Sharks back big guns for Challenge Cup derby while Scotland stars return

Dylan Coetzee
Sharks superstar Eben Etzebeth looks on.

Sharks superstar Eben Etzebeth looks on.

The second round of the 2023/24 Challenge Cup gets underway with two games on Friday, five on Saturday and two on Sunday.

Check out the teams for this weekend’s action, below.

Friday

Gloucester v Clermont

Gloucester: 15 Louis Rees-Zammit, 14 Jonny May, 13 Chris Harris, 12 Max Llewellyn, 11 Ollie Thorley, 10 Santiago Carreras, 9 Steve Varney, 8 Zach Mercer, 7 Lewis Ludlow, 6 Jack Clement, 5 Matias Alemanno, 4 Freddie Clarke, 3 Fraser Balmain, 2 Santiago Socino, 1 Harry Elrington
Replacements: 16 George McGuigan, 17 Jamal Ford-Robinson, 18 Kirill Gotovtsev, 19 Cameron Jordan, 20 Ben Donnell, 21 Charlie Chapman, 22 Seb Atkinson, 23 Lloyd Evans

Clermont: 15 Alex Newsome, 14 Bautista Delguy, 13 Pierre Fouyssac, 12 Léon Darricarrere, 11 Thomas Roziere, 10 Jules Plisson, 9 Baptiste Jauneau, 8 Fritz Lee, 7 Marcos Kremer, 6 Pita-Gus Sowakula, 5 Tomas Lavanini, 4 Thibault Lanen, 3 Rabah Slimani, 2 Yohan Beheregaray, 1 Daniel Bibi Biziwu
Replacements: 16 Etienne Fourcade, 17 Etienne Falgoux, 18 Henzo Kiteau, 19 Rob Simmons, 20 Killian Tixeront, 21 Sebastien Bezy, 22 Anthony Belleau, 23 George Moala

Venue: Kingsholm
Kick-off: 20:00 GMT
Referee: Hollie Davidson (Scotland)
Assistant Referees: Ian Kenny (Scotland), Ru Campbell (Scotland)
TMO: David Sutherland (Scotland)

Scarlets v Black Lion

Scarlets: 15 Tom Rogers, 14 Steff Evans, 13 Johnny Williams, 12 Eddie James, 11 Ryan Conbeer, 10 Ioan Lloyd, 9 Gareth Davies (c), 8 Vaea Fifita, 7 Teddy Leatherbarrow, 6 Ben Williams, 5 Jac Price, 4 Alex Craig, 3 Joe Jones, 2 Shaun Evans, 1 Steff Thomas
Replacements: 16 Eduan Swart, 17 Sam O’Connor, 18 Harri O’Connor, 19 Ed Scragg, 20 Morgan Jones, 21 Archie Hughes, 22 Charlie Titcombe, 23 Ioan Nicholas

Black Lion: 15 Miriani Modebadze, 14 Akaki Tabutsadze, 13 Tornike Kakhoidze, 12 Merab Sharikadze, 11 Otar Lashkhi, 10 Luka Matkava, 9 Tengiz Peranidze, 8 Luka Ivanishvili, 7 Sandro Mamamtavrishvili, 6 Giorgi Kervalishvili, 5 Grigor Kerdikoshvili, 4 Nodar Cheishvili, 3 Giorgi Chkhartishvili, 2 Beka Mamrikashvili, 1 Dato Abdushelishvili
Replacements: 16 Gela Makharashvili, 17 Aliko Shamilishvili, 18 Bachuki Tchumbadze, 19 Demuri Epremidze, 20 Saba Kurtanidze, 21 Giorgi Margalitadze, 22 Giorgi Jobava, 23 Luka Tsirekidze

Venue: Parc y Scarlets
Kick-off: 20:00 GMT
Referee: Jeremy Rozier (France)
Assistant Referees: Vivien Praderie (France), Thomas Chereque (France)
TMO: Patrick Dellac (France)

Saturday

Oyonnax v Zebre

Oyonnax: 15 Darren Sweetnam, 14 Gavin Stark, 13 Leo Treilles, 12 Theo Millet, 11 Daniel Ikpefan, 10 Justin Bouraux, 9 Ilan El Khattabi, 8 Rory Grice, 7 Hugo Hermet, 6 Kevin Lebreton, 5 Hugo Fabregue, 4 Ewan Johnson, 3 Ali Oz, 2 Teddy Durand-Pradere, 1 Rory Sutherland
Replacements: 16 Benjamin Geledan, 17 Antoine Abraham, 18 Christopher Vaotoa, 19 Steve Mafi, 20 Loic Credoz, 21 Yvan David, 22 Domingo Miotti, 23 Maxime Salles

Zebre: 15 Lorenzo Pani, 14 Pierre Bruno, 13 Fetuli Paea, 12 Enrico Lucchin, 11 Jacopo Trulla, 10 Geronimo Prisciantelli (c), 9 Gonzalo Garcia, 8 Jake Polledri, 7 Taina Fox-Matamua, 6 Guido Volpi, 5 Leonard Krumov, 4 Matteo Canali, 3 Juan Pitinari, 2 Marco Manfredi, 1 Luca Rizzoli
Replacements: 16 Luca Bigi, 17 Alessio Sanavia, 18 Matteo Nocera, 19 Dylan De Leeuw, 20 Giacomo Ferrari, 21 Thomas Dominguez, 22 Giovanni Montemauri, 23 Giovanni Licata

Venue: Stade Charles Mathon, Oyonnax
Kick-off: 14:00 local (13:00 GMT)
Referee: Hamish Smales (England)
Assistant Referees: Sara Cox (England), Jon Meredith (England)
TMO: Dean Richards (England)

Edinburgh v Castres

Edinburgh: 15 Harry Paterson, 14 Wes Goosen, 13 Matt Currie, 12 James Lang, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Ben Healy, 9 Ali Price, 8 Viliame Mata, 7 Hamish Watson, 6 Jamie Ritchie, 5 Grant Gilchrist (c), 4 Glen Young, 3 Javan Sebastian, 2 Ewan Ashman, 1 Pierre Schoeman
Replacements: 16 Dave Cherry, 17 Robin Hislop, 18 D’Arcy Rae, 19 Marshall Sykes, 20 Luke Crosbie, 21 Ben Vellacott, 22 Mark Bennett, 23 Darcy Graham

Castres: 15 Geoffrey Palis, 14 Nathanael Hulleu, 13 Adrien Seguret, 12 Andrea Cocagi, 11 Antoine Bouzerand, 10 Pierre Popelin, 9 Gauthier Doubrere, 8 Abraham Papalii, 7 Baptiste Cope, 6 Mathieu Babillot, 5 Florent Vanverberghe, 4 Gauthier Maravat, 3 Aurelien Azar, 2 Pierre Colonna, 1 Lois Guerois-Galisson
Replacements: 16 Loris Zarantonello, 17 Wayan de Benedittis, 18 Wilfrid Hounkpatin, 19 Leone Nakarawa, 20 Baptiste Delaporte, 21 Jeremy Fernandez, 22 Vilimoni Botitu, 23 Theo Chabouni

Venue: Hive Stadium, Edinburgh
Kick-off: 13:00 GMT
Referee: Adam Jones (Wales)
Assistant Referees: Tom Spurrier (Wales), Elgan Williams (Wales)
TMO: Sean Brickell (Wales)

Benetton v Perpignan

Benetton: 15 Rhyno Smith, 14 Edoardo Padovani, 13 Ignacio Brex, 12 Paolo Odogwu, 11 Onisi Ratave, 10 Jacob Umaga, 9 Andy Uren, 8 Lorenzo Cannone, 7 Sebastian Negri, 6 Alessandro Izekor, 5 Eli Snyman (c), 4 Edoardo Iachizzi, 3 Tiziano Pasquali, 2 Bautista Bernasconi, 1 Mirco Spagnolo
Replacements: 16 Siua Maile, 17 Federico Zani, 18 Filippo Alongi, 19 Niccolò Cannone, 20 Riccardo Favretto, 21 Henry Time-Stowers, 22 Nicolò Casilio, 23 Leonardo Marin

Perpignan: 15 Boris Goutard, 14 Louis Dupichot, 13 Afusipa Taumoepeau, 12 Eddie Sawailau, 11 Mathieu Acebes, 10 Jean-Pascal Barraque, 9 Matteo Rodor, 8 Valentin Moro, 7 Alan Brazo, 6 Lucas Bachelier, 5 Shahn Eru, 4 Tristan Labouteley, 3 Arthur Joly, 2 Vakhtang Jincharadze, 1 Akato Fakatika
Replacements: 16 Victor Montgaillard, 17 Xavier Chiocci, 18 Nemo Roelofse, 19 Marvin Orie, 20 Mathieu Tanguy, 21 Ewan Bertheau, 22 Lenny Viola, 23 Nicola Bozzo

Venue: Stadio Monigo, Treviso
Kick-off: 16:15 local (15:15 GMT)
Referee: Eoghan Cross (Ireland)
Assistant Referees: Dan Carson (Ireland), Robbie Jenkinson (Ireland)
TMO: Leo Colgan (Ireland)

Lions v Newcastle Falcons

Lions: 15 Quan Horn, 14 Richard Kriel, 13 Rynhardt Jonker, 12 Marius Louw, 11 Rabz Maxwane, 10 Sanele Nohamba, 9 Morne van den Berg, 8 Francke Horn, 7 Ruan Venter, 6 Emmanuel Tshituka, 5 Darrien Landsberg, 4 Willem Alberts, 3 Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 2 PJ Botha, 1 JP Smith
Replacements: 16 Jaco Visagie, 17 Morgan Naude, 18 Ruan Smith, 19 Raynard Roets, 20 Hanru Sirgel, 21 JC Pretorius, 22 Jordan Hendrikse, 23 Gianni Lombard

Newcastle: 15 Elliott Obatoyinbo, 14 Nathan Greenwood, 13 Ben Stevenson, 12 Cameron Hutchison, 11 Louis Brown, 10 Brett Connon, 9 Josh Barton, 8 John Kelly, 7 Josh Bainbridge (c), 6 Philip van der Walt, 5 Kiran McDonald, 4 Tim Cardall, 3 Mark Tampin, 2 Charlie Maddison, 1 Adam Brocklebank
Replacements: 16 Michael van Vuuren, 17 Mark Dormer, 18 Murray McCallum, 19 Adam Scott, 20 Freddie Lockwood, 21 Ben Douglas, 22 Josh Thomas, 23 George Wacokecoke

Venue: Emirates Airline Park, Johannesburg
Kick-off: 17:15 local (15:15 GMT)
Referee: Benoit Rousselet (France)
Assistant Referees: Morne Gerreira (South Africa), Filippo Russo (Italy)
TMO: Eric Gauzins (France)

Pau v Dragons

Pau: 15 Axel Desperes, 14 Aminiasi Tuimaba, 13 Nathan Decron, 12 Jale Vatubua, 11 Thomas Carol, 10 Thibault Debaes, 9 Dan Robson, 8 Thibaut Hamonou, 7 Martin Puech, 6 Mehdi Tlili, 5 Brent Liufau, 4 Hugo Auradou, 3 Nicolas Corato, 2 Romain Ruffenach, 1 Facundo Gigena
Replacements: 16 Lucas Rey, 17 Paul Tailhades, 18 Siate Tokolahi, 19 Mickael Capelli, 20 Josselin Bouhier, 21 Thomas Souverbie, 22 Emilien Gailleton, 23 Theo Attissogbe

Dragons: 15 Jordan Williams, 14 Jared Rosser, 13 Steff Hughes (c), 12 Aneurin Owen, 11 Ashton Hewitt, 10 Cai Evans, 9 Gonzalo Bertranou, 8 Taine Basham, 7 Harri Keddie, 6 Ryan Woodman, 5 Matthew Screech, 4 Joe Davies, 3 Chris Coleman, 2 Bradley Roberts, 1 Aki Seiuli
Replacements: 16 James Benjamin, 17 Rodrigo Martinez, 18 Luke Yendle, 19 Sean Lonsdale, 20 George Young, 21 Lewis Jones, 22 Corey Baldwin, 23 Ewan Rosser

Venue: Stade du Hameau, Pau
Kick-off: 18:30 local (16:30 GMT)
Referee: Federico Vedovelli (Italy)
Assistant Referees: Alex Frasson (Italy), Manuel Bottino (Italy)
TMO: Stefano Roscini (Italy)

Sunday

Cheetahs v Sharks

Cheetahs: 15 Tapiwa Mafura, 14 Daniel Kasende, 13 Evardi Boshoff, 12 Reinhardt Fortuin, 11 Cohen Jasper, 10 George Lourens, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Jeandre Rudolph, 7 Friedle Olivier, 6 Gideon van der Merwe, 5 Victor Sekekete (c), 4 Rynier Bernardo, 3 Hencus van Wyk, 2 Marnus van der Merwe, 1 Cameron Dawson
Replacements: 16 Louis van der Westhuizen, 17 Alulutho Tshakweni, 18 Laurance Victor, 19 Carl Wegner, 20 Daniel Maartens, 21 Sibabalo Qoma, 22 Rewan Kruger, 23 Ali Mgijim

Sharks: 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Werner Kok, 13 Lukhanyo Am (c), 12 Francois Venter, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Curwin Bosch, 9 Grant Williams, 8 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 7 Phepsi Buthelezi, 6 James Venter, 5 Le Roux Roets, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Coenie Oosthuizen, 2 Kerron van Vuuren, 1 Ox Nche
Replacements: 16 Daniel Jooste, 17 Ntuthuko Mchunu, 18 Hanro Jacobs, 19 Corne Rahl, 20 Jeandre Labuschagne, 21 Jaden Hendrikse, 22 Lionel Cronje, 23 Ethan Hooker

Venue: Toyota Stadium, Bloemfontein
Kick-off: 15:00 local (13:00 GMT)
Referee: Andrea Piardi (Italy)
Assistant Referees: Benoit Rousselet (France), Filippo Russo (Italy)
TMO: Eric Gauzins (France)

Montpellier v Ospreys

Montpellier: 15 Anthony Bouthier, 14 George Bridge, 13 Pierre Lucas, 12 Jan Serfontein, 11 Ben Lam, 10 Paolo Garbisi, 9 Leo Coly, 8 Sam Simmonds, 7 Clement Doumenc, 6 Yacouba Camara, 5 Tyler DuGuid, 4 Marco Tauleigne, 3 Harry Williams, 2 Brandon Paenga-Amosa, 1 Baptiste Erdocio
Replacements: 16 Vano Karkadze, 17 Enzo Forletta, 18 Titi Lamositele, 19 Paul Willemse, 20 Masi Dakuwaqa, 21 Cobus Reinach, 22 Louis Foursans-Bourdette, 23 Auguste Cadot

Ospreys: 15 Jack Walsh, 14 Mat Protheroe, 13 George North, 12 Owen Watkin, 11 Keelan Giles, 10 Owen Williams, 9 Reuben Morgan-Williams, 8 Morgan Morris (c), 7 Harri Deaves, 6 Tristan Davies, 5 Adam Beard, 4 James Fender, 3 Tom Botha, 2 Dewi Lake, 1 Nicky Smith
Replacements: 16 Sam Parry, 17 Gareth Thomas, 18 Rhys Henry, 19 Lewis Jones, 20 Morgan Morse, 21 Luke Davies, 22 Dan Edwards, 23 Luke Scully

Venue: GGL Stadium, Montpellier
Kick-off: 14:00 local (13:00 GMT)
Referee: Anthony Woodhope (England)
Assistant Referees: George Selwood (England), James Clarke (England)
TMO: David Rose (England)

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