Iain Henderson back to lead Ulster while Bundee Aki returns for Connacht in Challenge Cup

The Challenge Cup round of 16 promises plenty of drama over the weekend and we bring you all the team news from the eight games that are scheduled to take place.

Gloucester face Castres on Friday night before there’s four games on Saturday and three on Sunday when we will know the final eight teams in the competition.

Friday

Gloucester v Castres

Gloucester: 15 Santi Carreras, 14 Jonny May, 13 Max Llewellyn, 12 Seb Atkinson, 11 Ollie Thorley, 10 Charlie Atkinson, 9 Caolan Englefield, 8 Zach Mercer, 7 Lewis Ludlow, 6 Ruan Ackermann (c), 5 Freddie Thomas, 4 Freddie Clarke, 3 Kirill Gotovtsev, 2 Santi Socino, 1 Val Rapava-Ruskin
Replacements: 16 Adam McBurney, 17 Mayco Vivas, 18 Jamal Ford-Robinson, 19 Cam Jordan, 20 Albert Tuisue, 21 Jack Clement, 22 Stephen Varney, 23 Chris Harris

Castres: 15 Geoffrey Palis, 14 Martin Laveau, 13 Adrien Seguret, 12 Andrea Cocagi, 11 Nathanael Hulleu, 10 Pierre Popelin, 9 Santiago Arata, 8 Abraham Papalii, 7 Nick Champion de Crespigny, 6 Mathieu Babillot (c), 5 Tom Staniforth, 4 Gauthier Maravat, 3 Aurelien Azar, 2 Gaetan Barlot, 1 Wayan de Benedittis
Replacements: 16 Pierre Colonna, 17 Antoine Tichit, 18 Esteban Talalua, 19 Florent Vanverberghe, 20 Yann Peysson, 21 Jeremy Fernandez, 22 Vilimoni Botitu, 23 Josaia Raisuqe

Venue: Kingsholm
Kick-off: 20:00 GMT
Referee: Andrew Brace (IRE)
Assistant Referees: Keane Davison (IRE), Robbie Jenkinson (IRE)
TMO: Olly Hodges (IRE)

Saturday

Clermont v Cheetahs

Clermont: 15 Alex Newsome, 14 Bautista Delguy, 13 Léon Darricarrere, 12 Julien Heriteau, 11 Joris Jurand, 10 Anthony Belleau, 9 Sebastien Bezy (c), 8 Pita-Gus Sowakula, 7 Alexandre Fischer, 6 Peceli Yato, 5 Tomas Lavanini, 4 Rob Simmons, 3 Rabah Slimani, 2 Etienne Fourcade, 1 Giorgi Beria
Replacements: 16 Yohan Beheregaray, 17 Daniel Bibi Biziwu, 18 Giorgi Dzmanashvili, 19 Paul Jedrasiak, 20 Lucas Dessaigne, 21 Baptiste Jauneau, 22 Theo Giral, 23 Alivereti Raka

Cheetahs: 15 Tapiwa Mafura, 14 Daniel Kasende, 13 Munier Hartzenberg, 12 Reinhardt Fortuin, 11 Litha Nkula, 10 George Lourens, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Friedle Olivier, 7 Oupa Mohoje, 6 Jeandre Rudolph, 5 Victor Sekekete (c), 4 Carl Wegner, 3 Aranos Coetzee, 2 Louis van der Westhuizen, 1 Schalk Ferreira
Replacements: 16 Marko Janse van Rensburg, 17 Alulutho Tshakweni, 18 Laurence Victor, 19 Mzwanele Zito, 20 Gideon van der Merwe, 21 Siba Qoma, 22 Andell Loubser, 23 Rewan Kruger

Venue: Stade Marcel-Michelin
Kick-off: 13:30 local (12:30 GMT)
Referee: Sam Grove-White (SCO)
Assistant Referees: Ian Kenny (SCO), Ru Campbell (SCO)
TMO: Andrew McMenemy (SCO)

Benetton v Lions

Benetton: 15 Rhyno Smith, 14 Tommaso Menoncello, 13 Nacho Brex, 12 Malakai Fekitoa, 11 Onisi Ratave, 10 Jacob Umaga, 9 Alessandro Garbisi, 8 Toa Halafihi, 7 Sebastian Negri, 6 Alessandro Izekor, 5 Eli Snyman (c), 4 Niccolo Cannone, 3 Simone Ferrari, 2 Giacomo Nicotera, 1 Thomas Gallo
Replacements: 16 Bautista Bernasconi, 17 Mirco Spagnolo, 18 Giosue Zilocchi, 19 Federico Ruzza, 20 Henry Stowers, 21 Lorenzo Cannone, 22 Andy Uren, 23 Tomas Albornoz

Lions: 15 Andries Coetzee, 14 Stean Pienaar, 13 Richard Kriel, 12 Zander du Plessis, 11 Rabz Maxwane, 10 Jordan Hendrikse, 9 Morne van den Berg, 8 Hanru Sirgel, 7 Emmanuel Tshituka, 6 JC Pretorius, 5 Darrien Landsberg, 4 Willem Alberts, 3 Conraad van Vuuren, 2 Jaco Visagie (c), 1 Morgan Naude
Replacements: 16 Morne Brandon, 17 Ruan Dreyer, 18 Ruan Smith, 19 Ruan Delport, 20 Izan Esterhuizen, 21 Francke Horn, 22 Nico Steyn, 23 Erich Cronje

Venue: Stadio Monigo
Kick-off: 18:30 local (17:30 GMT)
Referee: Christophe Ridley (ENG)
Assistant Referees: Joe James (ENG), Jonathan Healy (ENG)
TMO: Dean Richards (ENG)

Edinburgh v Bayonne

Edinburgh: 15 Wes Goosen, 14 Jake Henry, 13 Mark Bennett, 12 Matt Currie, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Ben Healy, 9 Ben Vellacott (cc) 8 Viliame Mata, 7 Hamish Watson, 6 Jamie Ritchie, 5 Grant Gilchrist (cc), 4 Sam Skinner, 3 WP Nel, 2 Ewan Ashman, 1 Luan de Bruin
Replacements: 16 Dave Cherry, 17 Mikey Jones, 18 D’Arcy Rae, 19 Jamie Hodgson, 20 Luke Crosbie, 21 Ali Price, 22 James Lang, 23 Chris Dean

Bayonne: 15 Aurélien Callandret, 14 Bastien Pourailly, 13 Guillaume Martocq, 12 Yan Lestrade, 11 Nadir Megdoud, 10 Tom Spring, 9 Guillaume Rouet, 8 Manex Ariceta, 7 Baptiste Heguy (c), 6 Rémi Bourdeau, 5 Manuel Leindekar, 4 Thomas Ceyte, 3 Pieter Scholtz, 2 Vincent Giudicelli, 1 Quentin Bethune,
Replacements: 16 Thomas Acquier, 17 Pierre Castillon, 18 Martin Villar, 19 Kote Mikautadze, 20 Pierre Huguet, 21 Kleo Labarbe, 22 Thomas Dolhagaray, 23 Riko Buliruarua

Disgraced France forward handed suspended prison sentence for domestic violence conviction

Venue: Hive Stadium
Kick-off: 20:00 GMT
Referee: Chris Busby (IRE)
Assistant Referees: Peter Martin (IRE), Paul Haycock (IRE)
TMO: Mark Patton (IRE)

𝗖𝗨𝗣 𝗖𝗟𝗔𝗦𝗛 | 🐉 𝘃 🦈

Al has named his side to travel to Bridgend to face @ospreys for some @ChallengeCup_ action!

💪 Hyron Andrews makes his first start!
🔥 Creevy and Reedy back in the starting XV
👀 Cam Neild and Connor Doc return!#OSPvSAL | #SharksAreCircling

— Sale Sharks 🦈 (@SaleSharksRugby) April 5, 2024

Ospreys v Sale Sharks

Ospreys: 15 Jack Walsh, 14 Luke Morgan, 13 Keiran Williams, 12 Owen Watkin, 11 Keelan Giles, 10 Owen Williams, 9 Reuben Morgan-Williams, 8 Morgan Morris, 7 Justin Tipuric (c), 6 Harri Deaves, 5 Adam Beard, 4 James Ratti, 3 Tom Botha, 2 Sam Parry, 1 Gareth Thomas
Replacements: 16 Lewis Lloyd, 17 Nicky Smith, 18 Rhys Henry, 19 Huw Sutton, 20 Morgan Morse, 21 Luke Davies, 22 Dan Edwards, 23 Max Nagy

Sale Sharks: 15 Telusa Veainu, 14 Arron Reed, 13 Sam James, 12 Rekeiti Ma’asi-White, 11 Tom O’Flaherty, 10 Robert du Preez, 9 Raffi Quirke, 8 Jean-Luc du Preez, 7 Sam Dugdale, 6 Ben Curry (c), 5 Hyron Andrews, 4 Ben Bamber, 3 Asher Opoku-Fordjour, 2 Agustin Creevy, 1 Ross Harrison
Replacements: 16 Tommy Taylor, 17 Simon McIntyre, 18 Willgriff John, 19 Tom Ellis, 20 Cameron Neild, 21 Nye Thomas, 22 Connor Doherty, 23 Alex Wills

Venue: Dunrave Brewery Field
Kick-off: 20:00 GMT
Referee: Mathieu Raynal (FRA)
Assistant Referees: Vivian Praderie (FRA), Jonathan Gasnier (FRA)
TMO: Thomas Charabas (FRA)

Sunday

Montpellier v Ulster

Montpellier: 15 Alexandre de Nardi, 14 Gabriel N’Gandebe, 13 George Bridge, 12 Auguste Cadot, 11 Ben Lam, 10 Louis Foursans-Bourdette, 9 Aubin Eymeri, 8 Sam Simmonds, 7 Clement Doumenc, 6 Alex Becognee, 5 Paul Willemse (c), 4 Florian Verhaeghe, 3 Harry Williams, 2 Christopher Tolofua, 1 Gregory Fichten
Replacements: 16 Vano Karkadze, 17 Baptiste Erdocio, 18 Lasha Macharashvili, 19 Tyler DuGuid, 20 Yacouba Camara, 21 Louis Carbonel, 22 Masi Dakuwaqa, 23 Pierre Lucas

Ulster: 15 Stewart Moore, 14 Rob Baloucoune, 13 James Hume, 12 Stuart McCloskey, 11 Ethan McIlroy, 10 Nathan Doak, 9 John Cooney, 8 Nick Timoney, 7 David McCann, 6 Matty Rea, 5 Iain Henderson (c), 4 Alan O’Connor, 3 Tom O’Toole, 2 Rob Herring, 1 Steven Kitshoff
Replacements: 16 Tom Stewart, 17 Andy Warwick, 18 Scott Wilson, 19 Harry Sheridan, 20 Cormac Izuchukwu, 21 Jake Flannery, 22 Jacob Stockdale, 23 Dave Ewers

Venue: GGL Stadium
Kick-off: 13:30 local (12:30 GMT)
Referee: Craig Evans (WAL)
Assistant Referees: Adam Jones (WAL), Ben Breakspear (WAL)
TMO: Ben Whitehouse (WAL)

Sharks v Zebre Parma

Sharks: 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Werner Kok, 13 Lukhanyo Am (c), 12 Ethan Hooker, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Siya Masuku, 9 Jaden Hendrikse, 8 Phepsi Buthelezi, 7 Vincent Tshituka, 6 James Venter, 5 Emile van Heerden, 4 Corne Rahl, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ox Nche
Replacements: 16 Kerron van Vuuren, 17 Ntuthuko Mchunu, 18 Hanro Jacobs, 19 Gerbrandt Grobler, 20 Lappies Labuschagne, 21 Grant Williams, 22 Curwin Bosch, 23 Francois Venter

Zebre Parma: 15 Lorenzo Pani, 14 Pierre Bruno, 13 Franco Smith, 12 Damiano Mazza, 11 Simone Gesi, 10 Tiff Eden, 9 Alessandro Fusco, 8 Davide Ruggeri, 7 Josh Kaifa, 6 Guido Volpi, 5 Andrea Zambonin, 4 Dave Sisi (c), 3 Juan-Manuel Pitinari, 2 Giampietro Ribaldi, 1 Danilo Fischetti
Replacements: 16 Luca Bigi, 17 Luca Rizzoli, 18 Ion Neculai, 19 Leonardo Krumov, 20 Giovanni Licata, 21 Thomas Dominguez, 22 Jacopo Trulla, 23 Bautista Stavile Bravin

Venue: Kings Park
Kick-off: 16:00 local (15:00 GMT)
Referee: Anthony Woodthorpe (ENG)
Assistant Referees: Tom Foley (ENG), Adam Leal (ENG)
TMO: Luke Pearce (ENG)

Pau v Connacht

Pau: 15 Jack Maddocks, 14 Thomas Carol, 13 Eliott Roudil, 12 Jale Vatubua, 11 Aminiasi Tuimaba, 10 Joe Simmonds, 9 Dan Robson, 8 Sacha Zegueur, 7 Thibaut Hamonou, 6 Martin Puech (c), 5 Lekima Tagitagivalu, 4 Guillaume Ducat, 3 Siate Tokolahi, 2 Youri Delhommel, 1 Ziggy Fisi’ihoi
Replacements: 16 Lucas Rey, 17 Hugo Parrou, 18 Guram Papidze, 19 Steve Cummins, 20 Fabrice Metz, 21 Reece Hewat, 22 Thibault Daubagna, 23 Axel Desperes

Connacht: 15 Tiernan O’Halloran, 14 Shayne Bolton, 13 David Hawkshaw, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 Shane Jennings, 10 Jack Carty (c), 9 Caolin Blade, 8 Jarrad Butler, 7 Shamus Hurley-Langton, 6 Cian Prendergast, 5 Niall Murray, 4 Joe Joyce, 3 Finlay Bealham, 2 Dave Heffernan, 1 Denis Buckley
Replacements: 16 Eoin de Buitléar, 17 Jordan Duggan, 18 Sam Illo, 19 Darragh Murray, 20 Conor Oliver, 21 Matthew Devine, 22 JJ Hanrahan, 23 Tom Farrell

Venue: Stade du Hameau
Kick-off: 18:30 local (17:30 GMT)
Referee: Andrea Piardi (ITA)
Assistant Referees: Federico Vedovelli (ITA), Alex Frasson (ITA)
TMO: Matteo Liperini (ITA)

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