Heineken CupIt is crunch time in Europe’s premier club tournament, as we enter Round Five of the Euro Cup.  The build-up this week may have shone the spotlight on the heavyweight Anglo-French clashes – between Toulouse and Saracens, and Harlequins and ASM Clermont Auvergne – but two other French giants will also be in crucial matches.  Defending European champions Toulon host Cardiff Blues in Nice on Saturday, while French champions Castres  are at home to Leinster on Sunday.

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Key pair Rory Kockott and Antonie Claassen will be missing for Castres when they host Leinster.

The news is a boost to the Irish province, who could secure a place in the quarterfinals with a game to spare if they win and Northampton fail to come away from Ospreys with a victory.

Both South African scrumhalf Kockott and South African-born France international flank Claassen missed Castres’s last match against Bordeaux-Begles in the French Top 14 due to injury.

“It’s still a bit too soon for them,” said Castres coach David Darricarrere.

Kockott has a calf problem, while Claassen is suffering from a knee injury.

South African back row forward Pedrie Wannenburg also looks set to miss the clash due to a thigh problem, but fullback Geoffrey Palis, who Monday earned a call-up to the France pre-Six Nations training camp, should recover in time from a dislocated thumb.

* Meanwhile Wales’ British & Irish Lions wing Alex Cuthbert said he can’t wait to tangle with Toulon on Saturday.

The Cardiff Blues star has already helped his region post a spectacular 19-15 win over the French giants in Round Two and now he is preparing for a double-whammy.

“You have to look forward to playing the best team in Europe – you can’t be afraid of it. I’m looking forward to it and I can’t wait to play down there,” Cuthbert told the Cardiff Blues website.

“When you play against them there is an expectation that they will get the win, but we got the win at home. It is important that we take confidence from that. I am sure that win was unexpected by a lot of people.

“We know we beat them at home and I am sure Toulon will be looking to correct that and get one back on us. But we have put ourselves in a good position in the group.”

The Blues had a disastrous start to their European campaign with a heavy defeat at Exeter Chiefs, but a hat-trick of wins over the champions and back-to-back against Glasgow Warriors has hauled them back to within two points of the lead in the Pool.

They were beaten twice by Toulon last season, but picked up a try bonus point at Stade Mayol when they touched down four times in a 45-25 defeat. And Cuthbert believes that if they can once again convert their chances, and tighten up their defence, they can cause Toulon more trouble.

“We need to ensure that when opportunities come up we utilise them. Watching Toulon’s game against Exeter, the Chiefs had a lot of chances and they took a couple of them and were still in the game,” added Cuthbert.

“We had a good feeling when we went down to Exeter, as it was the first Heineken Cup game, but unfortunately we didn’t really turn up on that day.

“It’s not easy to get a win up at Glasgow, but we did that and we need to keep that form going. We are hungry in the Heineken Cup – we have that sniff of the quarter-finals and we want to do ourselves proud.”

 

We look at all the Round Five matches!

 

Friday 10 January

Ulster v Montpellier
(Ravenhill – Kick-off: 20.00; 20.00 GMT)

Montpellier have made 39 clean breaks in this tournament, more than any other club.

Ulster conceded fewer penalties per game (7.8) than any other side in the first four rounds.

Only Saracens (142) have scored more points in the first four rounds than Ulster (130) this season, with Paddy Jackson the joint top point scorer so far (55).

Darren Cave came up with more try assists (four) than any other player in Rounds One to Four.

Teams:

Ulster: 15 Jared Payne, 14 Andrew Trimble, 13 Darren Cave, 12 Luke Marshall, 11 Craig Gilroy, 10 Paddy Jackson, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Nick Williams, 7 Chris Henry, 6 Robbie Diack, 5 Dan Tuohy, 4 Johann Muller (captain), 3 John Afoa, 2 Rory Best, 1 Tom Court.
Replacements: 16 Rob Herring, 17 Callum Black, 18 Declan Fitzpatrick, 19 Iain Henderson, 20 Roger Wilson, 21 Sean Doyle, 22 Paul Marshall, 23 Michael Allen.

Montpellier: 15 Anthony Floch, 14 Yohann Artru, 13 Anthony Tuitavake, 12 Thomas Combezou, 11 Lucas Dupont, 10 Enzo Selponi, 9 Eric Escande, 8 Johnnie Beattie, 7 Alexandre Bias, 6 Kellen Galletier, 5 Robins Tchale Watchou, 4 Mickael Demarco, 3 Maximiliano Bustos, 2 Charles Geli (captain), 1 Na’ama Leleimalefaga.
Replacements: 16 Thomas Bianchin, 17 Mikheil Nariashvili, 18 Paea Fa’anunu, 19 Mickael Ivaldi, 20 Fred Quercy, 21 Benoit Paillaugue, 22 Pierre Berard, 23 Timoci Nagusa.

Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)
Assistant referees: Tim Wigglesworth (England), Stuart Terheege (England)
TMO: Sean Davey (England)

 

Racing Métro 92 v Scarlets
(Stade Yves-du-Manoir – Kick-off: 21.00; 20.00 GMT)

These two sides played out a 26-26 draw earlier this season – their only previous meeting in this competition.

It was Racing’s first draw in the European Cup and the Scarlets’ second (16-16 v Ulster, 2008).

Racing have made fewer carries (62) and metres (258) per match than any other side in the tournament to date.

Racing, who have had the least amount of average possession per game (11m 49s), have also made the fewest clean breaks (10) and beaten the fewest defenders (24).

Scarlets have produced 19 off-loads – the lowest total in the tournament.

Teams:

Racing Métro 92: 15 Benjamin Fall, 14 Juan Imhoff, 13 Henry Chavancy, 12 Juan Martin Hernandez, 11 Marc Andreu, 10 Jonny Sexton, 9 Mike Phillips, 8 Jacques Cronje, 7 Dan Lydiate, 6 Antoine Battut, 5 Fabrice Metz, 4 Karim Ghezal, 3 Brian Mujati, 2 Virgile Lacombe, 1 Julien Brugnaut
Replacements: 16 Jerome Maurouard, 17 Soane Tonga’uiha, 18 Luc Dulcacon, 19 Juandre Kruger, 20 Camille Gerondeau, 21 Maxime Machenaud, 22 Benjamin Dambielle, 23 Alexandre Dumoulin

Scarlets: 15 Aled Thomas, 14 Kristian Phillips, 13 Nick Reynolds, 12 Scott Williams, 11 Frazier Climo, 10 Rhys Priestland, 9 Gareth Davies, 8 Rob McCusker (captain), 7 John Barclay, 6 Aaron Shingler, 5 Johan Snyman, 4 Jake Ball, 3 Samson Lee, 2 Emyr Phillips, 1 Phil John
Replacements: 16 Kirby Myhill, 17 Rob Evans, 18 Jacobie Adriaanse, 19 Richard Kelly, 20 Josh Turnbull, 21 Rhodri Williams, 22 Gareth Maule, 23 Jordan Williams

Referee: Luke Pearce (England)
Assistant referees: Martin Fox (England), Robin Goodliffe (England)
TMO: Geoff Warren (England)

 

Saturday 11 January

Harlequins v ASM Clermont Auvergne
(The Twickenham Stoop – Kick-off: 13.35; 13.35 GMT)

Clermont have made more carries (140) and metres (547) per game than any other side in this season’s edition of the competition.

They’ve also spent the most time in possession (20m 58s).

Clermont’s scrum success rate is 97 percent, a tournament high figure.

Sitiveni Sivivatu made more metres (417) than any other player in Rounds 1 to 4. Mike Brown was third in that chart (321m).

Chris Robshaw (56 – joint 2nd) and Sitiveni Sivivatu (56 – 4th) are among the top ball carriers in the competition (prior to

Teams:

Harlequins: 15 Mike Brown, 14 Charlie Walker, 13 Matt Hopper, 12 Tim Molenaar, 11 Ugo Monye, 10 Nick Evans, 9 Danny Care, 8 Nick Easter, 7 Chris Robshaw (captain), 6 Luke Wallace, 5 George Robson, 4 Nick Kennedy, 3 Will Collier, 2 Dave Ward, 1 Joe Marler.
Replacements: 16 Joe Gray, 17 Mark Lambert, 18 Paul Doran-Jones, 19 Charlie Matthews, 20 Tom Guest, 21 Karl Dickson, 22 Ben Botica, 23 Ollie Lindsay-Hague.

ASM Clermont Auvergne: 15 Jean-Marcel Buttin, 14 Sitiveni Sivivatu, 13 Aurélien Rougerie (captain), 12 Wesley Fofana, 11 Napolioni Nalaga, 10 Brock James, 9 Morgan Parra, 8 Fritz Lee, 7 Alexandre Lapandry, 6 Julien Bardy, 5 Nathan Hines, 4 Jamie Cudmore, 3 Davit Zirakashvili, 2 Benjamin Kayser, 1 Thomas Domingo.
Replacements: 16 Ti’i Paulo, 17 Vincent Debaty, 18 Clément Ric, 19 Julien Pierre, 20 Gerhard Vosloo, 21 Ludovic Radoslavjevic, 22 Mike Delany, 23 Benson Stanley.

Referee: John Lacey (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Gary Conway (Ireland), Brian MacNeice (Ireland)
TMO: Simon McDowell (Ireland)

 

Benetton Treviso v Leicester Tigers
(Stadio Comunale di Monigo – Kick-off: 14.35; 13.35 GMT)

Leicester have won all seven of their European Cup matches against Treviso, including a 34-3 win earlier this season.

The aggregate score of those seven games is 289-101 in favour of the English club.

The Italians have scored just 16 points so far, fewer than any other side in the competition.

Treviso have the worst line-out (68 percent) and scrum (67 percent) success rates in the tournament.

Leicester have produced 18 line-out steals in this tournament, more than any other club.

Teams:

Benetton Treviso: 15 Brendan Williams, 14 Angelo Esposito, 13 Michele Campagnaro, 12 Andrea Pratichetti, 11 Luke McLean, 10 Mat Berquist, 9 Edoardo Gori, 8 Robert Barbieri, 7 Paul Derbyshire, 6 Christian Loamanu, 5 Valerio Bernabo, 4 Antonio Pavanello (captain), 3 Lorenzo Cittadini, 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 1 Michele Rizzo.
Replacements: 16 Franco Sbaraglini, 17 Alberto de Marchi, 18 Ignacio Fernandez Rouyet, 19 Marco Fuser, 20 Marco Filippucci, 21 Francesco Minto, 22 Fabio Semenzato, 23 James Ambrosini

Leicester Tigers: 15 Mathew Tait, 14 Niall Morris, 13 Vereniki Goneva, 12 Toby Flood (captain), 11 Miles Benjamin, 10 Owen Williams, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Thomas Waldrom, 7 Julian Salvi, 6 Jamie Gibson, 5 Sebastian De Chaves, 4 Louis Deacon, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Neil Briggs, 1 Marcos Ayerza.
Replacements: 16 Rob Hawkins, 17 Boris Stankovich, 18 Fraser Balmain, 19 Steve Mafi, 20 Jordan Crane, 21 David Mélé, 22 Anthony Allen, 23 Matt Smith.

Referee: Romain Poite (France)
Assistant referees: Christophe Berdos (France), Tual Trainini (France)
TMO: Bruno Bessot (France)

 

Exeter Chiefs v Glasgow Warriors
(Sandy Park Stadium – Kick-off: 15.00; 15.00 GMT)

Glasgow won the only previous European Cup meeting between the clubs by 20-16 in Round Two.

Exeter’s tackling success rate of 81 percent is the lowest in the European Cup.

Dave Ewers made more carries (60) than any other player in the opening four rounds.

Only two players have made more clean breaks than Nikola Matawalu (16) after the first four rounds of action.

Teams:

Exeter Chiefs:15 Luke Arscott (captain), 14 Fetu’u Vainikolo, 13 Sireli Naqelevuki, 12 Sam Hill, 11 Matt Jess, 10 Henry Slade, 9 Dave Lewis, 8 Kai Horstmann, 7 James Scaysbrook, 6 Tom Johnson, 5 James Hanks, 4 Damian Welch, 3 Alex Brown, 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 1 Carl Rimmer.
Replacements: 16 Greg Bateman, 17 Ben Moon, 18 Lloyd Fairbrother, 19 Romana Graham, 20 Don Armand, 21 Will Chudley, 22 Ceri Sweeney, 23 Ian Whitten,

Glasgow Warriors: 15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Sean Maitland, 13 Byron McGuigan, 12 Alex Dunbar, 11 Sean Lamont, 10 Ruaridh Jackson, 9 Henry Pyrgos, 8 Josh Strauss, 7 Chris Fusaro (captain), 6 Rob Harley, 5 Tom Ryder, 4 Tim Swinson, 3 Ed Kalman, 2 Dougie Hall, 1 Ryan Grant.
Replacements: 16 Pat MacArthur, 17 Jerry Yanuyanutawa, 18 Jon Welsh, 19 Leone Nakarawa, 20 James Eddie, 21 Ryan Wilson, 22 Niko Matawalu, 23 Duncan Weir.

Referee: George Clancy (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Eddie Hogan O’Connell (Ireland), Kevin Beggs (Ireland)
TMO: Seamus Flannery (Ireland)

 

Connacht v Zebre
(The Sportsground – Kick-off: 15.40; 15.40 GMT)

Connacht have won all three of their meetings with Zebre in the competition, including a 33-6 win away from home in Round Two.

Connacht have produced 30 kicks from hand per match so far this season, more than any other club in the European Cup.

Exeter (81 percent) are the only side to have a worse tackling success rate than Zebre (82 percent) this season.

Connacht have made (533) and missed (95) more tackles than any other side this season.

Teams:

Connacht: 15 Darragh Leader, 14 Fionn Carr, 13 Robbie Henshaw, 12 Eoin Griffin, 11 Matt Healy, 10 Jack Carty, 9 Kieran Marmion, 8 Eoin McKeon, 7 Jake Heenan, 6 John Muldoon (captain), 5 Andrew Browne, 4 Mick Kearney, 3 Nathan White, 2 Sean Henry, 1 Brett Wilkinson
Replacements: 16 Jason Harris Wright, 17 Denis Buckley, 18 Rodney Ah You, 19 Michael Swift, 20 George Naoupu, 21 Paul O’Donohoe, 22 Dan Parks, 23 Gavin Duffy,

Zebre: 15 Gullo Palazzani, 14 Giiulio Toniolatti, 13 Kameli Ratuvou, 12 Gonzalo Garcia, 11 Dion Berryman, 10 Luciano Orquera, 9 Alberto Chillon, 8 Samu Vunisa, 7 Dries van Schalkwyk, 6 Filippo Ferrarini, 5 George Biagi, 4 Quintin Geldenhuys (captain), 3 Dario Chistolini, 2 Davide Giazzon, 1 Matias Aguero.
Replacements: 16 Tommaso D’Apice , 17 Andrea de Marchi, 18 David Ryan, 19 Marco Bortolami, 20 Nicola Cattina, 21 Roberto Quartaroli, 22 Ruggero Trevisan, 23 David Odiete.

Referee: Neil Paterson (Scotland)
Assistant referees: David Changleng (Scotland), Graeme Marshall (Scotland)
TMO: Iain Ramage (Scotland)

 

Toulon v Cardiff Blues
(Allianz Riviera – Kick-off: 16.40; 15.40 GMT)

No player has won more turnovers than Steffon Armitage (10) this season.

Toulon are undefeated at home in the European Cup (P9 W9).

In 2013, the French club played nine European Cup ties, winning seven and losing two.

Cardiff are on a three-match winning run in this tournament. The last time they won four on the bounce was in 2011.

Teams:

Toulon: 15 Drew Mitchell, 14 Rudi Wulf, 13 Mathieu Bastareaud, 12 Matt Giteau, 11 David Smith, 10 Jonny Wilkinson (captain), 9 Sebastien Tillous-Borde, 8 Steffon Armitage, 7 Joe van Niekerk, 6 Juan Smith, 5 Jocelino Suta, 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 Carl Hayman, 2 Craig Burden, 1 Andrew Sheridan.
Replacements: 16 Jean-Charles Orioli, 17 Florian Fresia, 18 Martin Castrogiovanni, 19 Pierrick Gunther, 20 Delon Armitage, 21 Maxime Mermoz, 22 Frederic Michalak, 23 Konstantine Mikautadze.

Cardiff Blues: 15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 Alex Cuthbert, 13 Richard Smith, 12 Gavin Evans, 11 Chris Czekaj, 10 Gareth Davies, 9 Lloyd Williams, 8 Robin Copeland, 7 Josh Navidi, 6 Macauley Cook, 5 Filo Paulo, 4 Chris Dicomidis, 3 Benoit Bourrust, 2 Marc Breeze, 1 Gethin Jenkins (captain).
Replacements: 16 Rhys Williams, 17 Sam Hobbs, 18 Scott Andrews, 19 James Down, 20 Ellis Jenkins, 21 Lewis Jones, 22 Dafydd Hewitt, 23 Dan Fish

Referee: Greg Garner (England)
Assistant referees: Steve Lee (England), Andrew Pearce (England)
TMO: Rowan Kitt (England)

Edinburgh v Perpignan
(Murrayfield – Kick-off: 18.00; 18.00 GMT)

Perpignan have won two of their three meetings with Edinburgh (L1), including a 31-14 success in the Scottish capital earlier this season.

Edinburgh’s Cornell Du Preez is the top tackler in the tournament heading into Round 5, having completed 58 of his 62 attempted tackles.

Teammate Grant Gilchrist has made the most tackles without a miss so far (43).

Teams:

Edinburgh: 15 Jack Cuthbert, 14 Dougie Fife, 13 Nick De Luca, 12 Ben Atiga, 11 Tom Brown, 10 Greig Tonks, 9 Greig Laidlaw (captain), 8 Dave Denton, 7 Roddy Grant, 6 Cornell du Preez, 5 Izak van der Westhuizen, 4 Grant Gilchrist, 3 WP Nel, 2 Ross Ford, 1 Al Dickinson.
Replacements: 16 Aleki Lutui, 17 Wicus Blaauw, 18 Geoff Cross, 19 Ollie Atkins, 20 Tomas Leonardi, 21 Grayson Hart, 22 Carl Bezuidenhout, 23 Matt Scott.

Perpignan: 15 James Hook, 14 Richard Haughton, 13 Lifeimi Mafi, 12 Sione Piukala, 11 Wandile Mjekevu, 10 Tommy Allan, 9 Dewaldt Duvenage, 8 Karl Chateau, 7 Jean-Pierre Perez, 6 Dan Leo, 5 Luke Charteris, 4 Sebastien Vahaamahina, 3 Paulica Ion, 2 Guilhem Guirado (captain), 1 Sona Taumalolo.
Replacements: 16 Maxime Delonca, 17 Jean Baptiste Custoja, 18 Kisi Pulu, 19 Luke Narraway, 20 Tom Ecochard, 21 David Marty, 22 Joffrey Michel, 23 Guillaume Vilaceca.

Referee: Peter Fitzgibbon (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Mark Patton (Ireland), Richard Kerr (Ireland)
TMO: Marshall Kilgore (Ireland)

Gloucester v Munster
(Kingsholm – Kick-off: 18.00; 18.00 GMT)

Gloucester have lost their last three European Cup ties against Munster including a 26-10 defeat at Thomond Park earlier this season.

Gloucester’s tackling success rate of 91 percent is the joint-highest in the tournament (along with Leinster).

Gloucester’s line-out success rate (90 percent) is the best in the competition, compared to just 81 percent by Munster (16th best).

Munster have the best ball retention rate at the breakdown, winning 96 percent of rucks when taking the ball into contact.

Teams:

Gloucester: 15 Martyn Thomas, 14 Charlie Sharples, 13 Jonny May, 12 Billy Twelvetrees (captain), 11 Shane Monahan, 10 Freddie Burns, 9 Dan Robson, 8 Gareth Evans, 7 Matt Kvesic, 6 Matt Cox, 5 James Hudson, 4 Elliott Stooke, 3 Sila Puafisi, 2 Darren Dawidiuk, 1 Yann Thomas.
Replacements: 16 Huia Edmonds, 17 Dan Murphy, 18 Shaun Knight, 19 Tom Hicks, 20 Sione Kalamafoni, 21 Tavis Knoyle, 22 Rob Cook, 23 Ben Morgan.

Munster: 15 Felix Jones, 14 Keith Earls, 13 Casey Laulala, 12 James Downey, 11 Johne Murphy, 10 Ian Keatley, 9 Conor Murray, 8 James Coughlan, 7 Tommy O’Donnell, 6 Peter O’Mahony (captain), 5 Paul O’Connell, 4 Dave Foley, 3 BJ Botha, 2 Damien Varley, 1 Dave Kilcoyne.
Replacements: 16 Duncan Casey, 17 James Cronin, 18 Stephen Archer, 19 Donncha O’Callaghan, 20 CJ Stander, 21 Duncan Williams, 22 JJ Hanrahan, 23 Simon Zebo.

Referee: Leighton Hodges (Wales)
Assistant referees: Gwyn Morris (Wales), Wayne Davies (Wales)
TMO: Gareth Simmons (Wales)

 

Sunday 12 January

Ospreys v Northampton Saints
(Liberty Stadium – Kick-off: 12.45, 12.45 GMT)

Northampton triumphed 27-16 against Ospreys in Round 2 – the only previous meeting between the sides in the competition.

Ospreys are yet to miss a kick at goal this season with Dan Biggar landing all 17 of his attempts.

Northampton have won more line-outs per game (15.3) than any other side after four rounds.

Biggar is the joint-top point-scorer in the tournament so far with 55 (Paddy Jackson of Ulster also has 55).

Teams:

Ospreys: 15 Richard Fussell, 14 Jeff Hassler, 13 Tom Isaacs, 12 Ashley Beck, 11 Aisea Natoga, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Rhys Webb, 8 Joe Bearman, 7 Justin Tipuric, 6 Sam Lewis, 5 Ian Evans, 4 Alun Wyn Jones (captain), 3 Aaron Javis, 2 Richard Hibbard, 1 Ryan Bevington.
Replacements: 16 Scott Baldwin, 17 Duncan Jones, 18 Adam Jones, 19 James King, 20 Morgan Allen, 21 Tom Habberfield, 22 Sam Davies, 23 Jonathan Spratt.

Northampton Saints: 15 Tom Collins, 14 Jamie Elliott, 13 George Pisi, 12 Luther Burrell, 11 George North, 10 Steve Myler, 9 Kahn Fotuali’i, 8 Samu Manoa, 7 Tom Wood, 6 Calum Clark, 5 Christian Day, 4 Courtney Lawes, 3 Salesi Ma’afu, 2 Dylan Hartley (captain), 1 Alex Waller.
Replacements: 16 Mikey Haywood, 17 Ethan Waller, 18 Tom Mercey, 19 Sam Dickinson, 20 Phil Dowson, 21 Lee Dickson, 22 Glenn Dickson, 23 Fa’atoina Autagavaia.

Referee: Pascal Gauzere (France)
Assistant referees: Patrick Péchambert (France), Jean-Luc Rebollal (France)
TMO: Gilles Cogné (France)

Castres Olympique v Leinster
(Stade Pierre Antoine – Kick-off: 13.45; 12.45 GMT)

All three previous meetings between these sides have been won by the home team (Leinster W2).

Leinster have a tackling success rate of 91 percent this season, a joint-high in the tournament along with Gloucester.

Castres have the worst ball retention rate at the ruck this season (90 percent).

Leinster have lost just one of their last four away games in France (W2 D1).

Teams:

Castres Olympique: 15 Brice Dulin, 14 Remi Grosso, 13 Seremaia Bai, 12 Remi Lamerat, 11 Max Evans, 10 Remi Tales (captain), 9 Cedric Garcia, 8 Piula Faasalele, 7 Ibrahim Diarra, 6 Mathieu Babillot, 5 Christophe Samson, 4 Richie Gray, 3 Karena Wihongi, 2 Marc-Antoine Rallier, 1 Yannick Forestier.
Replacements: 16 Brice Mach, 17 Mihaita Lazar, 18 Benjamin Desroche, 19 Yannick Caballero, 20 Julien Tomas, 21 Daniel Kirkpatrick, 22 Marcel Garvey, 23 Anton Peikrishvili.

Leinster: 15 Rob Kearney, 14 Dave Kearney, 13 Brian O’Driscoll, 12 Gordon D’Arcy, 11 Luke Fitzgerald, 10 Jimmy Gopperth, 9 Eoin Reddan, 8 Jamie Heaslip (captain), 7 Jordi Murphy, 6 Kevin McLaughlin, 5 Mike McCarthy, 4 Devin Toner, 3 Mike Ross, 2 Sean Cronin, 1 Jack McGrath.
Replacements: 16 Aardon Dundon, 17 Jack O’Connell, 18 Martin Moore, 19 Leo Cullen, 20 Shane Jennings, 21 Isaac Boss, 22 Ian Madigan, 23 Zane Kirchner.

Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant referees: Sean Brickell (Wales), Jon Mason (Wales)
TMO: Derek Bevan (Wales)

Toulouse v Saracens
(Stade Ernest Wallon – Kick-off: 16.00; 15.00 GMT)

Saracens are the tournament’s top scorers so far, they have scored 17 tries and average 35.5 points per game.

Toulouse have the worst goal-kicking success rate in the tournament (56 percent).

Toulouse average 29 defenders beaten per game this season, more than any other team and way above the average of 15.9.

Louis Picamoles leads the defenders beaten chart after four rounds, evading 22 tackles so far.

Teams:

Toulouse: 15 Maxime Médard, 14 Yoann Huget, 13 Yann David, 12 Clement Poitrenaud , 11 Hosea Gear, 10 Jean-Marc Doussain, 9 Jano Vermaak, 8 Louis Picamoles, 7 Thierry Dusautoir (captain), 6 Yannick Nyanga, 5 Patricio Albacete, 4 Yoann Maestri, 3 Census Johnston, 2 Chiliboy Ralepelle , 1 Schalk Ferreira.
Replacements: 16 Christopher Tolofua, 17 Gurthrö Steenkamp, 18 Yohan Montes, 19 Romain Millo-Chluski, 20 Joe Tekori, 21 Yacouba Camara, 22 Sebastian Bézy, 23 Gael Fickou.

Saracens: 15 Alex Goode, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Chris Wyles, 12 Brad Barritt, 11 David Strettle, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Neil de Kock, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Kelly Brown, 6 Jackson Wray, 5 Alistair Hargreaves, 4 Steve Borthwick (captain), 3 James Johnston, 2 Schalk Brits, 1 Mako Vunipola.
Replacements: 16 Jamie George, 17 Richard Barrington, 18 Matt Stevens, 19 George Kruis, 20 Ernst Joubert, 21 Richard Wigglesworth, 22 Charlie Hodgson, 23 Duncan Taylor.

Referee: Alain Rolland (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Stuart Gaffikin (Ireland), Olly Hodges (Ireland)
TMO: Jude Quinn (Ireland)

13 Responses to Heineken Cup: Round 5 – Preview

  • 1

    Phew, article updated with all the teams now in for Round 5 of pool stage of Heineken Cup

  • 2

    Carl Bezuidenhout (Pumas flyhalf who is on 4 month loan/trial) has been named on Edinburgh’s bench for their match against Perpignan on Saturday.

  • 3

    Flyhalf Tony Fenner who had been on Edinburgh bench for a few games has left the club as he got to the end of his month long loan/trial period.

  • 4

    Bezuidenhout is joined on the Edinburgh bench by fellow South African Wicus Blaauw along with loosie Tomas Leonardi who played for Solomons Kings. Starting South Africans are WP Nel and Izak vd Westhuizen and Cornell du Preez.

  • 5

    Scott Johnson will be pleased to see star Scotland centre Matt Scott has been named on Edinburgh bench, been out for a while with hand injury.

  • 6

    Josh Strauss starts for Glasgow Warriors and may face fellow South African loosie Don Armand who is on Exeter Chiefs bench for their battle on Saturday.

  • 7

    Result: Ulster 27/16 Montpellier, no bonus points as Ulster scored 3 tries.

  • 8

    Ruan Pienaar scored 17 points for Ulster via a try, 3 conversions and 2 penalties. Robbie Diack also got a try for Ulster.

  • 9

    Result: Racing Metro 13/19 Scarlets

  • 10

    A Welsh team actually won a game?

  • 11

    @ Loosehead:
    Hello Loosehead it’s true and the odd thing is Philips scored a try for both teams now I know of own goals in football but never heard of own try in rugby Pondering oh hang on one is the scrum half Mike for Racing the other is Scarlets hooker Happy-Grin

  • 12

    Sunday results – Castres 22/29 Leinster , Ospreys 17/29 Northampton ,
    Toulouse 21/11 Saracens

  • 13

    Some Saturday results not mentioned here yet – Exeter 10/15 Glasgow,
    Edinburgh 27/16 Perpignan (pity Edinburgh missed out on the bonus point as they only got 3 tries but still a really good result for them, sounds their defence was excellent)

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