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Challenge Cup: Luke Morahan to play final home game for Bristol Bears while Ryan Elias makes 150th Scarlets appearance

July 10, 2023 /

The Challenge Cup continues this weekend with Round Two’s action, as the Cheetahs’ clash with the Scarlets and Stade Francais’ visit to the Lions are amongst the standout fixtures.

Check out all the team news and predictions, here.

Friday

Lions v Stade Francais

Prediction: Lions by 5

The teams:

Lions: 15 Andries Coetzee, 14 Edwill van der Merwe, 13 Henco van Wyk, 12 Marius Louw, 11 Quan Horn, 10 Jordan Hendrikse, 9 Sanele Nohamba, 8 Emmanuel Tshituka, 7 Ruan Venter, 6 Jaco Kriel (c), 5 Pieter Jansen van Vuren, 4 Willem Alberts, 3 Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 2 Jaco Visagie, 1 JP Smith
Replacements: 16 Michael van Vuren, 17 Sti Sithole, 18 Ruan Smith, 19 Reinard Nothnagel, 20 Darrien Landsberg, 21 Sibusiso Sangweni, 22 Andre Warner, 23 Rynhardt Jonker

Stade Francais: 15 Léo Monin, 14 Nadir Megdoud, 13 Paolo Odogwu, 12 Theo Dachary, 11 Harry Glover, 10 Léo Barre, 9 James Hall, 8 Juan Martin Scelzo, 7 Mathieu Hirigoyen, 6 Giorgi Tsutkiridze, 5 Juan Johan Van der Mescht, 4 Nathan Huguen, 3 Giorgi Melikidze, 2 Laurent Panis (c), 1 Vasil Kakovin
Replacements: 16 Lucas Peyresblanques, 17 Sergo Abramishvili, 18 Paul Alo Emile, 19 Noa Kanika, 20 Arthur Coville, 21 Alex Arrate, 22 Ferdinand Dreno, 23 Moses Alo Emile

Venue: Emirates Airline Park
Kick-off: 19:30 local (17:30 GMT)
Referee: Karl Dickson (England)
Assistant Referees: Matthew Carley (England), Sara Cox (England)
TMO: Ian Tempest (England)

Brive v Connacht

Prediction: Connacht by 8

The teams:

Brive: 15 Seta Tuicuvu, 14 Kevin Fabien, 13 Nico Lee, 12 Sam Arnold, 11 Wesley Douglas, 10 Nicolas Sanchez, 9 Paul Abadie, 8 Abraham Papali’i, 7 Said Hireche (c), 6 Retief Marais, 5 Tevita Ratuva, 4 Renger van Eerten, 3 Tietie Tuimauga, 2 Florian Dufour, 1 Daniel Brennan
Replacements: 16 Vano Karkadze, 17 Nathan Fraissenon, 18 Pietro Ceccareli, 19 Julien Delannoy, 20 Matthieu Voisin, 21 Enzo Sanga, 22 Tom Raffy, 23 Thomas Laranjeira

Connacht: 15 Conor Fitzgerald, 14 Adam Byrne, 13 Bundee Aki, 12 Tom Daly, 11 Diarmuid Kilgallen, 10 David Hawkshaw, 9 Kieran Marmion, 8 Paul Boyle (c), 7 Shamus Hurley-Langton, 6 Oisin Dowling, 5 Gavin Thornbury, 4 Darragh Murray, 3 Sam Illo, 2 Shane Delahunt, 1 Peter Dooley
Replacements: 16 Dave Heffernan, 17 Jordan Duggan, 18 Dominic Robertson-McCoy, 19 Niall Murray, 20 Ciaran Booth, 21 Colm Reilly, 22 Byron Ralston, 23 Oran McNulty

Venue: Stade Amédée-Doménech
Kick-off: 21:00 local (20:00 GMT)
Referee: Adam Leal (England)
Assistant Referees: Alex Thomas (England), Wayne Falla (England)
TMO: Dan Jones (England)

Glasgow Warriors v Perpignan

Prediction: Glasgow by 10

The teams:

Glasgow: 15 Josh McKay, 14 Sebastian Cancelliere, 13 Sione Tuipulotu (c), 12 Huw Jones, 11 Rufus McLean, 10 Duncan Weir, 9 George Horne, 8 Jack Dempsey, 7 Sione Vailanu, 6 Matt Fagerson, 5 Richie Gray, 4 Lewis Bean, 3 Murphy Walker, 2 George Turner, 1 Jamie Bhatti
Replacements: 16 Johnny Matthews, 17 Nathan McBeth, 18 Simon Berghan, 19 JP du Preez, 20 Sintu Manjezi, 21 Euan Ferrie, 22 Ali Price, 23 Tom Jordan

Perpignan: 15 Tristan Tedder, 14 George Tilsley, 13 Afusipa Taumoepeau, 12 Dorian Laborde, 11 Mathieu Acebes (c), 10 Jake McIntyre, 9 Tom Ecochard, 8 Genesis Mamea Lemalu, 7 Kelian Galletier, 6 Lucas Velarte, 5 Piula Faasalele, 4 Tristan Labouteley, 3 Siosiua Halanukonuka, 2 Seilala Lam, 1 Giorgi Tetrashvili
Replacements: 16 Mike Tadjer, 17 Xavier Chiocci, 18 Arthur Joly, 19 Posolo Tuilagi, 20 Lucas Bachelier, 21 Sadek Degmache, 22 Lucas Dubois, 23 Boris Goutard

Venue: Murrayfield
Kick-off: 20:00 GMT
Referee: Anthony Woodthorpe (England)
Assistant Referees: Simon Harding (England), Peter Allan (England)
TMO: Andrew Jackson (England)

Saturday

Toulon v Bath

Prediction: Toulon by 7

The teams:

Toulon: 15 Thomas Salles, 14 Gervais Cordin, 13 Jérémy Sinzelle, 12 Maëlan Rabut, 11 Jiuta Naqoli Wainiqolo, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Jules Danglot, 8 Sergio Parisse (c), 7 Raphael Lakafia, 6 Jules Coulon, 5 Adrien Warion, 4 Swan Rebbadj, 3 Kieran Brookes, 2 Anthony Etrillard, 1 Bruce Devaux
Replacements: 16 Teddy Baubigny, 17 Dany Priso, 18 Beka Gigashvili, 19 Charles Ollivon, 20 Brian Alainu’uese, 21 Baptiste Serin, 22 Ihaia West, 23 Aymeric Luc

Bath: 15 Tom de Glanville, 14 Joe Cokanasiga, 13 Ollie Lawrence, 12 Max Ojomoh, 11 Will Butt, 10 Piers Francis, 9 Ben Spencer (c), 8 Richard de Carpentier, 7 Miles Reid, 6 Tom Ellis, 5 Fergus Lee-Warner, 4 Dave Attwood, 3 D’Arcy Rae, 2 Tom Dunn, 1 Lewis Boyce
Replacements: 16 Tom Doughty, 17 Valeriy Morozov, 18 Johannes Jonker, 19 Will Spencer, 20 Josh Bayliss, 21 Max Green, 22 Orlando Bailey, 23 Ted Hill

Venue: Stade Félix Mayol
Kick-off: 14:00 local (13:00 GMT)
Referee: Gianluca Gnecchi (Italy)
Assistant Referees: Alex Frasson (Italy), Franco Rosella (Italy)
TMO: Stefano Roscini (Italy)

Cheetahs v Scarlets

Prediction: Cheetahs by 10

The teams:

Cheetahs: 15 Tapiwa Mafura, 14 Daniel Kasende, 13 David Brits, 12 Reinhardt Fortuin, 11 Munier Hartzenberg, 10 Siya Masuku, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Jeandré Rudolph, 7 Friedle Olivier, 6 Daniel Maartens, 5 Victor Sekekete (c), 4 Rynier Bernardo, 3 Aranos Coetzee, 2 Marko Janse van Rensburg, 1 Schalk Ferreira
Replacements: 16 Louis van der Westhuizen, 17 Mzamo Majola, 18 Hencus van Wyk, 19 Mzwanele Zito, 20 Sibabalo Qoma, 21 Rewan Kruger, 22 Robert Ebersohn, 23 Cohen Jasper

Scarlets: 15 Johnny McNicholl, 14 Steff Evans, 13 Ioan Nicholas, 12 Scott Williams, 11 Ryan Conbeer, 10 Sam Costelow, 9 Dane Blacker, 8 Sione Kalamafoni, 7 Joshua Macleod (c), 6 Aaron Shingler, 5 Vaea Fifita, 4 Sam Lousi, 3 WillGriff John, 2 Ryan Elias, 1 Kemsley Mathias
Replacements: 16 Ken Owens, 17 Steff Thomas, 18 Javan Sebastian, 19 Tom Price, 20 Tomas Lezana, 21 Kieran Hardy, 22 Rhys Patchell, 23 Leigh Halfpenny

Venue: Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi
Kick-off: 16:15 local (15:15 GMT)
Referee: Chris Busby (Ireland)
Assistant Referees: Dan Carson (Ireland), Padraic Reidy (Ireland)
TMO: Olly Hodges (Ireland)

Dragons v Pau

Prediction: Dragons by 10

The teams:

Dragons: 15 Jordan Williams, 14 Rio Dyer, 13 Sio Tomkinson, 12 Jack Dixon, 11 Ashton Hewitt, 10 Sam Davies, 9 Rhodri Williams, 8 Aaron Wainwright, 7 Harrison Keddie (c), 6 Sean Lonsdale, 5 Matthew Screech, 4 Joe Davies, 3 Chris Coleman, 2 Bradley Roberts, 1 Rhodri Jones
Replacements: 16 Brodie Coghlan, 17 Rob Evans, 18 Lloyd Fairbrother, 19 Ryan Woodman, 20 Ross Moriarty, 21 Lewis Jones, 22 JJ Hanrahan, 23 Max Clark

Pau: 15 Mathias Colombet, 14 Thomas Carol, 13 Nathan Decron, 12 Jale Vatubua, 11 Eoghan Barrett, 10 Thibault Debaes, 9 Clovis Lebail, 8 Brent Liufau, 7 Thibaut Hamonou, 6 Martin Puech (c), 5 Jimi Maximin, 4 Hugo Auradou, 3 Nicolas Corato, 2 Youri Delhommel, 1 Rémi Seneca
Replacements: 16 Romain Ruffenach, 17 Siegfried Fisiihoi, 18 Maks van Dyk, 19 Fabrice Metz, 20 Sacha Zegueur, 21 Dan Robson, 22 Elliot Roudil, 23 Grégoire Arfeuil

Venue: Rodney Parade
Kick-off: 17:30 GMT
Referee: Jack Makepeace (England)
Assistant Referees: Charlie Gayther (England), Phil Watters (England)
TMO: Steve Leyshon (England)

Bayonne v Benetton

Prediction: Benetton by 12

The teams:

Bayonne: 15 Tom Spring, 14 Bastien Pourailly, 13 Peyo Muscarditz (c), 12 Guillaume Martocq, 11 Victor Hanoun, 10 Jason Robertson, 9 Michael Ruru, 8 Aïtor Hourcade, 7 Esteban Capilla, 6 Pierre Huguet, 5 Manuel Leindekar, 4 Geoffrey Cridge, 3 Chris Talakai, 2 Thomas Acquier, 1 Pieter Scholtz
Replacements: 16 Facundo Bosch, 17 Tevita Tatafu, 18 Badri Tsikhistavi, 19 Thomas Ceyte, 20 Denis Marchois, 21 Maxime Machenaud, 22 Thomas Dolhagaray, 23 Eneriko Buliruarua

Benetton: 15 Rhyno Smith, 14 Onisi Ratave, 13 Nacho Brex, 12 Joaquin Andres Riera, 11 Marcus Watson, 10 Tomas Albornoz, 9 Alessandro Garbisi, 8 Lorenzo Cannone, 7 Michele Lamaro (c), 6 Seb Negri Da Oleggio, 5 Federico Ruzza, 4 Marco Lazzaroni, 3 Simone Ferrari, 2 Gianmarco Lucchesi, 1 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro
Replacements: 16 Siua Maile, 17 Ivan Nemer, 18 Tiziano Pasquali, 19 Niccolò Cannone, 20 Manuel Zuliani, 21 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, 22 Jacob Umaga, 23 Marco Zanon

Venue: Stade Jean Dauger
Kick-off: 18:30 local (17:30 GMT)
Referee: Sam Grove-White (Scotland)
Assistant Referees: Ian Kenny (Scotland), Dave Sutherland (Scotland)
TMO: Andrew McMenemy (Scotland)

Newcastle Falcons v Cardiff

Prediction: Newcastle by 7

The teams:

Newcastle: 15 Elliott Obatoyinbo, 14 Nathan Earle, 13 Ben Stevenson, 12 Zach Kerr, 11 Mateo Carreras, 10 Josh Thomas, 9 Sam Stuart, 8 Tom Marshall, 7 Guy Pepper, 6 Sean Robinson (c), 5 Matty Dalton, 4 Sebastian De Chaves, 3 Mark Tampin, 2 Ollie Fletcher, 1 Trevor Davison
Replacements: 16 Conrad Cade, 17 Adam Brocklebank, 18 Richard Palframan, 19 Josh Peters, 20 Marcus Tiffen, 21 Josh Barton, 22 Brett Connon, 23 Iwan Stephens

Cardiff: 15 Ben Thomas, 14 Owen Lane, 13 Rey Lee-Lo, 12 Max Llewellyn, 11 Josh Adams , 10 Rhys Priestland, 9 Tomos Williams, 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 Ellis Jenkins, 6 Josh Turnbull (c), 5 Rory Thornton, 4 Seb Davies, 3 Dmitri Arhip, 2 Kirby Myhill, 1 Rhys Carre
Replacements: 16 Liam Belcher, 17 Brad Thyer, 18 Will Davies-King, 19 Teddy Williams, 20 James Ratti, 21 Ellis Bevan, 22 Mason Grady, 23 Theo Cabango

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Venue: Kingston Park
Kick-off: 17:30 GMT
Referee: Vivien Praderie (France)
Assistant Referees: Thomas Chereque (France), Thierry Mallet (France)
TMO: Cedric Marchat (France)

Sunday

Bristol Bears v Zebre Parma

Prediction: Bristol by 15

The teams:

Bristol: 15 Luke Morahan, 14 Deago Bailey, 13 Semi Radradra, 12 Ioan Lloyd, 11 Gabriel Ibitoye, 10 AJ MacGinty, 9 Will Porter, 8 Fitz Harding, 7 Jake Heenan, 6 Steven Luatua (c), 5 Chris Vui, 4 Joe Batley, 3 Jay Tyack, 2 Harry Thacker, 1 Jake Woolmore
Replacements: 16 Jake Kerr, 17 Yann Thomas, 18 Max Lahiff, 19 Elliott Stooke, 20 Daniel Thomas, 21 Andy Uren, 22 Callum Sheedy, 23 Piers O’Conor

Zebre: 15 Richard Kriel, 14 Kobus van Wyk, 13 Erich Cronjé (c), 12 Franco Smith, 11 Simone Gesi, 10 Tiff Eden, 9 Ratko Jelic, 8 Taina Fox-Matamua, 7 MJ Pelser, 6 Jacopo Bianchi, 5 Andrea Zambonin, 4 Jan Uys, 3 Ion Neculai, 2 Marco Manfredi, 1 Juan Pitinari
Replacements: 16 Jacques du Toit, 17 Luca Rizzoli, 18 Matteo Nocera, 19 Leonard Krumov, 20 Matt Kvesic, 21 Nicolò Casilio, 22 Geronimo Prisciantelli, 23 Matteo Moscardi

Venue: Ashton Gate
Kick-off: 13:00 GMT
Referee: Adrien Marbot (France)
Assistant Referees: Evan Urruzmendi (France), Stéphane Crapoix (France)
TMO: Eric Gauzins (France)

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