Champions Cup: Joey Carbery at 10 for Munster, Courtney Lawes starts for Northampton while Marcus Smith back for Harlequins

March 17, 2023 Off By HotelSalesCareers

The Champions Cup returns this weekend with the third round of the tournament once again seeing 12 games scheduled, including Sale Sharks against Toulouse.

Check out all the team news and our predictions, here.

Friday

Clermont v Leicester Tigers

Prediction: Clermont by 8

The teams:

Clermont: 15 Alex Newsome, 14 Bautista Delguy, 13 Cheikh Tiberghien, 12 Irae Simone, 11 Alivereti Raka, 10 Anthony Belleau, 9 Baptiste Jauneau, 8 Fritz Lee (c), 7 Alexandre Fischer, 6 Judicael Cancoriet, 5 Miles Amatosero, 4 Paul Jedrasiak, 3 Rabah Slimani, 2 Adrien Pelissie, 1 Daniel Bibi Biziwu
Replacements: 16 Etienne Fourcade, 17 Giorgi Beria, 18 Davit Kubriashvili, 19 Edward Annandale, 20 Killian Tixeront, 21 Sebastien Bezy, 22 Jules Plisson, 23 George Moala

Leicester Tigers: 15 Charlie Atkinson, 14 Freddie Steward, 13 Matt Scott, 12 Dan Kelly, 11 Harry Simmons, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Ben Youngs (c), 8 Sean Jansen, 7 Tommy Reffell, 6 Ollie Chessum, 5 Cameron Henderson, 4 Harry Wells, 3 Joe Heyes, 2 Charlie Clare, 1 James Whitcombe
Replacements: 16 Joe Taufete’e, 17 James Cronin, 18 Will Hurd, 19 Olly Cracknell, 20 Emeka Ilione, 21 Jack van Poortvliet, 22 Jimmy Gopperth, 23 Harry Potter

Venue: Stade Marcel-Michelin
Kick-off: 21:00 local (20:00 GMT)
Referee: Frank Murphy (Ireland)
Assistant Referees: Andrew Cole (Ireland), Paul Haycock (Ireland)
TMO: Brian MacNeice (Ireland)

Saturday

Gloucester v Leinster

Prediction: Leinster by 15

The teams:

Gloucester: 15 George Barton, 14 Jonny May, 13 Chris Harris, 12 Seb Atkinson, 11 Ollie Thorley, 10 Santi Carreras, 9 Ben Meehan, 8 Ben Morgan, 7 Lewis Ludlow (c), 6 Ruan Ackermann, 5 Matias Alemanno, 4 Freddie Clarke, 3 Kirill Gotovtsev, 2 George McGuigan, 1 Val Rapava-Ruskin
Replacements: 16 Seb Blake, 17 Harry Elrington, 18 Ciaran Knight, 19 Cam Jordan, 20 Jack Clement, 21 Stephen Varney, 22 Billy Twelvetrees, 23 Tom Seabrook

Leinster: 15 Hugo Keenan, 14 Jordan Larmour, 13 Garry Ringrose (c), 12 Jamie Osborne, 11 Jimmy O’Brien, 10 Ross Byrne, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Caelan Doris, 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Ryan Baird, 5 James Ryan, 4 Ross Molony, 3 Michael Ala’alatoa, 2 Dan Sheehan, 1 Andrew Porter
Replacements: 16 Rónan Kelleher, 17 Michael Milne, 18 Cian Healy, 19 Brian Deeny, 20 Jack Conan, 21 Nick McCarthy, 22 Harry Byrne, 23 Liam Turner

Venue: Kingsholm
Kick-off: 13:00 GMT
Referee: Pierre Brousset (France)
Assistant Referees: Vincent Blasco Baqué (France), Flavien Hourquet (France)
TMO: Denis Grenouillet (France)

Sale Sharks v Toulouse

Prediction: Sale by 2

The teams:

Sale Sharks: 15 Joe Carpenter, 14 Tom O’Flaherty, 13 Sam James, 12 Manu Tuilagi, 11 Arron Reed, 10 Rob du Preez, 9 Gus Warr, 8 Jean-Luc du Preez, 7 Ben Curry (c), 6 Jono Ross, 5 Jonny Hill, 4 Cobus Wiese, 3 Nick Schonert, 2 Akker van der Merwe, 1 Simon McIntyre
Replacements: 16 Ewan Ashman, 17 Bevan Rodd, 18 James Harper, 19 Josh Beaumont, 20 Sam Dugdale, 21 Raffi Quirke, 22 Tom Curtis, 23 Luke James

Toulouse: 15 Melvyn Jaminet, 14 Juan Cruz Mallía, 13 Pierre-Louis Barassi, 12 Sofiane Guitoune, 11 Matthis Lebel, 10 Romain Ntamack, 9 Antoine Dupont (c), 8 Alexandre Roumat, 7 Alban Placines, 6 Anthony Jelonch, 5 Emmanuel Meafou, 4 Richie Arnold, 3 Dorian Aldegheri, 2 Julien Marchand, 1 Cyril Baille
Replacements: 16 Guillaume Cramont, 17 Rodrigue Neti, 18 Charlie Faumuina, 19 Joshua Brennan, 20 Jack Willis, 21 Rynhardt Elstadt, 22 Dimitri Delibes, 23 Arthur Retiere

Venue: AJ Bell Stadium
Kick-off: 13:00 GMT
Referee: Mike Adamson (Scotland)
Assistant Referees: Sam Grove-White (Scotland), Dave Sutherland (Scotland)
TMO: Ben Blain (Scotland)

Sharks v Bordeaux-Begles

Prediction: Sharks by 12

The teams:

Sharks: 15 Boeta Chamberlain, 14 Marnus Potgieter, 13 Lukhanyo Am, 12 Ben Tapuai, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Curwin Bosch, 9 Jaden Hendrikse, 8 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 7 Vincent Tshituka, 6 Siya Kolisi (c), 5 Gerbrandt Grobler, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ox Nche
Replacements: 16 Kerron van Vuuren, 17 Ntuthuko Mchunu, 18 Carlü Sadie, 19 Hyron Andrews, 20 Phepsi Buthelezi, 21 Cameron Wright, 22 Lionel Cronje, 23 Rohan Janse van Rensburg

Bordeaux-Begles: 15 Nans Ducuing, 14 Geoffrey Cros, 13 Tani Vili, 12 Yoram Falatea-Moefana, 11 Madosh Tambwe, 10 Matéo Garcia, 9 Maxime Lucu (c), 8 Caleb Timu, 7 Corentin Coularis, 6 Renato Giammarioli, 5 Alban Roussel, 4 Thomas Jolmes, 3 Vadim Cobilas, 2 Clement Maynadier, 1 Christopher Vaotoa
Replacements: 16 Connor Sa, 17 Ugo Boniface, 18 Sipili Falatea, 19 Jandré Marais, 20 Bastien Vergnes-Taillefer, 21 Jules Gimbert, 22 Zack Holmes, 23 Pablo Uberti

Venue: Kings Park
Kick-off: 17:15 local (15:15 GMT)
Referee: Luke Pearce (England)
Assistant Referees: Christophe Ridley (England), Jamie Leahy (England)
TMO: Tom Foley (England)

Munster v Northampton Saints

Prediction: Munster by 10

The teams:

Munster: 15 Mike Haley, 14 Calvin Nash, 13 Antoine Frisch, 12 Jack Crowley, 11 Shane Daly, 10 Joey Carbery, 9 Craig Casey, 8 Gavin Coombes, 7 Peter O’Mahony (c), 6 Jack O’Donoghue, 5 Tadhg Beirne, 4 Jean Kleyn, 3 Roman Salanoa, 2 Niall Scannell, 1 Dave Kilcoyne
Replacements: 16 Scott Buckley, 17 Josh Wycherley, 18 John Ryan, 19 John Hodnett, 20 Alex Kendellen, 21 Paddy Patterson, 22 Rory Scannell, 23 Liam Coombes

Northampton Saints: 15 George Furbank, 14 Tommy Freeman, 13 Matt Proctor, 12 Rory Hutchinson, 11 James Ramm, 10 Fin Smith, 9 Alex Mitchell, 8 Lewis Ludlam (c), 7 Courtney Lawes, 6 Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, 5 Alex Moon, 4 David Ribbans, 3 Paul Hill, 2 Mike Haywood, 1 Alex Waller
Replacements: 16 Robbie Smith, 17 Ethan Waller, 18 Alfie Petch, 19 Alex Coles, 20 Angus Scott-Young, 21 Callum Braley, 22 Fraser Dingwall, 23 Courtnall Skosan

Venue: Thomond Park
Kick-off: 15:15 GMT
Referee: Tual Trainini (France)
Assistant Referees: Adrien Descottes (France), Christophe Bultet (France)
TMO: Eric Gauzins (France)

Bulls v Exeter Chiefs

Prediction: Bulls by 5

The teams:

Bulls: 15 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 14 Canan Moodie, 13 Wandisile Simelane, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 David Kriel, 10 Chris Smith, 9 Zak Burger, 8 Elrigh Louw, 7 Nizaam Carr, 6 Marco van Staden, 5 Ruan Nortje (c), 4 Ruan Vermaak, 3 Mornay Smith, 2 Johann Grobbelaar, 1 Gerard Steenekamp
Replacements: 16 Dylan Smith, 17 Bismarck Du Plessis, 18 Francois Klopper, 19 Janko Swanepoel, 20 WJ Steenkamp, 21 Embrose Papier, 22 Johan Goosen, 23 Lionel Mapoe

Exeter Chiefs: 15 Josh Hodge, 14 Jack Nowell, 13 Henry Slade (c), 12 Solomone Kata, 11 Olly Woodburn, 10 Joe Simmonds, 9 Sam Maunder, 8 Sam Simmonds, 7 Christ Tshiunza, 6 Dave Ewers, 5 Dafydd Jenkins, 4 Jack Dunne, 3 Harry Williams, 2 Jack Innard, 1 Scott Sio
Replacements: 16 Jack Yeandle, 17 James Kenny, 18 Josh Iosefa-Scott, 19 Jannes Kirsten, 20 Greg Fisilau, 21 Jack Maunder, 22 Harvey Skinner, 23 Rory O’Loughlin

Venue: Loftus Versfeld
Kick-off: 19:30 local (17:30 GMT)
Referee: Mathieu Raynal (France)
Assistant Referees: Thomas Charabas (France), Jonathan Gasnier (France)
TMO: Philippe Bonhoure (France)

La Rochelle v Ulster

Prediction: La Rochelle by 15

The teams:

La Rochelle: 15 Brice Dulin, 14 Teddy Thomas, 13 UJ Seuteni, 12 Jules Favre, 11 Pierre Boudehent, 10 Antoine Hastoy, 9 Thomas Berjon, 8 Grégory Alldritt (c), 7 Paul Boudehent, 6 Remi Bourdeau, 5 Rémi Picquette, 4 Ultan Dillane, 3 Georges Henri Colombe, 2 Samuel Lagrange, 1 Thierry Paiva
Replacements: 16 Quentin Lespiaucq Brettes, 17 Reda Wardi, 18 Joel Sclavi, 19 Romain Sazy, 20 Kyle Hatherell, 21 Tawera Kerr-Barlow, 22 Pierre Popelin, 23 Raymond Rhule

Ulster: 15 Michael Lowry, 14 Rob Lyttle, 13 Stewart Moore, 12 Luke Marshall, 11 Jacob Stockdale, 10 Ian Madigan, 9 Nathan Doak, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Nick Timoney, 6 Iain Henderson (c), 5 Kieran Treadwell, 4 Alan O’Connor, 3 Jeff Toomaga-Allen, 2 Rob Herring, 1 Rory Sutherland
Replacements: 16 John Andrew, 17 Eric O’Sullivan, 18 Andy Warwick, 19 Harry Sheridan, 20 David McCann, 21 Michael McDonald, 22 Billy Burns, 23 Ethan McIlroy

Venue: Stade Marcel Deflandre
Kick-off: 18:30 local (17:30 GMT)
Referee: Nika Amashukeli (Georgia)
Assistant Referees: Alex Thomas (England), Charlie Gayther (England)
TMO: Ben Whitehouse (Wales)

Saracens v Lyon

Prediction: Saracens by 9

The teams:

Saracens: 15 Elliot Daly, 14 Max Malins, 13 Alex Lozowski, 12 Nick Tompkins, 11 Sean Maitland, 10 Alex Goode, 9 Ivan Van Zyl, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Ben Earl, 6 Andy Christie, 5 Hugh Tizard, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Marco Riccioni, 2 Jamie George (c), 1 Mako Vunipola
Replacements: 16 Tom Woolstencroft, 17 Eroni Mawi, 18 Christian Judge, 19 Nick Isiekwe, 20 Theo Dan, 21 Aled Davies, 22 Manu Vunipola, 23 Alex Lewington

Lyon: 15 Ethan Dumortier, 14 Josua Tuisova, 13 Josiah Maraku, 12 Kyle Godwin, 11 Tavite Veredamu, 10 Fletcher Smith, 9 Jonathan Pélissié (c), 8 Arno Botha, 7 Patrick Sobela, 6 Dylan Cretin, 5 Temo Mayanavanua, 4 Joel Kpoku, 3 Francisco Gomez Kodela, 2 Guillaume Marchand, 1 Hamza Kaabèche
Replacements: 16 Liam Coltman, 17 Sébastien Taofifenua, 18 Demba Bamba, 19 Theo William, 20 Loann Goujon, 21 Beka Saginadze, 22 Jean-Marc Doussain, 23 Toby Arnold

Venue: StoneX Stadium
Kick-off: 20:00 GMT
Referee: Andrea Piardi (Italy)
Assistant Referees: Alex Frasson (Italy), Manuel Bottino (Italy)
TMO: Matteo Liperini (Italy)

Ospreys v Montpellier

Prediction: Montpellier by 2

The teams:

Ospreys: 15 Cai Evans, 14 Alex Cuthbert, 13 Mike Collins, 12 Joe Hawkins, 11 Keelan Giles, 10 Owen Williams, 9 Rhys Webb, 8 Jac Morgan, 7 Justin Tipuric (c), 6 Rhys Davies, 5 Alun Wyn Jones, 4 Adam Beard, 3 Tom Botha, 2 Scott Baldwin, 1 Gareth Thomas
Replacements: 16 Dewi Lake, 17 Nicky Smith, 18 Tom Francis, 19 Bradley Davies, 20 Huw Sutton, 21 Morgan Morris, 22 Reuben Morgan-Williams, 23 George North

Montpellier: 15 Anthony Bouthier, 14 Julien Tisseron, 13 Thomas Darmon, 12 Geoffrey Doumayrou, 11 Vincent Rattez, 10 Louis Carbonel, 9 Leo Coly, 8 Zach Mercer, 7 Alexandre Becognee, 6 Nico Janse van Rensburg, 5 Paul Willemse (c), 4 Bastien Chalureau, 3 Titi Lamositele, 2 Brandon Paenga-Amosa, 1 Enzo Forletta
Replacements: 16 Curtis Langdon, 17 George Tuinukuafe, 18 Mohamed Haouas, 19 Elliott Stooke, 20 Cobus Reinach, 21 Pierre Lucas, 22 Ben Lam, 23 Yacouba Camara

Venue: Swansea.com Stadium
Kick-off: 20:00 GMT
Referee: Karl Dickson (England)
Assistant Referees: Craig Maxwell-Keys (England), Phil Watters (England)
TMO: Ian Tempest (England)

Sunday

London Irish v Stormers

Prediction: Stormers by 3

The teams:

London Irish: 15 Ben Loader, 14 Lucio Cinti, 13 Luca Morisi, 12 Benhard Janse van Rensburg, 11 Ollie Hassell-Collins, 10 Rory Jennings, 9 Ben White, 8 Matt Rogerson (c), 7 Tom Pearson, 6 Juan Martin Gonzalez, 5 Rob Simmons, 4 Api Ratuniyarawa, 3 Lovejoy Chawatama, 2 Mike Willemse, 1 Will Goodrick-Clarke
Replacements: 16 Ignacio Ruiz, 17 Danilo Fischetti, 18 Ciaran Parker, 19 Chunya Munga, 20 Josh Basham, 21 Chandler Cunningham-South, 22 Joe Powell, 23 Michael Dykes

Stormers: 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Suleiman Hartzenberg, 13 Ruhan Nel, 12 Daniel du Plessis, 11 Angelo Davids, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Paul de Wet, 8 Hacjivah Dayimani, 7 Junior Pokomela, 6 Deon Fourie, 5 Marvin Orie, 4 Connor Evans, 3 Neethling Fouche, 2 Joseph Dweba, 1 Steven Kitshoff (c)
Replacements: 16 Andre Venter, 17 Ali Vermaak, 18 Brok Harris, 19 Simon Miller, 20 BJ Dixon, 21 Willie Engelbrecht, 22 Stefan Ungerer, 23 Sacha Mngomezulu

Venue: Gtech Community Stadium
Kick-off: 13:00 GMT
Referee: Ludovic Cayre (France)
Assistant Referees: Pierre-Baptiste Nuchy (France), Stéphane Crapoix (France)
TMO: Eric Briquet-Campin (France)

Castres v Edinburgh

Prediction: Castres by 7

The teams:

Castres: 15 Thomas Larregain, 14 Martin Laveau, 13 Vilimoni Botitu, 12 Adrien Seguret, 11 Geoffrey Palis, 10 Benjamin Urdapilleta, 9 Gauthier Doubrere, 8 Teariki Ben-Nicholas, 7 Josaia Raisuqe, 6 Baptiste Cope, 5 Théo Hannoyer, 4 Leone Nakarawa (c), 3 Wilfrid Hounkpatin, 2 Gaetan Barlot, 1 Quentin Walcker
Replacements: 16 Pierre Colonna, 17 Matthew Tierney, 18 Aurélien Azar, 19 Ryno Pieterse, 20 Thomas Staniforth, 21 Kevin Kornath, 22 Santiago Arata Perrone, 23 Adrea Cocagi

Edinburgh: 15 Henry Immelman, 14 Emiliano Boffelli, 13 Mark Bennett, 12 Cammy Hutchison, 11 Blair Kinghorn, 10 Charlie Savala, 9 Charlie Shiel, 8 Viliame Mata, 7 Jamie Ritchie (cc), 6 Sam Skinner, 5 Grant Gilchrist (cc), 4 Marshall Sykes, 3 Luan de Bruin, 2 Dave Cherry, 1 Pierre Schoeman
Replacements: 16 Paddy Harrison, 17 Boan Venter, 18 WP Nel, 19 Jamie Hodgson, 20 Nick Haining, 21 Ben Vellacott, 22 Cammy Scott, 23 Jack Blain

Venue: Stade Pierre Fabre
Kick-off: 14:00 local (13:00 GMT)
Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)
Assistant Referees: Jack Makepeace (England), Neil Chivers (England)
TMO: David Rose (England)

Racing 92 v Harlequins

Prediction: Racing 92 by 5

The teams:

Racing 92: 15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Donovan Taofifenua, 13 Francis Saili, 12 Gael Fickou (c), 11 Juan Imhoff, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Nolann Le Garrec, 8 Maxime Baudonne, 7 Baptiste Chouzenoux, 6 Ibrahim Diallo, 5 Boris Palu, 4 Cameron Woki, 3 Cedate Gomes Sa, 2 Camille Chat, 1 Guram Gogichashvili
Replacements: 16 Péniami Narisia, 17 Eddy Ben Arous, 18 Trevor Nyakane, 19 Anthime Hemery, 20 Kitione Kamikamica, 21 Antoine Gibert, 22 Olivier Klemenczak, 23 Max Spring

Harlequins: 15 Nick David, 14 Cadan Murley, 13 Joe Marchant, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Aaron Morris, 10 Marcus Smith, 9 Danny Care, 8 Alex Dombrandt (c), 7 Will Evans, 6 Luke Wallace, 5 Irne Herbst, 4 Stephan Lewies, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 George Head, 1 Joe Marler
Replacements: 16 Jack Walker 17 Jordan Els 18 Simon Kerrod 19 George Hammond 20 Tom Lawday 21 Lewis Gjaltema 22 Oscar Beard 23 Will Edwards

Venue: Paris La Defense Arena
Kick-off: 16:15 local (15:15 GMT)
Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)
Assistant Referees: Peter Martin (Ireland), Oisin Quinn (Ireland)
TMO: Joy Neville (Ireland)

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