Gloucester and Bordeaux-Bègles have confirmed their teams for Friday night’s Investec Champions Cup opener, with both coaches naming strong sides.
The sides come into the clash at Kingsholm in good spirits following positive starts to their respective league campaigns. Gloucester are currently top of the PREM table after two wins from three, while Bordeaux sit third in the Top 14 with four wins from six to their name.
The French giants also venture to the English South West as back-to-back champions, after beating Leinster in last year’s final.
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Gloucester head coach George Skivington has received a timely boost ahead of the clash on home turf, with England international Arthur Clark coming into the starting XV. He missed the Cherry and Whites’ 38-31 defeat to Leicester Tigers last time out through injury, but has been deemed fit to feature on Friday night and is among several changes to the squad.
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George Barton starts at full-back, with Will Joseph and Ben Loader named on the wings. Test pair Max Llewellyn and Seb Atkinson start in the centres, with Charlie Atkinson and Dan Robson forming the half-back pairing. Jack Clement, Jac Morgan and Deain Gwynne start in the back-row, while Clark joins Springbok World Cup winner Jean Kleyn in the locks. Ciaran Knight, captain Dewi Lake and Dian Bleuler form the front-row.
New signing Elliot Salt is also in line for his Cherry and Whites debut on the bench, with the former Coventry tighthead joined by Seb Blake, Val Rapava-Ruskin, Freddie Thomas, Will Trenholm, Lewis Ludlow, Caolan Englefield and Will Knight on the replacements list.
Ben Tameifuna in SHOCK position change for Bordeaux-Bègles
The reigning Investec Champions Cup champions have also named a strong side littered with French talent, but the headline selection comes in the form of Tongan international Ben Tameifuna’s shock position change. The 35-year-old has spent the entirety of his career in the front-row, but will shift into the engine room this weekend after being named at lock.
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Elsewhere, Salesi Rayasi starts at full-back, with Pablo Uberti and Louis Bielle-Biarrey named on the wings. Nicolas Depoortere and Yoram Moefana form the midfield pairing, while Maxime Lucu and Martin Page-Relo start at fly-half and scrum-half, respectively.
Tom Willis returns to English soil for the first time since his exit from Saracens, starting at number eight and joining Temo Matiu and Marko Gazzotti in the back-row. Tameifuna partners Cameron Woki in the locks, with Sipili Falatea, Maxime Lamothe and Jefferson Poirot forming the front-row.
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Connor Sa, Matis Perchaud, Lasha Pkhakadze, Adam Zapedowski, Pierre Bochaton, Elyjah Ibsaiene, Xan Mousques and Romain Buros are named as the replacements.
Gloucester v Bordeaux-Bègles teams in full
Gloucester: 15 George Barton, 14 Will Joseph, 13 Max Llewellyn, 12 Seb Atkinson, 11 Ben Loader, 10 Charlie Atkinson, 9 Dan Robson, 8 Jack Clement, 7 Jac Morgan, 6 Deain Gwynne, 5 Arthur Clark, 4 Jean Kleyn, 3 Ciaran Knight, 2 Dewi Lake (c), 1 Dian Bleuler
Replacements: 16 Seb Blake, 17 Val Rapava Ruskin, 18 Eliot Salt, 19 Freddie Thomas, 20 Will Trenholm, 21 Lewis Ludlow, 22 Caolan Englefield, 23 Will Knight
Bordeaux-Bègles: 15 Salesi Rayasi, 14 Pablo Uberti, 13 Nicolas Depoortere, 12 Yoram Moefana, 11 Louis Bielle-Biarrey, 10 Maxime Lucu (c), 9 Martin Page-Relo, 8 Tom Willis, 7 Temo Matiu, 6 Marko Gazzotti, 5 Ben Tameifuna, 4 Cameron Woki, 3 Sipili Falatea, 2 Maxime Lamothe, 1 Jefferson Poirot
Replacements: 16 Connor Sa, 17 Matis Perchaud, 18 Lasha Pkhakadze, 19 Adam Zapedowski, 20 Pierre Bochaton, 21 Elyjah Ibsaiene, 22 Xan Mousques, 23 Romain Buros
Venue: Kingsholm
Kick-off: 20:00 UK & IRE / 21:00 FRA, ITA & SA
Referee: Gianluca Gnecchi (Ita)
Assistant referees: Franco Rosella (Ita), Dario Merli (Ita)
TMO: Matteo Liperini (Ita)
Live on: Premier Sports, beIN Sports, France.TV, SuperSport, FLO Rugby, EPCR.TV