Investec Champions Cup round three: Predictions, teams, kick-off times, how to watch and referee appointments
Stormers utility back Damian Willemse (inset) and Saracens second-rower Maro Itoje.
Round Three of the Investec Champions Cup gets underway on Friday with two matches before there are another six on Saturday and four more on Sunday.
Here’s the team news, predictions, match officials and how to watch the action.
Investec Champions Cup match officials, Round Three
Friday
Castres v Bath
Prediction: Bath by 7
Castres: 15 Theo Chabouni, 14 Christian Ambadiang, 13 Vuate Karawalevu, 12 Jack Goodhue, 11 Nathanael Hulleu, 10 Pierre Popelin, 9 Jeremy Fernandez, 8 Tyler Ardron, 7 Baptiste Cope, 6 Baptiste Delaporte (c), 5 Florent Vanverberghe, 4 Guillaume Ducat, 3 Will Collier, 2 Teddy Durand-Pradere, 1 Quentin Walcker
Replacements: 16 Loris Zarantonello, 17 Atunaisa Sokobale, 18 Nicolas Corato, 19 Tom Staniforth, 20 Simon Meka, 21 Gauthier Doubrere, 22 Enzo Herve, 23 Geoffrey Palis
Bath: 15 Santi Carreras, 14 Henry Arundell, 13 Max Ojomoh, 12 Cameron Redpath, 11 Will Muir, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Ben Spencer (c), 8 Alfie Barbeary, 7 Miles Reid, 6 Ted Hill, 5 Ross Molony, 4 Quinn Roux, 3 Vilikesa Sela, 2 Tom Dunn, 1 Beno Obano
Replacements: 16 Kepu Tuipulotu, 17 Francois van Wyk, 18 Thomas du Toit, 19 Josh Bayliss, 20 Guy Pepper, 21 Tom Carr-Smith, 22 Will Butt, 23 Joe Cokanasiga
Venue: Stade Pierre-Fabre
Kick-off: 21:00 local (20:00 GMT)
Referee: Eoghan Cross (Ire)
Assistant Referees: Andrew Cole (Ire), Daniel Carson (Ire)
TMO: Leo Colgan (Ire)
How to watch: Premier Sports / beIN SPORTS / SuperSport / FloRugby
Ex-England fly-half claims Finn Russell is being ‘stifled’ at Bath
Edinburgh v Gloucester
Prediction: Edinburgh by 5
Edinburgh: 15 Wes Goosen, 14 Darcy Graham, 13 Matt Currie, 12 James Lang, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Ross Thompson, 9 Ben Vellacott, 8 Magnus Bradbury (c), 7 Freddy Douglas, 6 Liam McConnell, 5 Glen Young, 4 Callum Hunter-Hill, 3 Ollie Blyth-Lafferty, 2 Harri Morris, 1 James Whitcombe
Replacements: 16 Ewan Ashman, 17 Pierre Schoeman, 18 Paul Hill, 19 Euan McVie, 20 Tom Dodd, 21 Ben Muncaster, 22 Charlie Shiel, 23 Piers O’Conor
Gloucester: 15 George Barton, 14 Jack Cotgreave, 13 Will Butler, 12 Seb Atkinson (c), 11 Josh Hathaway, 10 Charlie Atkinson, 9 Mike Austin, 8 Jack Clement, 7 Lewis Ludlow, 6 Deian Gwynne, 5 Matias Alemanno, 4 Freddie Thomas, 3 Nepo Laulala, 2 Will Crane, 1 Val Rapava Ruskin
Replacements: 16 George Knowles, 17 Ciaran Knight, 18 Afolabi Fasogbon, 19 Cam Jordan, 20 James Venter, 21 Rhys Price, 22 Ross Byrne, 23 Jake Morris
Venue: Hive Stadium
Kick-off: 20:00 GMT
Referee: Luc Ramos (Fra)
Assistant Referees: Thomas Charabas (Fra), Jonathan Gasnier (Fra)
TMO: Eric Gauzins (Fra)
How to watch: Premier Sports / beIN SPORTS / SuperSport / FloRugby
Saturday
Bulls v Bristol Bears
Prediction: Bulls by 3
Bulls: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Sebastian de Klerk, 13 David Kriel, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 Stravino Jacobs, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Embrose Papier, 8 Jeandre Rudolph, 7 Elrigh Louw, 6 Marco van Staden, 5 Ruan Nortje (c), 4 Cobus Wiese, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Jan-Hendrik Wessels
Replacements: 16 Akker van der Merwe, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Mornay Smith, 19 Ruan Vermaak, 20 Mpilo Gumede, 21 Zak Burger, 22 Stedman Gans, 23 Sergeal Petersen
Bristol: 15 Rich Lane, 14 Noah Heward, 13 Benhard Janse van Rensburg, 12 James Williams, 11 Kalaveti Ravouvou, 10 Tom Jordan, 9 Kieran Marmion, 8 Bill Mata, 7 Fitz Harding (c), 6 Santiago Grondona, 5 Joe Batley, 4 Pedro Rubiolo, 3 George Kloska, 2 Gabriel Oghre, 1. Max Lahiff
Replacements: 16 Harry Thacker, 17 Ellis Genge, 18 Jimmy Halliwell, 19 Joe Owen, 20 Benjamin Grondona, 21 Harry Randall, 22 Sam Worsley, 23 Matias Moroni
Venue: Loftus Versfeld
Kick-off: 15:00 local (13:00 GMT)
Referee: Pierre Brousset (Fra)
Assistant Referees: Jeremy Rozier (Fra), Benjamin Hernandez (Fra)
TMO: Denis Grenouillet (Fra)
How to watch: Premier Sports / beIN SPORTS / SuperSport / FloRugby
Clermont v Glasgow Warriors
Prediction: Glasgow by 6
Clermont: 15 Axel Guillaud, 14 Bautista Delguy, 13 Alifereti Loaloa, 12 George Moala, 11 Yerim Fall, 10 Harry Plummer, 9 Lucas Zamora, 8 Selevasio Tolofua, 7 Pita-Gus Sowakula, 6 Killian Tixeront (c), 5 Rob Simmons, 4 Thibaud Lanen, 3 Giorgi Dzmanashvili, 2 Barnabe Massa, 1 Sacha Lotrian Replacements: 16 Seilala Lam, 17 Etienne Falgoux, 18 Cristian Ojovan, 19 Leo Michaux Vargas, 20 Pio Muarua, 21 Niek Doornenbal, 22 Irae Simone, 23 Timeo Frier
Glasgow: 15 Kyle Rowe, 14 Kyle Steyn (c), 13 Huw Jones, 12 Sione Tuipulotu, 11 Jamie Dobie, 10 Dan Lancaster, 9 George Horne, 8 Jack Dempsey, 7 Matt Fagerson, 6 Euan Ferrie, 5 Scott Cummings, 4 Alex Craig, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 Gregor Hiddleston, 1 Patrick Schickerling
Replacements: 16 Seb Stephen, 17 Rory Sutherland, 18 Sam Talakai, 19 Max Williamson, 20 Gregor Brown, 21 Ally Miller, 22 Stafford McDowall, 23 Ben Afshar
Venue: Stade Marcel Michelin
Kick-off: 16:15 local (15:15 GMT)
Referee: Luke Pearce (Eng)
Assistant Referees: Joe James (Eng), Jamie Leahy (Eng)
TMO: Stuart Terheege (Eng)
How to watch: beIN SPORTS / France TV / Premier Sports / SuperSport
Leinster v La Rochelle
Prediction: Leinster by 4
Leinster: 15 Ciaran Frawley, 14 Tommy O’Brien, 13 Rieko Ioane, 12 Robbie Henshaw, 11 Joshua Kenny, 10 Sam Prendergast, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Caelan Doris (c), 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Jack Conan, 5 James Ryan, 4 Joe McCarthy, 3 Tom Clarkson, 2 Dan Sheehan, 1 Paddy McCarthy
Replacements: 16 Ronan Kelleher, 17 Jerry Cahir, 18 Andrew Sparrow, 19 Diarmuid Mangan, 20 Max Deegan, 21 Luke McGrath, 22 Harry Byrne, 23 Andrew Osborne
LaRochelle: 15 Dillyn Leyds, 14 Jack Nowell, 13 Jules Favre, 12 Simeli Daunivucu, 11 Davit Niniashvili, 10 Ihaia West, 9 Nolann le Garrec, 8 Grégory Alldritt (c), 7 Levani Botia, 6 Oscar Jegou, 5 Will Skelton, 4 Charles Kante Samba, 3 Uini Atonio, 2 Tolu Latu, 1 Reda Wardi
Replacements: 16 Quentin Lespiaucq, 17 Louis Penverne, 18 Aleksandre Kuntelia, 19 Kane Douglas, 20 Kirill Fraindt, 21 Thomas Berjon, 22 Antoine Hastoy, 23 Nathan Bollengier
Venue: Aviva Stadium
Kick-off: 17:30 GMT
Referee: Matthew Carley (Eng)
Assistant Referees: Adam Leal (Eng), John Meredith (Eng)
TMO: Ian Tempest (Eng)
How to watch: Premier Sports / beIN SPORTS / SuperSport / FloRugby
Sale Sharks v Sharks
Prediction: Sale by 18
Sale: 15 Joe Carpenter, 14 Obi Ene, 13 Rob du Preez, 12 Rekeiti Ma’asi-White, 11 Tom O’Flaherty, 10 George Ford, 9 Gus Warr, 8 Tom Curry, 7 Sam Dugdale, 6 Jacques Vermeulen, 5 Ernst van Rhyn (c), 4 Ben Bamber, 3 James Harper, 2 Nathan Jibulu, 1 Bevan Rodd
Replacements: 16 Ethan Caine, 17 Si McIntyre, 18 Willgriff John, 19 Tom Burrow, 20 Hyron Andrews, 21 Dom Hanson, 22 Marius Louw, 23 Gurshwin Wehr
Sharks: 15 Hakeem Kunene, 14 Yaw Penxe, 13 Francois Venter, 12 Jurenzo Julius, 11 Le-Roux Malan, 10 Siya Masuku, 9 Ross Braude, 8 Nick Hatton (c), 7 Manu Tshituka, 6 Tino Mavesere, 5 Emile van Heerden, 4 Corne Rahl, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Eddie Swart, 1 Lee-Marvin Mazibuko
Replacements: 16 Ethan Bester, 17 Phatu Ganyane, 18 Mawande Mdanda, 19 Vincent Tshituka, 20 Matt Romao, 21. Ceano Everson, 22 Jean Smith, 23 Marnus Potgieter
Venue: CorpAcq Stadium
Kick-off: 17:30 GMT
Referee: Ben Breakspear (Wal)
Assistant Referees: Adam Jones (Wal), Ben Connor (Wal)
TMO: Aled Griffiths (Wal)
How to watch: Premier Sports / beIN SPORTS / SuperSport / FloRugby
Scarlets v Pau
Prediction: Pau by 6
Scarlets: 15 Blair Murray, 14 Tom Rogers, 13 Joe Roberts, 12 Eddie James, 11 Ellis Mee, 10 Joe Hawkins, 9 Archie Hughes, 8 Fletcher Anderson, 7 Josh Macleod (c), 6 Taine Plumtree, 5 Jake Ball, 4 Sam Lousi, 3 Henry Thomas, 2 Ryan Elias, 1 Kemsley Mathias
Replacements: 16 Marnus van der Merwe, 17 Alec Hepburn, 18 Harri O’Connor, 19 Jac Price, 20 Dan Davis, 21 Dane Blacker, 22 Carwyn Leggatt-Jones, 23 Ioan Nicholas
Pau: 15 Theo Attissogbe, 14 Gregoire Arfeuil, 13 Nathan Decron, 12 Quentin Valentino, 11 Toshi Butlin, 10 Axel Desperes, 9 Thibault Daubagna (c), 8 Carwyn Tuipulotu, 7 Reece Hewat, 6 Sacha Zegueur, 5 Mickael Capelli, 4 Thomas Jolmes, 3 Jon Zabala Arrieta, 2 Youri Delhommel, 1 Alexandre Etchebehere
Replacements: 16 Lucas Rey, 17 Remi Seneca, 18 Siate Tokolahi, 19 Brent Liufau, 20 Xander Iosefo, 21 Paulo Pelesasa, 22 Dan Robson, 23 Clément Mondinat
Venue: Parc y Scarlets
Kick-off: 20:00 GMT
Referee: Sam Grove-White (Sco)
Assistant Referees: Ian Kenny (Sco), Finlay Brown (Sco)
TMO: Dave Sutherland (Sco)
How to watch: S4C / Premier Sports / beIN SPORTS / SuperSport / FloRugby
Leicester Tigers v Bayonne
Prediction: Leicester by 4
Leicester: 15 Freddie Steward, 14 Adam Radwan, 13 Will Wand, 12 Orlando Bailey, 11 Gabriel Hamer-Webb, 10 Billy Searle, 9 Jack van Poortvliet, 8 Olly Cracknell, 7 Tommy Reffell, 6 James Thompson, 5 Ollie Chessum (c), 4 Cameron Henderson, 3 Joe Heyes, 2 Charlie Clare, 1 Nicky Smith
Replacements: 16 Jamie Blamire, 17 Tarek Haffar, 18 Will Hurd, 19 Joaquin Moro, 20 Emeka Ilione, 21 Tom Whiteley, 22 Joseph Woodward, 23 George Pearson
Bayonne: 15 Tom Spring, 14 Gabriel Lapegue, 13 Guillaume Martocq, 12 Manu Tuilagi, 11 Victor Hannoun, 10 Pyrénées Boyle-Tiatia, 9 Baptiste Tilloles, 8 Manex Ariceta, 7 Raphael Marchesin, 6 Rob Leota, 5 Alvaro Garcia Iandolino, 4 Arthur Iturria, 3 Pascal Cotet, 2 Lucas Martin, 1 Ignacio Calles
Replacements: 16 Facundo Bosch, 17 Emosi Tumania, 18 Junior Tagi, 19 Ewan Johnson, 20 Noa Traversier, 21 Herschel Jantjies, 22 Jonah Thompson, 23 Bastien Rasal
Venue: Mattioli Woods Welford Road
Kick-off: 20:00 GMT
Referee: Hollie Davidson (Sco)
Assistant Referees: Ru Campbell (Sco), Jonny MacKenzie (Sco)
TMO: Mike Adamson (Sco)
How to watch: Premier Sports / beIN SPORTS / SuperSport / FloRugby
Sunday
Harlequins v Stormers
Prediction: Stormers by 2
Harlequins: 15 Tyrone Green, 14 Nick David, 13 Luke Northmore, 12 Bryn Bradley, 11 Cadan Murley, 10 Marcus Smith, 9 Lucas Friday, 8 Alex Dombrandt (c), 7 Jack Kenningham, 6 Chandler Cunningham-South, 5 Kieran Treadwell, 4 Guido Petti Pagadizábal, 3 Pedro Delgado, 2 Jack Walker, 1 Simon Kerrod
Replacements: 16 George Turner, 17 Will Hobson, 18 Harry Williams, 19 Elliot Williams, 20 Zach Carr, 21 Tom Lawday, 22 Max Green, 23 Jarrod Evans
Stormers: 15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Dylan Maart, 13 Suleiman Hartzenberg, 12 Damian Willemse (c), 11 Luke Burger, 10 Jurie Matthee, 9 Dewaldt Duvenage, 8 Marcel Theunissen, 7 Ben-Jason Dixon, 6 Louw Nel, 5 Ruben van Heerden, 4 Connor Evans, 3 Zachary Porthen, 2 Lukhanyo Vokozela, 1 Oli Kebble
Replacements: 16 Scarra Ntubeni, 17 Vernon Matongo, 18 Hencus van Wyk, 19 Alex Groves, 20 Wandile Mlaba, 21 Imad Khan, 22 Clinton Swart, 23 Mfundo Ndhlovu
Venue: Twickenham Stoop
Kick-off: 13:00 GMT
Referee: Nika Amashukeli (Geo)
Assistant Referees: Shota Tevzadze (Geo), Amber Stamp-Dunstan (Wal)
TMO: Ben Whitehouse (Wal)
How to watch: Premier Sports / SuperSport / beIN SPORTS / FloRugby
Toulon v Munster
Prediction: Toulon by 7
Toulon: 15 Marius Domon, 14 Gaël Drean, 13 Nacho Brex, 12 Jérémy Sinzelle, 11 Mathis Ferte, 10 Tomas Albornoz, 9 Ben White, 8 Zach Mercer, 7 Esteban Abadie, 6 Lewis Ludlam, 5 David Ribbans, 4 Charles Ollivon (c), 3 Kyle Sinckler, 2 Teddy Baubigny, 1 Jean-Baptiste Gros
Replacements: 16 Jeremy Toevalu, 17 Leo Ametlla, 18 Dany Priso, 19 Brian Alainu’uese, 20 Corentin Mezou, 21 Jules Coulon, 22 Paolo Garbisi, 23 Setariki Tuicuvu
Munster: 15 Shane Daly, 14 Calvin Nash, 13 Tom Farrell, 12 Alex Nankivell, 11 Ben O’Connor, 10 Jack Crowley, 9 Craig Casey, 8 Gavin Coombes, 7 Jack O’Donoghue, 6 Tadhg Beirne (c), 5 Fineen Wycherley, 4 Edwin Edogbo, 3 Michael Ala’alatoa, 2 Diarmuid Barron, 1 Jeremy Loughman
Replacements: 16 Niall Scannell, 17 Michael Milne, 18 John Ryan, 19 Tom Ahern, 20 Brian Gleeson, 21 Paddy Patterson, 22 JJ Hanrahan, 23 Dan Kelly
Venue: Stade Felix Mayol
Kick-off: 14:00 local (13:00 GMT)
Referee: Karl Dickson (Eng)
Assistant Referees: George Selwood (Eng), Simon Harding (Eng)
TMO: Hamish Smales (Eng)
How to watch: Premier Sports / SuperSport / beIN SPORTS / FloRugby
Bordeaux-Begles v Northampton Saints
Prediction: Bordeaux by 3
Bordeaux: 15 Salesi Rayasi, 14 Damian Penaud, 13 Nicolas Depoortere, 12 Yoram Moefana, 11 Louis Bielle-Biarrey, 10 Matthieu Jalibert, 9 Martin Page-Relo, 8 Temo Matiu, 7 Cameron Woki, 6 Jean-Luc du Preez, 5 Cyril Cazeaux, 4 Adam Coleman, 3 Carlü Sadie, 2 Maxime Lamothe (c), 1 Jefferson Poirot
Replacements: 16 Gaetan Barlot, 17 Matis Perchaud, 18 Ben Tameifuna, 19 Boris Palu, 20 Bastien Vergnes-Taillefer, 21 Arthur Retiere, 22 Joey Carbery, 23 Rohan Janse van Rensburg
Northampton: 15 George Hendy, 14 Ollie Sleightholme, 13 Tommy Freeman, 12 Rory Hutchinson, 11 Edoardo Todaro, 10 Fin Smith, 9 Alex Mitchell, 8 Henry Pollock, 7 Tom Pearson, 6 Callum Chick (c), 5 JJ van der Mescht, 4 Alex Coles, 3 Trevor Davison, 2 Craig Wright, 1 Danilo Fischetti
Replacements: 16 Robbie Smith, 17 Emmanuel Iyogun, 18 Elliot Millar-Mills, 19 Ed Prowse, 20 Chunya Munga, 21 Sam Graham, 22 Archie McParland, 23 James Ramm
Venue: Stade Chaban-Delmas
Kick-off: 16:15 local (15:15 GMT)
Referee: Gianluca Gnecchi (Ita)
Assistant Referees: Robbie Jenkinson (Ire), Padraic Reidy (Ire)
TMO: Olly Hodges (Ire)
How to watch: France TV / beIN SPORTS / Premier Sports / SuperSport / FloRugby
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Saracens v Toulouse
Prediction: Toulouse by 8
Saracens: 15 Elliot Daly, 14 Noah Caluori, 13 Alex Lozowski, 12 Olly Hartley, 11 Rotimi Segun, 10 Fergus Burke, 9 Ivan van Zyl, 8 Tom Willis, 7 Juan Martin Gonzalez, 6 Theo McFarland, 5 Hugh Tizard, 4 Maro Itoje (c), 3 Marcus Street, 2 Jamie George, 1 Eroni Mawi
Replacements: 16 James Hadfield, 17 Rhys Carre, 18 Marco Riccioni, 19 Andy Onyeama-Christie, 20 Ben Earl, 21 Charlie Bracken, 22 Owen Farrell, 23 Max Malins
Toulouse: 15 Thomas Ramos, 14 Dimitri Delibes, 13 Paul Costes, 12 Santiago Chocobares, 11 Matthis Lebel, 10 Blair Kinghorn, 9 Antoine Dupont (c), 8 Alexandre Roumat, 7 Anthony Jelonch, 6 Jack Willis, 5 Emmanuel Meafou, 4 Thibaud Flament, 3 Dorian Aldegheri, 2 Julien Marchand, 1 David Ainu’u
Replacements: 16 Peato Mauvaka, 17 Benjamin Bertrand, 18 Paul Mallez, 19 Joshua Brennan, 20 Efrain Elias, 21 Leo Banos, 22 Paul Graou, 23 Lucas Vigneres
Venue: StoneX Stadium
Kick-off: 17:30 GMT
Referee: Andrea Piardi (Ita)
Assistant Referees: Ru Campbell (Sco), Federico Vedovelli (Ita)
TMO: Matteo Liperini (Ita)
How to watch: Premier Sports / beIN SPORTS / SuperSport / FloRugby
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