs Toulon:

Ricoh Arena – Kick-Off: 19:15 SA Time (17:15 UK Time & GMT, 18:15 French Time)

Toulon won their only previous Champions Cup match against Wasps 32 / 18 in last season’s quarterfinal.

Wasps have won 3 of their last 4 matches against French opposition with their quarterfinal defeat against Toulon last season being the only blemish in that run.

Wasps have won 17 and drawn 2 of their last 20 home matches in Europe’s top flight, though they have won just 1 of their last 3.

Toulon have won 4 of their last 5 away matches in Europe, conceding fewer than 10 points in 3 of those 5 matches.

Teams:

Wasps: 15 Charles Piutau, 14 Christian Wade, 13 Elliot Daly, 12 Ben Jacobs, 11 Frank Halai, 10 Ruaridh Jackson, 9 Joe Simpson, 8 Nathan Hughes, 7 George Smith, 6 James Haskell (Captain), 5 Bradley Davies, 4 Joe Launchbury, 3 Jake Cooper-Woolley, 2 Carlo Festuccia, 1 Matt Mullan
Replacements: 16 Ashley Johnson, 17 Simon McIntyre, 18 Lorenzo Cittadini, 19 James Gaskell, 20 Sam Jones, 21 Dan Robson, 22 Alex Lozowski, 23 Sailosi Tagicakibau.

Toulon: 15 Delon Armitage, 14 Josua Tuisova, 13 Mathieu Bastareaud, 12 Maxime Mermoz, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Quade Cooper, 9 Jonathan Pelissie, 8 Steffon Armitage, 7 Juan Fernandez Lobbe, 6 Juan Smith (Captain), 5 Romain Taofifenua, 4 Samu Manoa, 3 Matt Stevens, 2 Anthony Etrillard, 1 Xavier Chiocci
Replacements: 16 Bastien Soury, 17 Florian Fresia, 18 Levan Chilachava, 19 Duane Vermeulen, 20 Mamuka Gorgodze, 21 Theo Belan, 22 Sebastien Tillous-Borde, 23 Konstantine Mikautadze.

Referee: John Lacey (Ireland)
Assistant Referees: Dudley Phillips (Ireland), Leo Colgan (Ireland)
TMO: Simon McDowell (Ireland)

 

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