Tag: Rugby

Ahead of the second round of this season’s Champions Cup, we take a look at the best bets from two pool fixtures taking place this weekend.

Munster v Gloucester

Having come through their first European Cup match in five years victorious, Gloucester will be riding on a wave of optimism. The Cherry and Whites are priced at 6/1 underdogs with William Hill, Betfair and Paddy Power while on the handicap they’re given a 14 point start at 10/11.

Both sides have won three from six of their domestic matches this season. But it is Gloucester, who sit top of Pool 2 after the first round.

Munster are sweating on the fitness of prop John Ryan, who suffered an ankle injury during the game against Exeter last weekend. Meanwhile, wing Keith Earls, who withdrew from the squad shortly before that 10-10 match at Sandy Park, is also awaiting diagnosis on an ankle injury.

The last time Gloucester appeared in the Champions Cup, they were drawn in the same group as Munster, alongside Edinburgh and Perpignan. It was the last time the sides met and Gloucester fought bravely for an hour but Munster pulled away in the last quarter for a 26-10 victory.

Munster are unsurprisingly favourites for this one too and best priced at 1/7 with 888 sport to come out on top. Spreadex have the Thomond Park outfit at 2/5 to be ahead at half-time and full-time on Saturday and we feel that should be a safe bet with the 16th man behind them.

Toulouse v Leinster

Our pick from Sunday’s games comes from Stade Ernest Wallon where another two sides enter Round Two with a win under their belt. Toulouse somehow managed to finish on top at Bath last weekend while Leinster kicked off the competition in formidable style as they thumped Wasps.

Leinster are the bookmakers’ favourites to get the job done in France this weekend and are best priced 4/11 with bet365, William Hill and BetVictor. Despite being on the road we can’t see Leo Cullen’s men coming out on the losing side. They’re 13/20 on the half-time/full-time.

Toulouse will be without the suspended Jerome Kaino over the coming weeks and his absence adds further weight to Leinster getting the job done. The best option for the handicap on Leinster would be -7 with William Hill at 10/11, with the majority going with an 8-point margin.

Leinster played some outstanding rugby in Dublin last Friday and look set to push hard for honours once again, with James Lowe, Jonathan Sexton, Luke McGrath and Tadhg Furlong all looking in peak form even at this early stage of the season. Leinster by 13+ is 13/10 (SkyBet).

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Wasps number eight Nathan Hughes has been suspended for six weeks which rules him out for three of England‘s end-of-year Tests next month.

This means he will England’s upcoming internationals against South Africa, New Zealand and Japan. He will be available for selection for England’s Test against Australia at Twickenham on Saturday, November 24.

Hughes appeared before a reconvened independent disciplinary panel on Wednesday, following the adjournment of his case on October 10.

He was cited by independent citing commissioner Andy Blyth following the match Wasps v Gloucester on Saturday, October 6 for punching or striking Gloucester’s Lewis Ludlow contrary to Law 9.12.

Hughes accepted the charge and was given a suspension by the independent panel comprising Gareth Graham (chair) with Matthew Weaver and Martyn Wood. Hughes is free to play again on Tuesday, 20 November.

“The Independent Panel convened to hear this case on Wednesday 10 October,” said panel chair Graham.

“At that hearing, the Player pleaded guilty to the charge of striking an opponent and accepted that the starting point for that sanction would be mid-range as he had made contact with the opposition player’s head. This entry point is mandatory where an act of foul play makes contact with the head, as stipulated in the sanction table set by World Rugby and adopted in full by the RFU, and was not disputed by the Player.

“The Panel considered all of the mitigation put forward on the Player’s behalf and determined that he would be suspended for a period of 4 weeks leaving him eligible to play again on the 6 November.

“The Panel determined that the Player was not entitled to full credit because of a previous suspension in October 2017 however he was given credit for a guilty plea, the remorse that was inferred because of his plea and his conduct at the hearing.

“At the conclusion of the hearing on the 10 October, the club were advised that the usual process would be followed in respect of the issuing of a press release but that, in the interim, there was to be no comment on social media. This is standard protocol following a disciplinary hearing. Wasps had also advised the Player ahead of the hearing not to comment on social media.

“Notwithstanding that warning, on leaving the hearing, the Player tweeted via his personal account “what a joke” and this tweet came to the attention of the Panel shortly thereafter.

“The panel called the player back in to the hearing room and asked for submissions from the player, his club representatives and the RFU as to how this additional matter should be dealt with.

“The player accepted that the tweet was sent by him and that it was done out of frustration at the outcome. It was initially requested by both the player and the RFU that the panel should deal with the matter on that evening.

“However, in circumstances where the player’s senior legal counsel had already left the venue by the time the tweet was discovered, it was agreed by all parties that in order for the player and the RFU to seek further legal advice, the panel would reconvene in seven days time at which point the same panel would consider what further sanction, if any, should be imposed upon the player.

“The player accepted that he was suspended in the intervening period having pleaded guilty to the charge but in any event having been suspended by the Independent Citing Commissioner he was suspended until such time as his case had concluded.

“Upon reconvening on the 17 October, detailed legal arguments were heard from the RFU and the player through their legal representatives as to whether the tweet and the player’s conduct should be considered in the context of the original sanction (i.e. whether or not he should be entitled to less mitigation) or whether it should be dealt with under a new charge on the basis that his conduct was “Prejudicial to the interests of the Union and/or the Game”, contrary to RFU Rule 5.12.

“At this reconvened hearing, the player gave evidence in respect of the context of his tweet. During the course of that evidence, he went on to describe how his guilty plea had only been entered on advice and that he did not genuinely believe that he was guilty of the offence in question which ultimately led to his frustration as expressed in the tweet.

“As a result of this new evidence, the panel determined that they should revisit the sanction previously issued on the 10 October as it changed the basis upon which it had arrived at the original decision. The act of sending the tweet was not considered relevant to the original sanction.

“Where the player had previously been given credit for a guilty plea, remorse and good conduct, the panel found that that mitigation had been given on a false premise. The Panel were mindful that under the Regulations, the discount available to a player by way of mitigation starts at 0% and goes up to 50% assuming all factors are present.

“In this case, on the basis of this new evidence, the panel did not consider that the player warranted any reduction by way of mitigation. There was, therefore, no reason to reduce the sanction from the mandatory entry point of 6 weeks.

“The player is not, at the time of the reconvened hearing, named in the England squad and therefore his sanction of six weeks will apply to the next Wasps fixtures.

“In respect of the tweet itself, at the outset of the hearing the RFU brought an additional charge of conduct prejudicial to the interests of the Union and/or the Game to which the player pleaded guilty.

“It was accepted by the player through his legal counsel that the panel were in a position to consider both the original sanction imposed and the new 5.12 charge jointly at the reconvened hearing.

“The panel determined that the timing of the tweet immediately after the hearing, the context of it in terms of the player’s own acceptance of punching an opponent and the fact that he has a significant twitter following of over 7000 warranted an additional playing suspension of two weeks in line with previous decisions where Pplayers/Ccoaches have made critical comments in a public forum.

“Whilst the panel accept that the tweet was written in a moment of frustration and was deleted quickly by the Pplayer, it had already been picked up on social media and was then discussed publicly.

“Taking into account the proportionality of the total sanction, this period of two weeks is to run concurrent to the 6 week sanction for the punching of an opponent.

“The panel make it clear that tweets and comments such as this undermine the Ggame, the core value of respect and the disciplinary process. Whilst players and clubs are entitled to disagree with the outcome of disciplinary hearings, there are proper processes to be followed and twitter, or social media more generally, are not the appropriate forums for such frustration to be vented.

“The player is free to play again on the 20 November 2018.”

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Bristol Bears have announced that veteran George Smith has extended his stay with the club for the remainder of the Premiership campaign.

Initially signed on a six-month deal, the Ashton Gate outfit and player have mutually agreed to a contract extension.

“George [Smith] has been a superb addition to the squad, as we were confident he would be,” head coach Pat Lam told Bristol Bears’ website.

“Not only for his performances in the Premiership, where he has been one of our leaders on the pitch, but also for the way he has carried himself off the field.

“George sets a positive example and the advice and mentoring he provides to the younger guys is invaluable. He brings nous and experience to us in a key position in the team. We’re delighted to keep him here, and he’s really enjoying it here, so it was an easy decision for both parties to make.”

The decorated Australian international has featured in every top flight game this season, helping Bristol to two wins from their opening six fixtures.

Smith added: “I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the first couple of months here and it’s a great environment to be a part of. The boys are really buying into the club vision and what we are trying to achieve.

“There’s plenty of rugby left to be played and I’m looking forward to continuing to contribute to Bristol Bears however I can.”

?? He’s staying to get the job done.

UP THE BEARS! ?? pic.twitter.com/T0KbVlEBVO

— Bristol Bears (@BristolBears) October 17, 2018

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Round Two of the Challenge Cup kicks off on Friday with the Dragons hosting Northampton Saints in the marquee match at Rodney Parade.

Agen v Benetton Rugby

Agen: 15 Mathieu Lamoulie, 14 Timilai Rokoduru, 13 Johann Sadie, 12 Julien Heriteau, 11 Benito Masilevu, 10 Jake McIntyre, 9 Paul Abadie, 8 Antoine Miquel (c), 7 Vincent Farre, 6 Jessy Jegerlhener, 5 Denis Marchois, 4 Adrian Motoc, 3 Dave Ryan, 2 Facundo Bosch, 1 Giorgi Tetrashvili
Replacements: 16 Paula Ngauamo, 17 Morgan Phelipponneau, 18 Yohan Montes, 19 Andres Zafra Tarazona, 20 Yoan Tanga, 21 Lucas Rubio, 22 Leo Berdeu, 23 Clément Laporte

Benetton Rugby: 15 Luca Sperandio, 14 Iliesa Ratuva Tavuyara, 13 Marco Zanon, 12 Luca Morisi, 11 Monty Ioane, 10 Tommy Allan, 9 Dewaldt Duvenage, 8 Marco Barbini (c), 7 Braam Steyn, 6 Giovanni Pettinelli, 5 Ira Herbst, 4 Marco Fuser, 3 Tiziano Pasquali, 2 Luca Bigi, 1 Cherif Traore
Replacements: 16 Hame Faiva, 17 Derrick Appiah, 18 Marco Riccioni, 19 Federico Ruzza, 20 Marco Lazzaroni, 21 Edoardo Gori, 22 Antonio Rizzi, 23 Alberto Sgarbi

Date: Friday, October 19
Venue: Stade Armandie
Kick-off: 19:30 local (18:30 BST, 17:30 GMT)
Referee: Karl Dickson (England)
Assistant referees: Adam Leal (England), Peter Allan (England)

La Rochelle v Enisei-STM

La Rochelle: 15 Romaric Camou, 14 Paul Jordaan, 13 Brieuc Plessis-Couillaud, 12 Pierre Aguillon (c), 11 Elliot Roudil, 10 Maxime Lafage, 9 Jean-Victor Goillot, 8 Grégory Alldritt, 7 Kevin Gourdon, 6 Remi Bourdeau, 5 Jone Qovu Nailiko, 4 Thomas Jolmes, 3 Sila Puafisi, 2 Hikairo Forbes, 1 Léo Aouf
Replacements: 16 Jean-Charles Orioli, 17 Mike Corbel, 18 Mohamed Boughanmi, 19 William Demotte, 20 Zeno Kieft, 21 Thomas Berjon, 22 Ihaia West, 23 Marc Andreu

Enisei-STM: 15 Ramil Gaisin, 14 Aleksandr Budychenko, 13 Dmitrii Gerasimov, 12 Jurijs Baranovs, 11 Denis Simplikevich, 10 Iurii Kushnarev, 9 Alexey Shcherban, 8 Maxim Gargalic, 7 Vitalii Orlov, 6 Mikheil Gachechiladze, 5 Evgeny Elgin, 4 Uldis Saulite (c), 3 Innokentiy Zykov, 2 Stanislav Selskii, 1 Valery Morozov
Replacements: 16 Shalva Mamukashvili, 17 Sergey Sekisov, 18 Andrey Igretsov, 19 Pavel Butenko, 20 Nikita Churashov, 21 Roman Biakov, 22 Timur Maslov, 23 Viacheslav Krasylnyk

Date: Friday, October 19
Venue: Stade Marcel Deflandre
Kick-off: 20:00 local (19:00 BST, 18:00 GMT)
Referee: Vlad Iordachescu (Romania)
Assistant referees: Cristian Serban (Romania), Madalin Girbau (Romania)

Dragons v Northampton Saints

Dragons: 15 Jordan Williams, 14 Zane Kirchner, 13 Tyler Morgan, 12 Jarryd Sage, 11 Jared Rosser, 10 Josh Lewis, 9 Rhodri Williams, 8 Ross Moriarty 7 Ollie Griffiths, 6 Aaron Wainwright, 5 Cory Hill (c), 4 Lewis Evans, 3 Leon Brown, 2 Elliot Dee, 1 Brok Harris
Replacements: 16 Richard Hibbard, 17 Aaron Jarvis, 18 Lloyd Fairbrother, 19 Matthew Screech, 20 Huw Taylor, 21 Rhodri Davies, 22 Adam Warren, 23 Will Talbot-Davies

Northampton: 15 Ahsee Tuala, 14 Tom Collins, 13 Andrew Kellaway, 12 Piers Francis, 11 Taqele Naiyaravoro, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Alex Mitchell, 8 Teimana Harrison, 7 Tom Wood, 6 Jamie Gibson, 5 Courtney Lawes, 4 David Ribbans, 3 Ben Franks, 2 Mikey Haywood, 1 Alex Waller (c)
Replacements: 16 James Fish, 17 Francois van Wyk, 18 Ehren Painter, 19 Dom Barrow, 20 Lewis Ludlam, 21 Cobus Reinach, 22 James Grayson, 23 Luther Burrell

Date: Friday, October 19
Venue: Rodney Parade
Kick-off: 19:30 BST (18:30 GMT)
Referee: Mathieu Raynal (France)
Assistant referees: Thomas Charabas (France), Mathieu Noirot (France)

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Scrum-half Nick McCarthy will make the move to Munster from Leinster at the start of the 2019/20 season after signing a two-year deal.

Meanwhile, Chris Farrell, who joined the province at the beginning of the 2017/18 season, has put pen to paper on a three-year deal that will see him remain with the province until 2022, while Chris Cloete has added two years onto his current three-year deal bringing him up to 2022 also.

Furthermore, Tommy O’Donnell, James Cronin and Neil Cronin have all signed two-year contract extensions until June 2021.

The 23-year-old McCarthy has made 30 appearances in blue to date, scoring 3 tries. A former Ireland U20s player he made 18 appearances over two Six Nations and World Championship campaigns.

Farrell, who has yet to feature this season as he rehabs a knee injury sustained in February, has made 13 appearances for the province, scoring three tries. The 25-year-old centre has represented Ireland on three occasions, including a man of the match performance on his Six Nations debut against Wales.

In his 12th season with the province, and one of the squad’s leading lights, O’Donnell has made 162 appearances in red, scoring 19 tries. A former Academy Player of the Year and Player of the Year he led Munster to victory in their historic win over the Maori All Blacks in November 2016. The 31-year-old back-row has represented Ireland on 12 occasions, scoring two tries.

On making his debut in April 2013, prop James Cronin went on to be awarded Academy Player of the Year a month later. The 27-year-old has scored 14 tries across his 108 Munster caps, and has made three appearances for Ireland. In November 2017 he represented the Barbarians against Tonga in Thomond Park.

Scrum-half Neil Cronin made his return to professional rugby at the start of the season off the back of impressive performances with his club side Garryowen FC in the All Ireland League. The 25-year-old will have to put the teaching career on further hold as he continues with the province until 2021. On making seven appearances in red he made his Champions Cup debut against Exeter Chiefs last weekend.

Making his debut against Dragons in November ’17, South African back row Cloete made quite an impression in his first season, scoring three tries in his 10 starts. The 27-year-old has made 14 appearances for the province.

On the Academy front Coombes and Daly, who are both in their final year of the programme, have secured promotion to the senior squad at the beginning of the 2019/20 season having signed two-year contracts.

20-year-old Coombes is a product of Skibbereen RFC and Bandon Grammar and made his Munster debut against the Cheetahs in last month’s season opener. The no.8 has scored six tries in 16 appearances for Munster A, and plays with Young Munster in the All Ireland League. An Interpro winner with Munster at U18 Schools and U19 level, Coombes has represented Ireland U19s and U20s.

A product of Highfield RFC, Presentation Brothers College and Cork Constitution FC, 21-year-old Shane Daly also made his senior Munster debut against the Cheetahs last month. An Ireland 7s and U20s international, Daly won the All Ireland League Division 1A title, the Bank of Ireland Munster Senior Challenge Cup and the Bateman Cup with Con in 2017. Adept at playing as a centre or on the wing, Daly won an Interpro title with the Munster U20s in 2015.

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Western Province head coach John Dobson has made four changes and a positional switch for Saturday’s Currie Cup semi-final with the Blue Bulls at Newlands.

Full-back Dillyn Leyds and number eight Juarno Agustus make their return from injury in the North-South knock-out clash, while centre Dan Kriel and hooker Bongi Mbonambi come in after being rested last week.

Leyds has overcome a calf niggle and starts in the number 15 jersey, with Damian Willemse switching to fly-half as a result and Kriel resuming his midfield partnership with Ruhan Nel.

In the forward pack Augustus comes in for Sikhumbuzo Notshe, who is battling a knee injury, with Mbonambi slotting into the front-row.

Dobson said that his side are looking forward to playing a home semi-final at Newlands.

“We have worked hard this season to earn the right to play at Newlands this weekend, so we intend to make the most of that opportunity,” he commented.

“It was tough to select this team, with some quality players left out, but we are very excited to see what they are capable of in what is obviously a big game.”

Western Province: 15 Dillyn Leyds, 14 Sergeal Petersen, 13 Ruhan Nel, 12 Dan Kriel, 11 SP Marais, 10 Damian Willemse, 9 Herschel Jantjies, 8 Juarno Augustus, 7 Ernst van Rhyn, 6 Kobus van Dyk, 5 JD Schickerling, 4 Chris van Zyl (c), 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ali Vermaak
Replacements: 16 Scarra Ntubeni, 17 Caylib Oosthuizen, 18 Michael Kumbirai, 19 Salmaan Moerat, 20 Jaco Coetzee, 21 Paul de Wet, 22 Josh Stander, 23 JJ Engelbrecht

Date: Saturday, October 20
Venue: Newlands, Cape Town
Kick-off: 17:00 local (16:00 BST; 15:00 GMT)
Referee: Egon Seconds
Assistant referees: Rasta Rasivhenge, Paul Mente
Television match official: Willie Vos

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Jonny May and Will Spencer return to the Leicester Tigers team for Friday’s Champions Cup game against the Scarlets at Welford Road.

England international wing May, who has five tries already this season, is back after a shoulder injury and lock Spencer is in his first game back after suspension.

Harry Wells makes his 50th appearance for the club and joins Spencer at lock, with Mike Williams reverting to a role in the back row alongside Guy Thompson and Sione Kalamafoni this week. Brendon O’Connor and David Denton are both ruled out by injury.

Jonah Holmes, called up to the Wales squad for the first time this week, continues at full-back and Jordan Olowofela is named on the wing after making his European debut against Ulster last Saturday.

Graham Kitchener returns to the matchday squad for the Round 2 fixture in Pool 4 and there is also a place among the replacements for Argentina international prop Facundo Gigena.

The Scarlets hand a European debut to Wales U20 wing Ioan Nicholas as they head into the vital Heineken Champions Cup clash with Leicester Tigers at Welford Road on Friday evening.

The unavailability of Rhys Patchell because of concussion and Angus O’Brien because of a knee problem that is set to keep him out for the majority of the season means Dan Jones comes in at fly-half.

Steff Hughes, normally a centre, provides the back-up at No. 10 from the bench.

Up front, the lock options are particularly stretched. Steve Cummins (concussion) and Jake Ball (dead leg) are both sidelined, while Aaron Shingler, who could have featured in the engine room in a crisis, is a long-term casualty.

A further change from the side that lost to Racing sees Josh Macleod come into the back row at the expense of Ed Kennedy. Macleod features at openside, allowing Will Boyde to move to No. 8 and Blade Thomson to figure at blindside.

Leicester Tigers: 15 Jonah Holmes, 14 Jonny May, 13 Manu Tuilagi, 12 Kyle Eastmond, 11 Jordan Olowofela, 10 George Ford, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Sione Kalamafoni, 7 Guy Thompson, 6 Mike Williams, 5 Will Spencer, 4 Harry Wells, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Tom Youngs (c), 1 Greg Bateman
Replacements: 16 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 17 Facundo Gigena, 18 Joe Heyes, 19 Graham Kitchener, 20 Tommy Reffell, 21 Sam Harrison, 22 Matt Toomua, 23 Adam Thompstone

Scarlets: 15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 Ioan Nicholas, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Hadleigh Parkes, 11 Steff Evans, 10 Dan Jones, 9 Gareth Davies, 8 Will Boyde 7 Josh MacLeod 6 Blade Thomson 5 David Bulbring 4 Tom Price 3 Samson Lee, 2 Ken Owens (c), 1 Wyn Jones
Replacements: 16 Ryan Elias, 17 Phil Price, 18 Werner Kruger, 19 Josh Helps, 20 Uzair Cassiem, 21 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, 22 Steff Hughes, Paul Asquith

Date: Friday, October 19
Venue: Welford Road
Kick-off: 19:45 BST (18:45 GMT)
Referee: Romain Poite (France)
Assistant referees: Vincent Blasco Baqué (France), Stéphane Boyer (France)
Television match official: Denis Grenouillet (France)

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Thomas du Toit and Daniel du Preez have returned to the Sharks’ starting lineup for the Currie Cup semi-final against the Golden Lions at Kings Park on Saturday.

Head coach Robert du Preez has stuck largely with the side he named last week. After being named to start against Griquas but then pulling out late, Du Toit and Du Preez return in the tighthead prop and eighthman positions respectively.

Marius Louw is back at inside centre and Robert du Preez returns to the fly-half position, with Curwin Bosch reverting back to full-back.

After finishing second on the overall table, the Sharks earned the honour of a home semi-final and host the Golden Lions who finished in third spot on the log. Eventual log leaders, Western Province, will host the Blue Bulls in the second semi-final.

Since the inaugural season in 1892, seven teams have won the competition, with the Sharks taking the title seven times, the most recent, a 2013 victory over Western Province in Cape Town.

Steeped in tradition, the Currie Cup has a proud history. In recent times, the Sharks have been prolific winners, having taken the title seven times since that historic 18-12 win over Northern Transvaal (now the Blue Bulls) in 1990. Interestingly, the Bulls have also won the title seven times since that year, sharing it once with Free State. Western Province with six and the Lions with five trail behind. Free State, with three titles (one shared) are the fifth team to have won titles over the last 27 years.

But all that history is behind us as the Sharks prepare for a Golden Lions side that last left Durban off the back of a 37-21 defeat at Kings Park. Almost a month (to the day) later, the Lions return for a mouth-watering semi-final fixture.

Sharks: 15 Curwin Bosch, 14 Sibusiso Nkosi, 13 Jeremy Ward, 12 Marius Louw, 11 Lwazi Mvovo, 10 Robert du Preez, 9 Louis Schreuder (captain), 8 Daniel du Preez, 7 Tyler Paul, 6 Jacques Vermeulen, 5 Hyron Andrews, 4 Gideon Koegelenberg, 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Armand van der Merwe, 1 Juan Schoeman.
Replacements: 16 Mahlatse Ralepelle, 17 Mzamo Majola, 18 Coenie Oosthuizen, 19 Luke Stringer, 20 Jean-Luc du Preez, 21 Cameron Wright, 22 Leolin Zas, 23 Aphelele Fassi.

Date: Saturday, October 20
Venue: Kings Park, Durban
Kick-off: 14:30 local (13:30 BST; 12:30 GMT)
Referee: Marius van der Westhuizen
Assistant referees: AJ Jacobs, Jaco Pretorius
TMO: Christie du Preez

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Gregor Townsend has confirmed new Scotland call-up Blade Thomson will miss the November 3 Test against Wales due to commitments with the Scarlets.

Scarlets head coach Wayne Pivac, who will take over from Warren Gatland as Wales coach after the 2019 World Cup, will not release Thomson for the opening November Test as he has already handed 13 members of his squad over to Gatland for that particular fixture.

Scarlets have every right not to release New-Zealand born Thomson as the Scotland-Wales clash falls outside of World Rugby’s international calendar.

“The Wales game is outside the World Rugby window,” Townsend, who will rely on a Glasgow and Edinburgh combined XV, said.

“Scarlets are playing Edinburgh that weekend so it would be nice of Wayne Pivac to say to Blade ‘you are available’ but we know that is not going to happen.

“The rules are definitely in place for English and French-based teams and with the PRO14 it is just bad timing that our teams, Glasgow and Edinburgh, plus the Scarlets are playing that weekend otherwise it would be a free weekend.”

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The Challenge Cup’s second round continues on Saturday and there are seven games scheduled with Pau hosting Stade Français in the day’s opening match.

Pau v Stade Français

The teams:

Pau: 15 Charly Malie, 14 Julien Fumat, 13 Benson Stanley, 12 Jale Vatubua, 11 Watisoni Votu, 10 Antoine Hastoy, 9 Julien Blanc, 8 Peter Saili, 7 Paddy Butler, 6 Matthieu Ugena, 5 Daniel Ramsay, 4 Fabrice Metz, 3 Malik Hamadache, 2 Laurent Bouchet, 1 Thomas Domingo (c)
Replacements: 16 Lucas Rey, 17 Ignacio Calles, 18 Lourens Adriaanse, 19 Julien Delannoy, 20 Martin Puech, 21 Clovis Lebail, 22 Pierre Nueno, 23 Marvin Lestremeau

Stade Francais: 15 Tony Ensor, 14 Jimmy Yobo, 13 Malietoa Hingano, 12 Julien Delbouis, 11 Lester Etien, 10 Jules Plisson, 9 Clement Daguin, 8 Sergio Parisse (c), 7 Ryan Chapuis, 6 Theo Richard, 5 Alexandre Flanquart, 4 Mathieu De Giovanni, 3 Giorgi Melikidze, 2 Laurent Sempéré, 1 Eliès El Ansari
Replacements: 16 Lucas Da Silva, 17 Siegfried Fisiihoi, 18 Ramiro Herrera, 19 Paul Gabrillagues, 20 Laurent Panis, 21 Piet van Zyl, 22 Morné Steyn, 23 Manu Atunaisa Taulango Vaka

Venue: Stade du Hameau
Kick-off: 14:00 local (13:00 BST, 12:00 GMT)
Referee: Craig Maxwell-Keys (England)
Assistant referees: Hamish Smales (England), Simon Harding (England)

Zebre v Bristol Bears

The teams:

Zebre: 15 Francois Brummer, 14 Mattia Bellini, 13 Giulio Bisegni (c), 12 Tommaso Castello, 11 Gabriele Di Giulio, 10 Carlo Canna, 9 Marcello Violi, 8 Renato Giammarioli, 7 Johan Meyer, 6 Jimmy Tuivaiti, 5 George Biagi, 4 David Sisi, 3 Dario Chistolini, 2 Oliviero Fabiani, 1 Andrea Lovotti
Replacements: 16 Luhandre Luus, 17 Daniele Rimpelli, 18 Giosue’ Zilocchi, 19 Leonard Krumov, 20 Apisai Tauyavuca, 21 Guglielmo Palazzani, 22 Tommaso Boni, 23 Paula Balekana

Bristol Bears: 15 Tom Pincus, 14 Ryan Edwards, 13 Piers O’Conor, 12 Sam Bedlow, 11 Alapati Leiua, 10 Callum Sheedy, 9 Harry Randall, 8 Jordan Crane, 7 Jake Heenan, 6 Steven Luatua (c), 5 Sam Jeffries, 4 Joe Batley, 3 Jake Armstrong, 2 Shaun Malton, 1 Jake Woolmore
Replacements: 16 Nick Fenton-Wells, 17 Yann Thomas, 18 John Afoa, 19 Nick Haining, 20 Sam Graham, 21 Andy Uren, 22 Tusi Pisi, 23 Charlie Powell

Venue: Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi
Kick-off: 15:00 local (14:00 BST, 13:00 GMT)
Referee: Ludovic Cayre (France)
Assistant referees: Tual Trainini (France), Nicolas Datas (France)

Worcester Warriors v Ospreys

The teams:

Worcester Warriors: 15 Perry Humphreys, 14 Dean Hammond, 13 Ollie Lawrence, 12 Wynand Olivier (c), 11 Tom Howe, 10 Jamie Shillcock, 9 Michael Heaney, 8 Matt Cox, 7 Matti Williams, 6 Ted Hill, 5 Darren Barry, 4 Pierce Phillips, 3 Simon Kerrod, 2 Jack Singleton, 1 Ethan Waller
Replacements: 16 Nial Annett, 17 Kai Owen, 18 Gareth Milasinovich, 19 James Scott, 20 Andrew Kitchener, 21 Jonny Arr, 22 Scott van Breda, 23 Ben Te’o

Ospreys: 15 Cai Evans, 14 Hanno Dirksen, 13 Cory Allen, 12 Tiaan Thomas-Wheeler, 11 Keelan Giles, 10 James Hook, 9 Matt Aubrey, 8 Rob McCusker, 7 Ifan Phillips, 6 Olly Cracknell (c), 5 Adam Beard, 4 James Ratti, 3 Tom Botha, 2 Scott Baldwin, 1 Rhodri Jones
Replacements: 16 Sam Parry, 17 Gareth Thomas, 18 Ma’afu Fia, 19 Guido Volpi, 20 Morgan Morris, 21 Harri Morgan, 22 Tom Williams, 23 Luke Morgan

Venue: Sixways
Kick-off: 15:00 BST (14:00 GMT)
Referee: Pierre Brousset (France)
Assistant referees: Adrien Descottes (France), Flavien Hourquet (France)

Clermont v Timisoara Saracens

The teams:

Clermont: 15 Setariki Tuicuvu, 14 Tim Nanai-Williams, 13 Peter Betham, 12 Apisai Naqalevu, 11 Alivereti Raka, 10 Pato Fernandez, 9 Charlie Cassang, 8 Peceli Yato, 7 Alexandre Lapandry, 6 Damien Chouly (c), 5 Sitaleki Timani, 4 Jacobus Van Tonder, 3 Mickael Simutoga, 2 John Ulugia, 1 Beka Kakabadze
Replacements: 16 Alexandre Fischer, 17 Giorgi Beria, 18 Sipili Falatea, 19 Arthur Iturria, 20 Judicaël Cancoriet, 21 Greig Laidlaw, 22 George Moala, 23 Damian Penaud

Timisoara Saracens: 15 Luke Samoa, 14 Marius Simionescu, 13 Florin Popa, 12 Jack Umaga, 11 Stephen Shennan, 10 Jody Rose (c), 9 Gabriel Conache, 8 Michael Stewart, 7 Vasile Rus, 6 George Tatarus, 5 Marius Iftimiciuc, 4 Ionut Muresan, 3 Mesake Doge, 2 Andrei Radoi, 1 Sione Halalilo
Replacements: 16 Eugen Capatina, 17 Henri Boshoff, 18 Samuel Maris, 19 Dorin Lazar, 20 Thomas Whitehurst, 21 Randall Morrison, 22 Gabriel Rupanu, 23 Daniel Vladut Zaharia

Venue: Stade Marcel Michelin
Kick-off: 16:00 local (15:00 BST, 14:00 GMT)
Referee: Ben Blain (Scotland)
Assistant referees: Sam Grove-White (Scotland), Duncan McClement (Scotland)

Sale Sharks v Connacht

The teams:

Sale Sharks: 15 Sam James, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 James O’Connor, 12 Rohan Janse van Rensburg, 11 Byron McGuigan, 10 Kieran Wilkinson, 9 Faf De Klerk, 8 Josh Beaumont, 7 Ben Curry, 6 Jono Ross (c), 5 James Phillips, 4 Bryn Evans, 3 Willgriff John, 2 Rob Webber, 1 Ross Harrison
Replacements: 16 Curtis Langdon, 17 Tom Bristow, 18 Alexandru Tarus, 19 George Nott, 20 Tom Curry, 21 Will Cliff, 22 Luke James, 23 Aaron Reed

Connacht: 15 Tiernan O’Halloran, 14 Niyi Adeolokun, 13 Tom Farrell, 12 Kyle Godwin, 11 Colm DeBuitlear, 10 Conor Fitzgerald, 9 Caolin Blade (c), 8 Robin Copeland, 7 Colby Fainga’a, 6 Paul Boyle, 5 James Cannon, 4 Ultan Dillane, 3 Conor Carey, 2 Shane Delahunt, 1 Denis Buckley
Replacements: 16 Tom McCartney, 17. Matthew Burke, 18. Conan O’Donnell, 19. Joe Maksymiw, 20. James Connolly, 21. James Mitchell, 22. David Horwitz, 23. Eoin Griffin

Venue: AJ Bell Stadium
Kick-off: 15:00 BST (14:00 GMT)
Referee: Ben Whitehouse (Wales)
Assistant referees: Gwyn Morris (Wales), Aled Evans (Wales)

Bordeaux-Bègles vs Perpignan

The teams:

Bordeaux-Begles: 15 Romain Buros, 14 Blair Connor, 13 Semi Radradra, 12 Ulupano Seuteni, 11 George Tilsley, 10 Baptiste Serin, 9 Yann Lesgourgues, 8 Afa Amosa, 7 Cameron Woki, 6 Mahamadou Diaby, 5 Kane Douglas, 4 Mariano Galarza, 3 Lekso Kaulashvili, 2 Clement Maynadier, 1 Jefferson Poirot (c)
Replacements: 16 Adrien Pélissié, 17 Thierry Paiva, 18 Viliamu Afatia, 19 Cyril Cazeaux, 20 Alexandre Roumat, 21 Jules Gimbert, 22 Lucas Meret, 23 Jean-Baptiste Dubié,

Perpignan: 15 Julien Farnoux, 14 Pierre Lucas, 13 Afusipa Taumoepeau, 12 Adrea Cocagi, 11 Mathieu Acebes, 10 Paddy Jackson, 9 Tom Ecochard (c), 8 Karl Chateau, 7 Lucas Bachelier, 6 Michael Faleafa, 5 Eru Shahn, 4 Tristan Labouteley, 3 Yassin Boutemmani, 2 Raphael Carbou, 1 Enzo Forletta
Replacements: 16 Cyril Deligny, 17 Kevin Tougne, 18 Sylvain Charlet, 19 Masalosalo Tutaia, 20 Alan Brazo, 21 David Mele, 22 Romuald Seguy, 23 Paul Marty

Venue: Stade Chaban-Delmas
Kick-off: 19:00 local (18:00 BST, 17:00 GMT)
Referee: Tom Foley (England)
Assistant referees: Tim Wigglesworth (England), John Meredith (England)

Grenoble v Harlequins

The teams:

Grenoble: 15 Bastien Guillemin, 14 Lucas Dupont, 13 Pablo Uberti, 12 Taleta Tupuola, 11 Lolagi Visinia, 10 Corentin Glenat, 9 Theo Nanette, 8 Steven Setephano, 7 Clement Ancely, 6 Loic Baradel, 5 Ali Oz, 4 François Uys, 3 Halani Aulika, 2 Duncan Casey (c), 1 Dylan Jacquot
Replacements: 16 Mike Tadjer, 17 Mihai Lazar, 18 Beka Gigashvili, 19 Salesi Fifita, 20 Dorian Bonnin, 21 Lilian Saseras, 22 Burton Francis, 23 Raymond Rhule

Harlequins: 15 Aaron Morris, 14 Charlie Walker, 13 Joe Marchant, 12 Francis Saili, 11 Nathan Earle, 10 Marcus Smith, 9 Charlie Mulchrone, 8 James Chisholm (c), 7 Semi Kunatani, 6 Renaldo Bothma, 5 Matt Symons, 4 George Merrick, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 2 Max Crumpton, 1 Joe Marler
Replacements: 16 Elia Elia, 17 Lewis Boyce, 18 Will Collier, 19 Stan South, 20 Jack Clifford, 21 Dave Lewis, 22 Demetri Catrakilis, 23 Alofa Alofa

Venue: Stade des Alpes
Kick-off: 21:00 local (20:00 BST, 19:00 GMT)
Referee: Sean Gallagher (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Frank Murphy (Ireland), John Carvill (Ireland)

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