Preview: European Cup, Round Two
Saracens will be playing at "home" in Brussels against Racing-Metro in an intriguing second round of European Cup action this weekend.
Northampton will be intent on continuing their winning start to the competition when they take on Castres away from home.
Saints clawed back a 15-point deficit to run out 24-15 victors over Glasgow last week, inspired by the exciting Samoan Pisi brothers, George and Ken.
It was Ken Pisi's scything break that set up his team's second try, by man-of-the-match brother George, that went a large way to launching a memorable comeback in the Pool Four encounter.
"I keep seeing him inside and having my back. I'm really happy with the try we scored," Ken Pisi told the BBC. "It's just like how we used to play in the back yard."
Castres were soundly beaten 41-17 at Ulster in their opening match and will need to bounce back well from that defeat, having decided to relocate Friday's match to Toulouse's Ernest Wallon stadium.
"We can see that we're both close and far away," Castres coach Laurent Travers said.
"It at least allows us to gain experience. We have to rebound against Northampton. I know there is pride in this squad. Despite the result (against Ulster), the boys showed it."
Another team on the move are Saracens, who will play their second Pool One home match against Racing-Metro at Brussels' King Baudouin stadium.
The English outfit will be in buoyant mood after hammering last season's semifinalists Edinburgh 45-0 in Scotland, while Olly Barkley fired Racing-Metro to a 22-17 win over two-time former champions Munster.
"They're a very successful side littered with some very talented players," Saracens' England centre Brad Barritt said of Racing. "So we are under no illusions, its going to be a tough outing.
"Going to Brussels is hugely exciting, playing in a different stadium is always something that excites the players, taking rugby to a new audience is a very exciting venture.
"We are going to have to stick to our guns, apply the same pressure as last week and be even more clinical."
Defending champions Leinster, bidding for an unprecedented hat-trick of European titles, struggled to a 9-6 victory over debutants Exeter last week, and face a tricky away Pool Five match against Scarlets in west Wales on Saturday.
Scarlets were last week well beaten, 49-16, by French giants Clermont, who travel to Exeter.
"We have to win against Leinster it's as simple as that," said Scarlets coach Simon Easterby.
"You can't progress without a win in your first two games and it's still in our hands."
Sunday's matches feature Cardiff Blues hosting Toulon in Pool Six and Leicester entertaining biggest Welsh hope Ospreys in Pool Two, which also sees Toulouse away to Treviso.
Leicester were defeated 23-9 by Toulouse, Tigers coach Richard Cockerill blaming a costly loss of control at crucial times.
"We're bitterly disappointed because we did so many things right, exactly the way we had talked about all week, but then we made some costly errors at key moments," said Cockerill.
A good piece of news for organisers of European club rugby's showpiece tournament was that there was a record attendance for Round one matches in the six countries.
The 157,992 global gate showed a 17 percent increase on last season's opening round and was 5,001 more than the previous record for the round set back in 2008/09.
All the teams and match details for Round Two:
Friday, October 19
Glasgow Warriors v Ulster
(Scotstoun Stadium – Kick-off: 20.00, 19.00 GMT)
Teams:
Glasgow Warriors: 15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Byron McGuigan, 13 Peter Murchie, 12 Peter Horne, 11 Alex Dunbar, 10 Ruaridh Jackson, 9 Henry Pyrgos, 8 Ryan Wilson, 7 Chris Fusaro, 6 Josh Strauss, 5 Alastair Kellock (captain), 4 Tom Ryder, 3 Michael Cusack, 2 Dougie Hall, 1 Ryan Grant.
Replacements: 16 Finlay Gillies, 17 Ofa Fainga'anuku, 18 Gordon Reid, 19 Tim Swinson, 20 Rob Harley, 21 John Barclay, 22 Scott Wight, 23 Nikola Matawal.
Ulster: 15 Jared Payne, 14 Tommy Bowe, 13 Darren Cave, 12 Paddy Wallace, 11 Andrew Trimble, 10 Paddy Jackson, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Nick Williams Nanai, 7 Chris Henry, 6 Iain Henderson, 5 Dan Tuohy, 4 Johann Muller (captain), 3 John Afoa, 2 Rory Best, 1 Tom Court.
Replacements: 16 Rob Herring, 17 Callum Black, 18 Adam Macklin, 19 Lewis Stevenson, 20 Mike McComish, 21 Paul Marshall, 22 Luke Marshall, 23 Craig Gilroy.
Referee: Mathieu Raynal (France)
Assistant referees: Christophe Berdos (France), Jean-Luc Rebollal (France)
TMO: Vincent Azoulay (France)
Castres v Northampton Saints
(Stade Ernest Wallon – Kick-off: 21.00, 19.00 GMT)
Teams:
Castres: 15 Romain Teulet, 14 Romain Martial, 13 Paul Bonnefond, 12 Seremaia Bai, 11 Marcel Garvey, 10 Remi Tales, 9 Rory Kockott, 8 Antonie Claassen, 7 Piula Faasalele, 6 Jannie Bornman, 5 Christophe Samson, 4 Joe Tekori, 3 Anton Peikrishvili (captain), 2 Brice Mach, 1 Hai Lazar.
Replacements: 16 Marc-Antoine Rallier, 17 Yannick Forestier, 18 Michael Coetzee, 19 Matthias Rolland, 20 Daniel Kirkpatrick, 21 Pedrie Wannenburg, 22 Romain Cabannes, 23 Marc Andreu.
Northampton Saints: 15 Stephen Myler, 14 Ken Pisi, 13 George Pisi, 12 Dominic Waldouck, 11 Vasily Artemyev, 10 Ryan Lamb, 9 Lee Dickson, 8 Rhys Oakley, 7 Tom Wood, 6 Phil Dowson, 5 Courtney Lawes, 4 Samu Manoa, 3 Brian Mujati, 2 Dylan Hartley (captain), 1 Soane Tonga'uiha.
Replacements: 16 Mike Haywood, 17 Alex Waller, 18 Paul Doran-Jones, 19 Mark Sorenson, 20 Gerrit-Jan van Velze, 21 Martin Roberts, 22 Tom May, 23 Scott Armstrong.
Referee: Alain Rolland (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Olly Hodges (Ireland), David Connolly (Ireland)
TMO: Jude Quinn (Ireland)
Saturday, October 20
Scarlets v Leinster
(Parc y Scarlets – Kick-off: 13.35, 14.35)
Teams:
Scarlets: 15 Liam Williams, 14 George North, 13 Gareth Maule, 12 Scott Williams, 11 Andrew Fenby, 10 Rhys Priestland, 9 Tavis Knoyle, 8 Rob McCusker, 7 Josh Turnbull, 6 Aaron Shingler, 5 Johan Snyman, 4 George Earle, 3 Samson Lee, 2 Matthew Rees, 1 Phil John.
Replacements: 16 Ken Owens, 17 Shaun Hopkins, 18 Deacon Manu, 19 Tomas Vallejos, 20 Jon Edwards, 21 Gareth Davies, 22 Aled Thomas, 23 Morgan Stoddart.
Leinster: 15 Ian Madigan, 14 Fergus McFadden, 13 Brian O'Driscoll, 12 Gordon D'Arcy, 11 Isa Nacewa, 10 Jonathan Sexton, 9 Eoin Reddan, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 Shane Jennings, 6 Kevin McLaughlin, 5 Damian Browne, 4 Leo Cullen (captain), 3 Mike Ross, 2 Sean Cronin, 1 Cian Healy.
Replacements: 16 Richardt Strauss, 17 Heinke van der Merwe, 18 Jamie Hagan, 19 Devin Toner, 20 Jordi Murphy, 21 Isaac Boss, 22 Andrew Conway, 23 Fionn Carr.
Referee: Greg Garner (England)
Assistant referees: Llyr Apgeraint-Roberts (England), Robin Goodliffe (England)
TMO: Trevor Fisher (England)
Treviso v Toulouse
(Stadio Comunale di Monigo Kick-off: 14.35, 14.35 GMT)
Teams:
Treviso: 15 Luke McLean, 14 Giulio Toniolatti, 13 Tommaso Benvenuti, 12 Alberto Sgarbi, 11 Tommaso Iannone, 10 Kristopher Burton, 9 Tobie Botes, 8 Robert Barbieri, 7 Alessandro Zanni, 6 Manoa Vosawai, 5 Francesco Minto, 4 Antonio Pavanello (captain), 3 Lorenzo Cittadini, 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 1 Michele Rizzo.
Replacements: 16 Enrico Ceccato, 17 Alberto De Marchi, 18 Ignacio Fernandez-Rouyet, 19 Valerio Bernabo, 20 Simone Favaro, 21 Marco Filippucci, 22 Fabio Semenzato, 23 Andrea Pratichetti.
Toulouse: 15 Yoann Huget, 14 Vincent Clerc, 13 Florian Fritz, 12 Gael Fickou, 11 Timoci Matanavou, 10 Luke McAlister, 9 Jean Marc Doussain, 8 Louis Picamoles, 7 Thierry Dusautoir (captain), 6 Jean Bouilhou, 5 Patricio Albacete, 4 Romain Millo Chlusky, 3 Yohan Montès, 2 Christopher Tolofua, 1 Jean Batiste Poux.
Replacements: 16 Gary Botha, 17 Gurthro Steenkamp, 18 Census Johnston, 19 Gregory Lamboley, 20 Yannick Nyanga, 21 Luke Burgess, 22 Yannick Jauzion, 23 Clement Poitrenaud.
Referee: Leighton Hodges (Wales)
Assistant referees: Sean Brickell (Wales), Jon Mason (Wales)
TMO: Nigel Whitehouse (Wales)
Saracens v Racing Metro
(King Baudoin Stadium – Kick-off: 16.40, 17.40 GMT)
Teams:
Saracens: 15 Alex Goode, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Owen Farrell, 12 Brad Barritt, 11 Chris Wyles, 10 Charlie Hodgson, 9 Neil de Kock, 8 Jackson Wray, 7 Will Fraser, 6 Kelly Brown, 5 Mouritz Botha, 4 Steve Borthwick (captain), 3 Matt Stevens, 2 Schalk Brits, 1 Rhys Gill.
Replacements: 16 John Smit, 17 Mako Vunipola, 18 Carlos Nieto, 19 Alistair Hargreaves, 20 Andy Saull, 21 Richard Wigglesworth, 22 Joel Tomkins, 23 David Strettle.
Racing Metro: 15 Juan Martin Hernandez, 14 Benjamin Fall, 13 Mirco Bergamasco, 12 Fabrice Estebanez, 11 Juan Imhoff, 10 Olly Barkley, 9 Maxime Machenaud, 8 Bernard le Roux, 7 Jacques Cronje (captain), 6 Antoine Battut, 5 Francois Van Der Merwe, 4 Karim Ghezal, 3 Luc Ducalcon, 2 Dimitri Szarzewski, 1 Andrea Lo Cicero.
Replacements: 16 Benkjamin Noirot, 17 Eddy Ben Arous, 18 Juan Pablo Orlandi, 19 Fabrice Metz, 20 Julien Jané, 21 Masinivanua Matadigo, 22 Sebastien Descons, 23 Gaetan Germain.
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant referees: Gwyn Morris (Wales), Wayne Davies (Wales)
TMO: Derek Bevan (Wales)
Connacht v Harlequins
(The Sportsground – Kick-off: 18.00, 19.00 GMT)
Teams:
Connacht: 15 Robbie Henshaw, 14 Tiernan O'Halloran, 13 Eoin Griffin, 12 Dave McSharry, 11 Fetu'u Vainikolo, 10 Dan Parks, 9 Kieran Marmion, 8 George Naoupu, 7 Willie Faloon, 6 John Muldoon, 5 Mike McCarthy, 4 Michael Swift, 3 Nathan White, 2 Adrian Flavin, 1 Dennis Buckley.
Replacements: 16 Jason Harris Wright, 17 Brett Wilkinson, 18 Ronan Loughney, 19 Dave Gannon, 20 Johnny O'Connor, 21 Dave Moore, 22 Miah Nikora, 23 Mata Fifita.
Harlequins: 15 Mike Brown, 14 Tom Williams, 13 Matt Hopper, 12 Jordan Turner-Hall, 11 Sam Smith, 10 Ben Botica, 9 Danny Care, 8 Nick Easter, 7 Chris Robshaw, 6 Maurie Fa'asavalu, 5 George Robson, 4 Ollie Kohn, 3 James Johnston, 2 Rob Buchanan, 1 Joe Marler.
Replacements: 16 Dave Ward, 17 Mark Lambert, 18 Will Collier, 19 Charlie Matthews, 20 Tom Guest, 21 Karl Dickson, 22 Rory Clegg, 23 Seb Stegmann.
Referee: Jérôme Garces (France)
Assistant referees: Sébastien Cloute (France), Salem Attalah (France)
TMO: Eric Gauzins (France)
Exeter Chiefs v Clermont Auvergne
(Sandy Park – Kick-off: 18.00, 19.00 GMT)
Teams:
Exeter Chiefs: 15 Luke Arscott, 14 Ian Whitten, 13 Phil Dollman, 12 Jason Shoemark, 11 Matt Jess, 10 Gareth Steenson, 9 Haydn Thomas, 8 Richard Baxter, 7 James Scaysbrook, 6 Tom Johnson, 5 Dean Mumm, 4 Tom Hayes, 3 Carl Rimmer, 2 Simon Alcott, 1 Brett Sturgess.
Replacements: 16 Chris Whitehead, 17 Chris Budgen, 18 Ben Moon, 19 James Hanks, 20 Ally Muldowney, 21 Will Chudley, 22 Ignacio Mieres, 23 Sireli Naqelevuki.
Clermont Auvergne: 15 Lee Byrne, 14 Sitiveni Sivivatu, 13 Aurélien Rougerie, 12 Wesley Fofana, 11 Napolioni Nalaga, 10 Brock James, 9 Morgan Parra, 8 Damien Chouly, 7 Julien Bonnaire, 6 Gerhard Vosloo, 5 Julien Pierre, 4 Jamie Cudmore, 3 Davit Zirakashvili, 2 Benjamin Kayser, 1 Thomas Domingo.
Replacements: 16 Ti'i Paulo, 17 Vincent Debaty, 18 Daniel Kotze, 19 Loic Jacquet, 20 Elvis Vermeulen, 21 Ludovic Radoslavjevic , 22 David Skrela, 23 Benson Stanley.
Referee: John Lacey (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Paul Haycock (Ireland), Brian Macneice (Ireland)
TMO: Kevin Beggs (Ireland)
Biarritz v Zebre
(Parc des Sport Auilera – Kick-off: 19.00, 19.00 GMT)
Teams:
Biarritz: 15 Iain Balshaw, 14 Taku Ngwenya, 13 Seremaïa Burotu, 12 Damien Traille, 11 Aled Brew, 10 Jean-Pascal Barraque, 9 Yann Lesgourgues, 8 Raphael Lakafia, 7 Wenceslas Lauret, 6 Magnus Lund, 5 Pelu Taele, 4 Erik Lund, 3 Francisco Gomez Kodela, 2 Benoit August , 1 Fabien Barcella.
Replacements: 16 Arnaud Heguy, 17 Thomas Synaeghel, 18 Eugene van Staden, 19 Thibault Dubarry, 20 Benoit Guyot, 21 Julien Peyrelongue, 22 Marcelo Bosch, 23 Benoît Baby.
Zebre: 15 Ruggero Trevisan, 14 Giovanbattista Venditti, 13 Gonzalo Garcia, 12 Daniel Halangahu, 11 Matteo Pratichetti, 10 Luciano Orquera, 9 Luca Martinelli, 8 Dries van Schalkwyk, 7 Mauro Bergamasco, 6 Filippo Ferrarini, 5 Mike Van Vuren, 4 Quintin Geldenhuys, 3 Luca Redolfini, 2 Carlo Festuccia, 1 Salvatore Perugini.
Replacements: 16 Andrea Manici, 17 David Ryan, 18 Carlo Fazzari, 19 Emiliano Caffini, 20 Filippo Cristiano, 21 Tito Tebaldi, 22 Alberto Benettin, 23 David Odiete.
Referee: Dudley Phillips (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Mark Patton (Ireland), Simon McDowell (Ireland)
TMO: Peter Ferguson (Ireland)
Sunday, October 21
Munster v Edinburgh
(Thomond Park – Kick-off: 12.45, 13.45)
Teams:
Munster: 15 Denis Hurley, 14 Doug Howlett (captain), 13 Casey Laulala, 12 James Downey, 11 Simon Zebo, 10 Ian Keatley, 9 Conor Murray, 8 Peter O'Mahony, 7 Sean Dougall, 6 Donnacha Ryan, 5 Paul O'Connell, 4 Donncha O'Callaghan, 3 BJ Botha, 2 Mick Sherry, 1 Dave Kilcoyne.
Replacements: 16 Damien Varley, 17 Marcus Horan, 18 Stephen Archer, 19 Billy Holland, 20 Paddy Butler, 21 Duncan Williams, 22 JJ Hanrahan, 23 Felix Jones.
Edinburgh: 15 Greig Tonks, 14 Lee Jones, 13 Nick De Luca, 12 Ben Atiga, 11 Tim Visser, 10 Gregor Hunter, 9 Richie Rees, 8 Netani Talei, 7 Stuart McInally, 6 David Denton, 5 Sean Cox, 4 Grant Gilchrist, 3 Geoff Cross, 2 Ross Ford, 1 John Yapp.
Replacements: 16 Andy Titterrell, 17 Robin Hislop, 18 Willem Nel, 19 Rob McAlpine, 20 Dimitri Basilaia, 21 Chris Leck, 22 Matt Scott, 23 Tom Brown.
Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)
Assistant referees: Tim Wigglesworth (England), Paul Dix (England)
TMO: Geoff Warren (England)
Cardiff Blues v Toulon
(Cardiff Arms Park – Kick-off: 12.45, 13.45)
Teams:
Cardiff Blues: 15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 Alex Cuthbert, 13 Gavin Evans, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 Tom James, 10 Ceri Sweeney, 9 Lloyd Williams, 8 Andries Pretorius (captain), 7 Sam Warburton, 6 Josh Navidi, 5 Lou Reed, 4 Bradley Davies, 3 Benoit Bourrust, 2 Marc Breeze, 1 Tafa'ao Filise.
Replacements: 16 Andi Kyriacou, 17 Nathan Trevett, 18 Scott Andrews, 19 James Down, 20 Robin Copeland, 21 Lewis Jones, 22 Jason Tovey, 23 Dafydd Hewitt.
Toulon: 15 Delon Armitage, 14 Vincent Martin, 13 Mathieu Bastareaud, 12 Matt Giteau, 11 David Smith, 10 Jonny Wilkinson, 9 Frederic Michalak, 8 Chris Masoe, 7 Steffon Armitage, 6 Juan Fernandez Lobbe, 5 Jocelino Suta, 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 Davit Kubriashvili, 2 Mickael Ivaldi, 1 Gethin Jenkins.
Replacements: 16 Jean-Charles Orioli, 17 Andrew Sheridan, 18 Carl Hayman, 19 Pierrick Gunther, 20 Maxime Mermoz, 21 Benjamin Lapeyre, 22 Nicolas Durand, 23 Simon Shaw.
Referee: George Clancy (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Michael Black (Ireland), Jonathan Peak (Ireland)
TMO: Marshall Kilgore (Ireland)
Leicester Tigers v Ospreys
(Welford Road – Kick-off: 15.00, 16.00 GMT)
Teams:
Leicester Tigers: 15 Scott Hamilton, 14 Niall Morris, 13 Manu Tuilagi, 12 Anthony Allen, 11 Vereniki Goneva, 10 Toby Flood, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Jordan Crane, 7 Thomas Waldrom, 6 Steve Mafi, 5 Geoff Parling, 4 Graham Kitchener, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Tom Youngs, 1 Logovi'i Mulipola.
Replacements: 16 George Chuter, 17 Marcos Ayerza, 18 Martin Castrogiovanni, 19 Louis Deacon, 20 Richard Thorpe, 21 Sam Harrison, 22 George Ford, 23 Matt Smith.
Ospreys: 15 Richard Fussell, 14 Hanno Dirksen, 13 Andrew Bishop, 12 Ashley Beck, 11 Eli Walker, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Kahn Fotuali'i, 8 Jonathan Thomas, 7 Justin Tipuric, 6 Ryan Jones, 5 Ian Evans, 4 Alun Wyn Jones (captain), 3 Adam Jones, 2 Richard Hibbard, 1 Ryan Bevington.
Replacements: 16 Matthew Dwyer 17 Duncan Jones 18 Aaron Jarvis 19 George Stowers 20 Joe Bearman 21 Rhys Webb 22 Matthew Morgan 23 Tom Isaacs.
Referee: Romain Poite (France)
Assistant referees: Cédric Marchat (France), Eric Soulan (France)
TMO: Bernard Dal Maso (France)
Montpellier v Sale Sharks
(Stade Yves du Manoir – Kick-off: 16.00, 17.00 GMT)
Teams:
Montpellier: 15 Lucas Amorosino, 14 Pierre Bérard, 13 Timoci Nagusa, 12 Shontayne Hape, 11 Martin Bustos Moyano, 10 Francois Trinh-Duc, 9 Julien Tomas, 8 Johnnie Beattie, 7 Mamuka Gorgodze, 6 Fulgence Ouedraogo, 5 Thibaut Privat, 4 Aliki Fakate, 3 Maximiliano Bustos, 2 Agustin Creevy, 1 Juan Figallo.
Replacements: 16 Rassie van Vuuren, 17 Yvan Watremez, 18 Vincent Pelo, 19 Mickael Demarco, 20 Alexandre Bias, 21 Benoit Paillaugue, 22 Santiago Fernandez, 23 Thomas Combezou.
Sale Sharks: 15 Rob Miller, 14 Tom Brady, 13 Will Addison, 12 Mark Jennings, 11 Mark Cueto, 10 Danny Cipriani, 9 Cillian Willis, 8 Mark Easter, 7 David Seymour (captain), 6 James Gaskell, 5 Kearnan Myall, 4 Fraser McKenzie, 3 Tony Buckley, 2 Joe Ward, 1 Eifion Lewis-Roberts.
Replacements: 16 Tommy Taylor, 17 Ross Harrison, 18 Vadim Cobilas, 19 Richie Vernon, 20 Andy Powell, 21 Nathan Fowles, 22 Nick Macleod, 23 Johnny Leota.
Referee: Neil Paterson (Scotland)
Assistant referees: David Changleng (Scotland), Adrian Graves (Scotland)
TMO: Iain Ramage (Scotland)
